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By CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster and Lauren Said-Moorhouse in London

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Whispers rippled through the court in the moments before Prince Harry’s lawyer sensationally revealed a settlement had been reached with Rupert Murdoch’s media empire.
 
But for those at London’s High Court on Wednesday, the 11th-hour drama hadn’t been entirely unexpected.
 
Rumblings emerged the day before, on what should have been the first day of the trial over alleged unlawful information gathering. But repeated adjournments prevented proceedings from even starting.
 
Harry and his fellow claimant, ex-Labour Party politician Tom Watson, later heralded the agreement as a “monumental victory,” after receiving an full apology from News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.  
 
“NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun,” it said in a lengthy statement.
 
The publisher also apologized to Harry for various invasions of privacy through illegal practices by journalists and private investigators working for the News of the World, which shut in 2011. 

Now, to be clear, NGN has stressed that none of its staff at The Sun, which is still around today, were ever involved in any unlawful activities, only private investigators. And “there are strong controls and processes in place at all our titles today to ensure this cannot happen now,” a spokesperson for NGN said in a separate statement to CNN.
 
Even so, the apology was extraordinary given that “Murdoch is not exactly a man known for apologizing,” as CNN’s chief media analyst Brian Stelter put it. “His pugnacious media brands tend to resist any whiff of weakness or wrongdoing,” he wrote.
 
For those watching at home, the settlement seemed like an unexpected about-face from the 40-year-old royal who had previously been so resolute about seeing the case through.
 
After all, Harry recently reiterated his position, telling a New York Times summit last month that he was “the last person that can actually achieve” accountability, as legal costs had pushed so many others pursuing similar claims to settle, and the duke wanted to help them get “closure.”
 
Civil cases are designed to be settled out of court. The tabloid group has paid huge sums to victims of phone hacking and other illegal activities carried out by the News of the World, and settled claims brought by more than 1,300 people.
 
Harry had been willing to continue despite the potentially hefty costs as the case reflected his more deeply personal mission: seeking truth and accountability.
 
He has also relentlessly pursued a wider war against tabloid newspapers in the United Kingdom, launching civil actions against multiple publishers here, because he wants to help change the country’s media landscape.
 
For Harry, the invasion of privacy goes back to his childhood. He has often recalled watching his mother suffer from it, before he experienced it himself and then felt his wife had been forced to endure it, too. Getting NGN to include an apology referencing “the extensive coverage and serious intrusion” into Diana’s private life will probably have been incredibly meaningful to him. 
 
Speaking outside the court afterward, Harry’s co-claimant in the suit, former deputy Labour Party leader Watson, described the royal as a “predator” taking on the “big beast of the tabloid jungle.” He praised the duke for “unwavering support and determination under extraordinary pressure.”
 
But in achieving the settlement, Harry may have felt that he got as much and gone as far as he could through civil avenues. He’s walking away with NGN’s extensive apology and hefty damages – understood to be an eight-figure total sum for both claimants.
 
Had the trial got underway, the duke’s legal team was set to argue that illegal techniques were widespread at the NGN tabloids and claim that the practices were well-known by executives and senior staff who allowed them to continue.
 
The settlement led the judge to vacate the trial, meaning those allegations will now not be tested. NGN has previously and continues to reject any claims of a cover-up or destruction of evidence.  

“This matter was also investigated fully by the police and CPS (Crown Prosecution Service) between 2012-2015, at the conclusion of which it was found that there was no case to answer,” a spokesperson for NGN said in a statement.
 
Whether or not a fresh police investigation follows, as Harry and Watson hope, will be the big question in the days and weeks ahead. Watson said outside court that their dossier of information would be passed to authorities.
 
London’s Metropolitan Police said Wednesday that it had not yet received anything from their legal team. “We await any correspondence from the parties involved, which we will respond to in due course,” the police said in a statement shared with CNN. 

Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said in an interview on LBC Radio on Friday that “much of the material in the civil litigation actually came from those (previous) investigations” before adding that it would review any material sent to the force. 

Charles meets 99-year-old D-Day veteran. 

Earlier this week, King Charles met a 99-year-old war veteran during a tour of a local museum in Aberdeen, a port city on Scotland's northeast coast. The museum says its mission is to preserve the heritage of the historic Gordon Highlanders regiment. Upon seeing the King, Jim Glennie, a veteran of the Gordons who landed at Sword Beach on D-Day at the age of just 18, cheered, “Long time no see!” Charles later told Glennie, who was unable to join events for the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy last summer, that “you’re a great example to us all, if I may say so, you really are,” Britain’s PA Media reported. The King added that he will send the veteran a birthday message when he turns 100 in August. Meanwhile, Queen Camilla took part in a separate engagement, meeting students and staff at the University of Aberdeen – where she is chancellor – to learn about different programs in place at the university to support members of the local community. 

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Camilla congratulates staff at hospital opening.

It’s been non-stop for the Queen this week. Just a day after her trip to Aberdeen, she officially opened a new emergency department at the Great Western Hospital in Wiltshire, southwest England – a significant expansion costing £33.5 million (around $42 million). The Queen praised staff members for their excellent work and revealed that she had received “very good feedback because I have had friends who come here and grandchildren who have been here on several occasions,” according to PA. Afterward, Camilla visited Prospect Hospice, a nearby end-of-life care service, which was celebrating its 45th anniversary. “I wish we could clone these places because there aren’t nearly enough,” Camilla, who has been president of the hospice for more than a decade, said during the visit. “We just have to keep them going.”

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Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, made us all jealous this week during a visit to the charity “Dogs for Autism” in Alton, Hampshire, where she learnt about the positive impact assistance dogs can have on people with autism. The newest member of the team, a 9-week-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel called Louis, took a particular liking to the royal, who turned 60 on Monday. Ahead of her birthday, a new photograph of the duchess, taken by Christina Ebenezer earlier this month, was released. Take a look at the portrait here. 

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Princess Anne embarked on a two-day trip to South Africa earlier this week to learn about various initiatives focused on helping disadvantaged and overlooked communities in the country.  

On the first day of the tour, the King’s sister visited the South African Riding for the Disabled Association, which offers free equine therapy to the most vulnerable in society and has supported thousands of disadvantaged children and their families to date. Previous attendees have gone on to win six gold, two silver and four bronze medals at the Paralympics, according to Buckingham Palace. 

As Anne handed out rosettes after a riding lesson, some youngsters were clearly intrigued by the princess – a keen horseback rider herself, having competed in equestrian events at the 1976 Olympic Games. “How many ponies do you have?” asked 11-year-old Lashwil. “More than I should have,” Anne replied, according to PA.  

The princess also visited the British High Commission Residence Garden in Pretoria and planted a “Princess Anne” rose in the garden.

The following day, the princess – who is president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – unveiled a memorial to honor the more than 1,700 predominantly Black South African military laborers who served in World War I. Anne later visited the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, exploring the legacy of the former archbishop and Nobel Peace laureate and as well as how his work continues today through the organization’s programs.

"Let’s unite in our commitment to take action, to speak up and to ensure that the words ‘Never Forget’ are a guiding light that charts a path towards a better, brighter and more tolerant future for us all."

– Queen Camilla

Queen Camilla gave a powerful speech Thursday at a Holocaust memorial service hosted by the Anne Frank Trust, which helps young people to “learn and reflect on the dangers of antisemitism and all forms of prejudice,” according to the charity’s website. As we mentioned last week, King Charles is set to join other heads of state at commemorations in Poland on Monday marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. 

CNN's Lauren Kent and Billy Stockwell contributed to this newsletter.