Prince Harry has claimed a “monumental” victory over Rupert Murdoch’s UK newspaper group, after it made an unprecedented apology for intruding into his private life for more than a decade.

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, was suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, for unlawfully obtaining information about him between 1996 and 2011.

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“In a monumental victory today, News UK have admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices,” Harry and his co-claimant Tom Watson, a former lawmaker, said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Today the lies are laid bare. Today, the cover-ups are exposed. And today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived” said the statement read by Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, outside the High Court.

NGN offered a “full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion … into his private life,” Sherborne said.

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The publisher also apologised for intruding on the life of Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana.

NGN agreed to pay Harry “substantial damages”.

It has now settled more than 1,300 claims – including with celebrities and politicians – without going to trial, spending more than 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion) in payouts and legal fees.

The trial to consider Harry’s case, and a similar lawsuit from former MP Tom Watson, had been due to start on Tuesday. But after a one-day delay, the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement.

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them,” Sherborne said outside the High Court in London.

In a statement, an NGN spokesperson said its apology was for the unlawful actions of private investigators working for The Sun, not of its journalists.

“There are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now. There was no voicemail interception on The Sun,” the spokesperson said, adding that the settlement marked the likely end of any lawsuits, and that future cases were liable to be thrown out.