Prince Harry settled his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry claimed victory in his long-running legal battle against Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group, after reaching a deal to settle his lawsuit which included an apology for unlawful actions relating to the Sun for the first time.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers gave Harry an “unequivocal apology,” admitting for the first time to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay what it called substantial damages.

Prince Harry has settled his High Court privacy invasion case against the publisher of The Sun on what was due to be the first day of a weeks-long civil trial - in an "extraordinary" development.

Prince Harry had taken legal action against NGN at the High Court in London, alleging that its journalists had illegally gathered private information about him between 1996-2011.

The trial in the Duke of Sussex's legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) — the publisher of The Sun — over allegations of unlawful information gathering by journalists and private investigators working for NGN began in the High Court in London on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

LONDON (Reuters) -Prince Harry claimed a "monumental" victory over Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper group on Wednesday after the publisher settled his lawsuit, admitting unlawful actions at its Sun tabloid for the first time and paying substantial damages.

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.

Harry received an unprecedented apology from Rupert Murdoch’s flagship U.K. tabloid on Wednesday, and previously won in a court judgment that condemned the publishers of the Daily Mirror for “widespread and habitual” phone hacking.

The prince got his long-sought apology from the UK tabloid publisher, and Murdoch gets to avoid a potentially embarrassing trial.

Prince Harry's "mission" against the British press has resulted in a victory against Rupert Murdoch's the Sun, which has admitted to wrongdoing.