Whispers rippled through the court in the moments before Prince Harry’s lawyer sensationally revealed a settlement had been reached with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.

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.

Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid newspapers - the royal’s latest in his ongoing war against the U.K. press - is set to begin. Opening arguments are due to take place in London’s High Court today,

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry claimed a “monumental” victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

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.

The trial in the Duke of Sussex's legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) — the publisher of The Sun — over allegations of unlawful information gathering by journalists and private investigators working for NGN began in the High Court in London on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

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.

Rupert Murdoch shut down his News of the World tabloid after revelations about hacking, but his News Group Newspapers has denied broader wrongdoing at that outlet or any wrongdoing at the Sun tabloid. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made a rare apology to Prince Harry in settling his privacy invasion lawsuit and will pay him a substantial sum, his lawyer said Wednesday.

A trial begins Tuesday over complaints filed by Prince Harry and a senior British lawmaker against Rupert Murdoch's tabloid newspapers. The trial carries high stakes on both sides of the Atlantic.

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.