The News of the World phone hacking scandal, which resulted in leaked voicemail messages between members of the royal family, has officially ended with the conviction of one of the tabloid's former editors.

Andy Coulson, who edited the publication before becoming Prime Minister David Cameron's official spokesman, was found guilty by a jury for his role in the scandal, while his co-defendant Rebekah Brooks was cleared of all the charges.

The trail was one of the longest and most expensive in British history, and jurors heard endless stories of how journalists employed by Brooks and Coulson to write for both News of the World and The Sun hacked into the private voicemails of hundreds of celebrities, politicans, and even members of the royal family, in the pursuit of exclusive stories.

The trial, which began last year, resulted in the private messages between members of the royal family being made public, including one from 2006 where Prince William called his eventual wife Kate Middleton "babykins" and promised to send her some "cheeky" text messages.

"I've been running around the woods of Aldershot chasing shadows and getting terribly lost, and I walked into some other regiment's ambush, which was slightly embarrassing because I nearly got shot," the prince said to his then-girlfriend in one message he left while attending the Sandhurst Military Academy.

He also told the future Duchess of Cambridge that he would maybe send her some "cheeky" text messages before signing off on the call and saying, "All right, baby, lots of love, um, speak to you soon. Bye bye."

Another hacked voicemail revealed the prince's nickname for his beloved.

"My head's all right. I've just picked up your message. Oh, my little babykins! I hope you are all right," he said in the voicemail.

His joking voicemails with his younger brother, Prince Harry, were also revealed at the time, and revealed that Prince William had referred to his younger, red-headed brother as a "ginger," and put on a high-pitched voice and pretended to be Harry's then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

Coulson is now awaiting sentencing for his convictions of conspiracy to hack phones, conspiracy to corrupt public officials, and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Tags: Prince William Kate Middleton hacking