The conservative media mogul’s British newspapers division, known as News Group Newspapers (NGN), offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life,

Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, the Rupert Murdoch-owned company that publishes The Sun and previously published now-defunct News of The World.

Rupert Murdoch shut down his News of the World tabloid after revelations about hacking, but his News Group Newspapers has denied broader wrongdoing at that outlet or any wrongdoing at the Sun tabloid. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Prince Harry was suing News Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful activities carried out by journalists and private investigators working for its papers, The Sun and the now defunct News of the World,

A legal battle brought by Prince Harry against the publisher of The Sun newspaper, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, kicked off at the High Court in London on Tuesday, without Prince Harry in attendance and with several delays.

UPDATED 06.42 a.m. PT: There has been high drama on the first day in the trial of Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch ‘s News Group Newspapers (NGN), with a settlement deal now “very close,” according to NGN’s lawyer.

Prince Harry broke cover Tuesday for the first time since he won a multimillion-dollar settlement and a “full and unequivocal apology” from Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, which admitted that the Sun tabloid infringed his privacy using illegal methods and also apologized for “serious intrusion” into the private life of his late mother,