Prince Harry's personal mission to bring his family back to the UK - exclusive report
For the Duke of Sussex, this was personal. He had vowed to make his crusade against the newspapers that harmed him and those closest to him his "life's work".
So while he didn't have his day in court, the apology and eight-figure payout he accepted for "serious intrusion" into his private life and that of his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, will have brought some closure last week.
"It's just wonderful that Harry fought for – and gained – an apology to his mother," his uncle Earl Spencer said afterwards adding, "She would be incredibly touched at that and rightly proud."
The Duke's settlement with News Group Newspapers has also left him free to focus on his next move.
He had been due to take the witness stand in mid-February, straight off the back of the 2025 Vancouver-Whistler Invictus Games, but can instead head home to be with Meghan, Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three.
His legal battles are far from over however, with Harry now focused on taking the fight for his family's protection to court in April.
And his next case that may prove decisive in his relationship with his father King Charles.
Harry's lawyers will appeal a High Court judgement upholding a Home Office decision to downgrade his security provision in the UK when he stepped back as a senior working royal in 2020.
A friend tells HELLO! "The goal for Prince Harry is simple.
He wants to ensure the safety of himself and his family while in the UK so his children can know his home country and so he can help support his patronages and their important work."
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Harry has not brought his children to the UK since the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee in 2022, meaning the King has met his youngest granddaughter Lilibet only once in person.
Harry is said to believe his father should intervene on his behalf to have his full protection reinstated, but sources close to the King have said it would be "wholly inappropriate" for him to challenge a Government decision.
So could the stalemate finally be broken in the High Court this Spring?
If the Duke were able to successfully appeal the ruling on his security, it could pave the way for him to build bridges with his father and bring his children back to visit.
"The next case is fundamentally important to him in terms of his family," says a source who has known Harry for many years.
Last week's court victory, while unrelated to the next one, will no doubt have boosted his morale.
"It's not quite the end of the story for him, but it's a major chapter that's been closed and dealt with," adds the source.
It also came as a silver lining in a very challenging week for the Duke and Duchess.
The settlement came amid fresh scrutiny of him and wife Meghan in the United States after a bruising 8,000-word profile of them in Vanity Fair, the magazine dubbed America's "celebrity bible".
It included sources who have been part of their new life describing the Duchess as a difficult employer, others outlining setbacks in the couple's professional lives and even complaints from fellow residents of Montecito about the unwanted attention now directed at their town as a result of their royal neighbours.
The takedown landed days after Meghan was forced to postpone the launch of her new Netflix lifestyle series With love, Meghan, until March 4 to "focus on the needs of those impacted by the wildfires" in her home state of California.
HELLO! understands that a series of new podcast episodes from Meghan has also been pushed back as a result.
She and Harry instead set out to do what they would almost certainly have done in their former life as working royals, dishing out hugs to console those fleeing the fires and handing out food parcels in Pasadena.
"They just want to help," a source told HELLO!, after photographs of their outing were met with accusations of a PR stunt.
Undeterred, Meghan made a further visit to deliver lunch and beauty products to Altadena Girls Fire Recovery, while Harry was pictured meeting firefighters in Salinas just ahead of his court settlement.
But it seems there is still some work to do to counter the recent damage to their brand.
To read the full exclusive report, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
