Prince Harry Gets Damages in Hacking Case and Calls Out Piers Morgan

Prince Harry has settled his privacy claims against a British tabloid publisher, his lawyer told a London court on Friday, two months after a judge found the publisher guilty of “widespread and habitual” hacking of the prince’s cellphone.

The settlement with Mirror Group Newspapers — which his lawyer said would amount to at least 400,000 pounds, or $504,000 — brings to an end one battle in Harry’s long-running war against the press over its intrusive coverage of his private life.

It was as much a financial victory as a symbolic one, which could help defray the legal costs that Harry has run up in years of litigation against the tabloids. In addition to paying for the costs of the case, the Mirror Group would pay additional “significant” damages, the prince’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said.

“We have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way in which the Mirror acted for so many years,” Harry said in a statement read by Mr. Sherborne outside the high court. Harry, who did not attend the hearing, said he would continue his “mission” of exposing what he called the corrupt practices of the tabloids.

At issue in this case was whether the Mirror Group, which owns the Daily Mirror and other tabloid publications, had engaged in unlawful behavior, including phone hacking and other deceitful techniques, to unearth personal information about Harry and the other plaintiffs, who include British television actors.

In December, the judge, Timothy Fancourt, awarded the prince 140,600 pounds, or nearly $180,000, after finding that Harry had been a victim of hacking. He left the door open to a further settlement, since that ruling was based on only 15 articles, a fraction of the material submitted by Harry’s lawyers.