Prince Harry will be a reported GBP£10 million (A$19.66 million) better off following a last-minute settlement of his claim against Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper.

UK subsidiary News Group Newspapers acknowledged the phone hacking intrusion and misuse of private information by the Sun and then Sunday stablemate the News of the World, offering a “full and unequivocal apology”.

The younger son of King Charles III, Prince Harry and former Labour MP Tom Watson were to have taken the case to trial; it was reported that they were the only two remaining of more than 1300 claimants, the others having settled privately.

News is reported to have spent more than GBP£1 billion ($1.96 billion) settling claims, which appear as a special item in group accounts. It has written off the goodwill value of the daily masthead. In a statement, News said it would have disputed that evidence was destroyed and it continues to deny those allegations.

Chief executive Rebekah Brooks was editor of the The Sun at the time of the allegations, and claimed in 2014 that she had run “a clean ship”.

The prince still has a case against the publisher of the Daily Mail scheduled for next year.