Meghan and the money: Are these the real reasons that our lost royal has finally settled?

Prince Harry, our noble dragon slayer, has laid down his sword.

With moments to spare, as teams of lawyers and a phalanx of press filled the High Court, he agreed to settle with News Group Newspapers (NGN) and avert what was expected to be the 10-week-long media trial of the century.

It is the last thing anyone expected.

The Duke of Sussex, so vocal and so determined in his battle against the tabloid press, will now not have the full-scale “public inquiry” he was accused of wanting, as part of his quest to “change the media landscape” forever.

Far from jetting into Britain to lay bare the tabloid grievances that have tormented him for so long, he accepted the settlement from home.

The key question is, why?

Firstly, it cannot be ignored that this is a personal, emotional success for Prince Harry.

For a man who has been so open about his pain and grief, the apology issued by the publisher about his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, will carry great meaning.

That NGN “acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family” will also be incredibly important to Harry.

But can the Duke claim that, as hoped, he has changed the media landscape with his crusade? Not quite.

In this regard, it is not what was said in NGN’s “full and unequivocal apology” that is key, but what was missing.

There is no admission of phone hacking, surveillance or misuse of private information at the Sun; just the News of the World, which closed more than a decade ago. Admissions of “unlawful activity” are confined to private investigators, with no executive heads rolling, no forensic examination of any cover-up, and no airing of new details of the “serious intrusion” that NGN admits to.

As such, one wonders how quickly the elation of the personal victory may, behind the scenes as the adrenaline wears off, give way to deflation for the man who has called holding the British press to account his “life’s work”.

Having set himself up as a champion of the voiceless (“I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned,” he cried poetically, after a legal victory last year), Prince Harry now finds himself – in terms of taking the stand – back among them.

His quest to bring down part of the Murdoch empire has ended in a fizzle rather than a bang.

Rift with family remains significant

What could have persuaded the Duke to stop at this stage?

The decision will inevitably raise questions about his finances – the settlement was an eight-figure sum, we are told. While other celebrities and civilians settled, with some saying they could not afford to pay the legal fees, Prince Harry planned to be the one who saw it through, with money as no object.

It is not clear to what extent his settlement is materially or morally different to the one he told the world his elder brother had made, with 2023 court papers claiming Prince William “has recently settled his claim against NGN behind the scenes”. One brother did so in private, and the other in public.

There will be question marks, too, about whether someone finally convinced Harry, a family man who is forging a new life on another continent, that his energies might be better spent elsewhere.

The cost, both financially and mentally – as he relived his unhappy younger years – was huge, and the rift with his family significant, as his legal battles came to play a “central piece” in this, he said previously.

The settlement comes at a strange time for the Sussexes: Meghan’s Netflix show postponed after the Los Angeles fires, a blistering Vanity Fair cover story about their alleged failings, and questions over their professional futures.

Their Spotify deal has ended, though not before Harry’s more embarrassing ideas – a podcast inviting famous guests to talk about why they, not him, were sociopaths, no less – had made their way into the public domain.

His Netflix show about Polo did not generate the buzz it might have expected, his bestselling memoir is long done and dusted, and his relations with the Royal family remain on a scale between strained and non-existent.

He is preoccupied with the ongoing issue of security in Britain (note a line in his barrister’s statement, alleging that the press coverage since he began his legal claim had “created serious concerns for the security of him and his family”), and may want to concentrate his energies on progressing this through the courts.

Last year, a reputable US magazine – whose report has never been contested by the Sussexes’ team – recorded that the Duchess of Sussex wished Harry “could let go of these lawsuits” and “live in the moment”, wanting him to be “free of all of this” despite understanding that “his love” for her and their children meant he could not.

Those who warned that such a high-profile, lengthy court case would air too much dirty laundry on all sides – a Pyrrhic victory to rival Meghan vs Mail on Sunday, even if he had won – will be grateful for the escape.

That proposed ten-week trial was over in little more than 24 hours, just minutes of which were in court.

‘Only predator in tabloid jungle is Prince Harry’

As the dust settles, the Duke’s only remaining media target is Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, which he will meet in court next January.

He will also be appealing a High Court ruling about his security provision in the UK.

His next public trip will be for his Invictus Games, always a boost for a Prince who is deeply admired by those who take part. And then… who knows?

Last year, Harry said: “One of the reasons why I brought the claim...is specifically for truth and accountability.”

His lawyers, as well as the couple’s fans and those who support his media battles, have hailed this as a “monumental victory” in doing just that.

The Duke will be able to bask in the credit. Lord Watson, the former Labour deputy leader and Harry’s co-complainant, said: “I once said that the big beasts of the tabloid jungle have no predators. I was wrong, they have Prince Harry.”

In a statement calling for the police and Parliament to step in, their barrister said: “The rule of law must now run its full course.”

A pre-settlement Prince Harry insisted: “The mission continues.”

This is nothing close to “mission accomplished”. But those with Harry’s best interests at heart will hope that it is enough.