Prince Harry’s yearslong legal battle against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group took an unexpected turn on Wednesday, after the duke settled his case before the trial was due to get underway.

Prince Harry’s trial against the publisher of The Sun has ended dramatically with an apology from the newspaper’s publisher for “serious intrusion” and unlawful activities over a 15-year period.

Harry had presented the lawsuit as a moral crusade and a legal reckoning for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. In the end, he joined hundreds of other claimants in agreeing to avoid a full trial.