LONDON (Reuters) - Prince Harry claimed victory in his long-running legal battle against Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group, after reaching a deal to settle his lawsuit which included an apology for unlawful actions relating to the Sun for the first time.

Prince Harry has settled his High Court privacy invasion case against the publisher of The Sun on what was due to be the first day of a weeks-long civil trial - in an "extraordinary" development.

News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology” to Harry for the “serious intrusion” into his private life by the Sun between 1996 and 2011.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers gave Harry an “unequivocal apology,” admitting for the first time to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay what it called substantial damages.

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.

LONDON (Reuters) -Prince Harry claimed a "monumental" victory over Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper group on Wednesday after the publisher settled his lawsuit, admitting unlawful actions at its Sun tabloid for the first time and paying substantial damages.

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.

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.

The prince got his long-sought apology from the UK tabloid publisher, and Murdoch gets to avoid a potentially embarrassing trial.

Rupert Murdoch’s UK publishing business has paid out more than £1bn over the phone-hacking scandal and its subsequent legal fees, with the latest settlement involving Prince Harry reported to be at least £10m.

Harry pulled the plug on a high stakes lawsuit against a Rupert Murdoch-owned British tabloid after receiving an apology.