Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

News Group Newspapers offered an “unequivocal apology” to the prince for serious intrusion into his private life, as well as that of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

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.

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 deal means that Harry will not be able to seek a court ruling validating his allegations that News Group Newspapers' journalists went to illegal extremes to dig up dirt on his life and that executives at the company helped cover up the bad acts.

Prince Harry was suing News Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful activities carried out by journalists and private investigators working for its papers, The Sun and the now defunct News of the World,

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

Prince Harry has settled his historic case against Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids. Having previously said he wanted to see his case into phone hacking and unlawful information gathering go to trial, the royal has now reached a settlement before an argument was even made in London’s High Court.

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.

Harry won an apology and damages from Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids. Could the lawsuit’s end also help heal the rift with his brother, William, and his father, King Charles III?