Whispers rippled through the court in the moments before Prince Harry’s lawyer sensationally revealed a settlement had been reached with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry claimed a “monumental” victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

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.

Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British News Group Newspapers for an apology and "substantial damages."

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.

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.

Rupert Murdoch's team made the offer to resolve the hacking suits from Prince Harry and a British lawmaker as a trial was to begin. A settlement could help Washington Post CEO Will Lewis.

The royal is accusing The Sun and The News of the World over decades of phone hacking and unlawful news gathering

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 fights Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid News Group Newspapers, alleging unlawful activities involving The Sun and the defunct News of the World from 1996 to 2011. He targets illegal practices like "blagging" for acquiring private information.

Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made a rare apology to Prince Harry in settling his privacy invasion lawsuit and will pay him a substantial sum, his lawyer said Wednesday.

LONDON — Opening arguments are set to start Tuesday in a trial over complaints filed by Prince Harry and a senior British lawmaker against Rupert Murdoch's London tabloid newspapers. It carries high stakes on both sides of the Atlantic. "I'm the last ...