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 royal is accusing The Sun and The News of the World over decades of phone hacking and unlawful news gathering

News Group Newspapers offered an “unequivocal apology” to the prince for serious intrusion into his private life, as well as that of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Opening arguments in Prince Harry’s civil lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers are scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The trial in Duke of Sussex’s long-running case against the Rupert Murdoch-owned 'The Sun' newspaper was set to begin in London on Jan. 21 Simon Perry is a writer and correspondent at PEOPLE.

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.

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 was suing News Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful activities carried out by journalists and private investigators working for its papers, The Sun and the now defunct News of the World,

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

Harry won an apology and damages from Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids. Could the lawsuit’s end also help heal the rift with his brother, William, and his father, King Charles III?

Prince Harry’s mission to tame the British media has produced results in court. But the jury is out on whether it will have a broader impact.