Prince Harry made the astonishing claim Tuesday that his brother, Prince William, received a “very large sum of money” in 2020 to settle his phone-hacking claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the Rupert Murdoch-owned media business that publishes the London Times and U.K tabloid the Sun. But how large is very large? A report in the Daily Telegraph says the payment was “about £1 million” or about $1.24 million at today’s exchange rate. The Telegraph adds that William received no notice Harry was going to publicize the settlement as part of his own phone-hacking case against NGN on Tuesday, and “the revelation of the secret payment will only serve to drive a deeper wedge between them.” Harry is arguing that the payment was part of a “secret agreement” made between the royal household and News Group Newspapers (NGN), made in part to support King Charles’ “long-term strategy” to make Camilla queen. Harry said that Queen Elizabeth initially backed him, threatening senior execs at Rupert Murdoch’s media company with legal proceedings, before being persuaded to back down by a fearful Charles.
