The shock announcement came as the trial was set to begin against the publisher on Wednesday. Harry’s lawyer said the publisher offered an “unequivocal apology” and “pay significant damages.”

The group also admitted that Harry, the younger son of Britain’s King Charles, had been the victim of unlawful activity by the Sun and had suffered phone hacking at the hands of the now-defunct News of the World.

“NGN offers 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, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun,” read an apology offered the group to Harry’s lawyer.

“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World,” it added.

The group also apologised for the distress caused by its actions on Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, particularly during her son’s younger years.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, is the closest to a trial against the group, accused of widespread use of such practices.

A mega phone hacking scandal forced the group to shut the News of the World in 2011. Its reporters reporters were accused of hacking the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her in 2002.

The case against Murdoch’s UK tabloids was one of three lawsuits by Harry, accusing British journalists of privacy violations by surveilling his phone messages or using private investigators to help them obtain news scoops unlawfully.

Harry blames the media for the death of his mother, Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He has also accused the media of “persistent attacks” on his wife, Meghan Markle, causing them to abandon royal life and settle in the United States in 2020.

(With AP, Reuters inputs)