Prince Harry Awarded Damages in Phone Hacking Case

London — Britain's High Court ruled that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was the victim of phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror tabloid, on Friday. He has been awarded 140,600 pounds, which is about $180,000 in damages.

The presiding judge in the case at Britain's High Court, Justice Timothy Fancourt, said in a statement that he had awarded Harry the "modest" sum, as the case had shown the Mirror Group "only played a small part in everything that the Duke suffered" and "was not responsible for all the unlawful activity that was directed at the Duke, and that a good deal of the oppressive behaviour of the Press towards the Duke over the years was not unlawful at all."

The judge said he'd found that only 15 out of the 33 articles that were scrutinized in the case were the product of phone hacking or other illegal information gathering.

"I believe that his phone was only hacked to a small extent, and that this was likely controlled by certain individuals at each newspaper," Fancourt stated. "The Duke seemed to assume that every article published was a result of voicemail interception because phone hacking was prevalent within Mirror Group at the time. However, phone hacking was not the sole journalistic tool used at that time, and his claims regarding the other 18 articles did not hold up under careful analysis."

He explained that he had determined the compensation for the prince "for each of the articles and invoices where unlawful information gathering was proven" in order to fully compensate him for the distress he experienced as a result of the illegal activity directed towards him and his loved ones.

In a statement read by his attorney following the ruling, Harry expressed his satisfaction with winning the case.

"I respectfully urge the authorities, financial regulator, and police to fulfill their duty and investigate bringing charges against Daily Mirror Group," Harry stated in his statement.

In June, Prince Harry made history as the highest-ranking royal to testify in a U.K. court case, providing evidence over the course of two days in this particular case.

Harry, along with other British celebrities, filed a lawsuit against MGN for alleged phone hacking.

The Mirror Group has denied any unlawful information gathering in relation to the 207 newspaper stories mentioned in the case, although it previously admitted to phone hacking occurring at its newspapers.