I have to keep reminding myself that the Invictus Games are coming up, at long last. We’ve been waiting so long and the Vancouver-Whistler games are almost here. They start on February 8th, but Prince Harry will likely arrive a few days beforehand. Hopefully, Meghan will be there for the whole thing, but nothing has been confirmed. Anyway, this is another reminder that we’re seeing a ratcheted-up negativity about the Sussexes in anticipation of Invictus. The games are usually the Sussexes’ best press all year, and Invictus is arguably Harry’s signature achievement. Expect a lot of bullsh-t coming from the media and the Windsors, timed specifically around the games. Speaking of, Hello Magazine ran this exclusive about how Harry is gearing up for his big royal protection fight in the UK, like… sources claim that’s his big focus right now. I doubt it, but I’m sure British commentators want to believe it.

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.”

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”. 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.

[From Hello]

First of all, you’re telling me that Meghan also delayed a new podcast because of the Southern California fires? Huh. I mean… it might be true, but I just don’t think she would drop a podcast alongside her Netflix show? They would be competing with each other in a sense? As for the stuff about Harry’s big security fight… I find it exhausting. I know he wants to leave no stone unturned, but I’ve wanted him to quit that particular fight for years now. He’s made his point, and people who have paid attention to the years-long battle know how badly he got screwed over, and how his father was totally fine putting Harry and his family in extreme danger with no protection. That’s reason enough not to trust anyone in the institution ever again.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Lemonada Media.