'Secret payment' revelation will drive 'deeper wedge' between Prince …

Hopes of reconciliation between Prince Harry and Prince William seem to dwindle as elder brother reportedly received a secret payment to settle 'secret phone hacking case.' The settlement claims were revealed on Tuesday, April 25th, 2023, as a three-day hearing in London involving the Duke of Sussex, and actor Hugh Grant got under way. The Duke is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, over alleged unlawful information gathering at its titles.

However, according to Harry's legal team, William, 41, "similarly brought a claim against NGN which it settled for a very large sum of money (around GBP1 million),in 2020 without bringing any strike out/summary judgment application on limitation... The settlement of his brother's claim once more supports the contention that there was a Secret Agreement in place." It was revealed that NGN had a "secret agreement" in place with the royal family which meant that he could not bring a claim against the publisher forward.

According to the Telegraph, Prince William was "completely unaware" of the contents of his brother's witness statement. The bombshell was dropped just 10 days before their father's coronation. The outlet also claims that this ordeal has left "Coronation peace hopes in tatters."

The revelation of the secret payment will only serve to drive a deeper wedge between them, per sources cited by the outlet.

Sources close to both the Sussexes and the Waleses indicated that they did not expect any rapprochement when Prince Harry flies to the UK for the Coronation on May 6th, 2023.