It is safe to say that the Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch lawsuit was probably one of the landmark cases in the history of the United Kingdom. While it marked a royal fighting a court case for the first time in a century, it also tainted the brand name of one of the world's largest news networks, owned by Murdoch. No party emerged as the final triumphant in the case against the other, but both sides incurred losses of similar proportions. 

The only difference being; Prince Harry paid for it with his reputation, and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch paid for it through a lump sum of his fortune drained. 

As reported by the Financial Times, the media group’s bill for settlements and legal costs has now reached about $1.2 billion. In fighting phone hacking scandals against The Sun and now defunct News of the World Newspapers, the media heavyweight has incurred fresh losses of around $55 million in his legal battle against Prince Harry. News UK has shelled out a staggering $1.3 billion in settlements and legal fees since the phone-hacking scandal erupted over a decade ago. 

The media conglomerate has acknowledged that its now-defunct News of the World paper engaged in the illicit practice of landing scoops, leading to a public inquiry, police probe, and the paper's eventual closure. However, News UK maintains that its other major title, The Sun, was not involved in the hacking. The financial blow has resulted in a significant loss for NGN, the publisher of The Sun, with a reported $87 million deficit in the year ending July 2023. 

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However, Murdoch alone was not the sufferer of the arduous court proceedings. 

The months-long court battle did not go easy on Prince Harry either. Earlier reports claimed that fighting for longer hours in heated court debates had Prince Harry fight back tears while presenting his side. Although it was soon followed by the the Prince's significant victories against other newspapers, it took one major setback from Rupert Murdoch to return Prince Harry to square one. 

The estranged Prince lost it to Rupert Murdoch and his media companies as the court ruled out against summoning the media tycoon for trial proceedings. The judges disapproved the trial charges on the basis that it would add nothing to the allegations already placed against the media magnate. Nonetheless, the court is nowhere a final verdict with proceedings still on. 

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What do you think about the court battle between Prince Harry and Rupert Murdoch?