Rupert Murdoch Paid Prince William 'a Very Large Sum of Money' to Settle Phone Hacking Case
April 25 2023, Updated 5:21 p.m. ET
A "very large" payoff from media mogul Rupert Murdoch to Prince William was exposed in recent court filings by Prince Harry, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The allegation came to light as part of the Duke of Sussex's ongoing lawsuit against Murdoch's British-based News Group Newspapers (NGN) for "unlawful acts."
Prince Harry alleged that NGN hacked his phone and voicemails on behalf of now-defunct News of the World and the Sun for tabloid fodder.
Ahead of a hearing this week to determine whether or not the former full-time Royal's case would go to trial, court documents exposed a stunning allegation from Prince William's brother.
According to court documents filed by the Duke of Sussex's legal team, Murdoch's NGN allegedly made an under-the-table payment to Prince William.
While the full amount and details were not made public, the document stated that the Fox Corp. mogul settled with the Prince of Wales for "for a very large sum of money in 2020."
The court filing continued to allege that Buckingham Palace and NGN engaged in a secret deal, with the "large" payment as a binding agreement between the two parties.
Under the alleged secret deal, the Palace would refrain from bringing any legal action against Murdoch's publications until the ongoing phone hack lawsuit was settled.
The allegation came after Murdoch's Fox News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million.
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
While NGN denied that there was a secret deal, Prince Harry was insistent that an agreement was reached — and that Buckingham Palace wanted to prevent Royal members from testifying in court on "specific details of private and highly sensitive voice mails."
To back up his claim, the Duke of Sussex noted the backlash the Crown faced after the reporting of "intimate telephone conversation that took place between my father and stepmother in 1989, while he was still married to my mother."
It appeared that Prince Harry referenced the infamous "tampon-gate" phone call between then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Prince Harry revealed a plan to seek an apology from Murdoch, which he claimed in his witness stated was supported by his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth and his brother.
However, the apology never came to fruition after it was allegedly stopped by his father's staff.
The move was said to be done in "long term strategy to keep the media, including NGN, onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother, and father, to be accepted by the British public as Queen Consort, and King respectively."
While the latest allegation was shocking, Prince Harry publicly condemned his Royal family members and palace staff of turning a blind eye to racist tabloids that targeted his wife Meghan Markle.
