The settlement out of court was the actual aim, of the cae, and all the posturing by both parties was simply part of the bargaining process. ~Thye Queens' personal fortune is more than sufficient to cover the payout (she could buy out Bezos ten times over). In return, Prince Adnrew will disappear into private life.

The Queen and Prince Charles are both fully aware of the damage done to the monarchy by the Queens' sister. Princess Margaret was as louche as her nephew has proved to be, but in a pre-internet, less prurient, more respectful generation, she got away with a lot of it. That wouldn't happen now, so the decks are being cleared.

Andrew is out of the picture. Camilla is shown as being accepted and acceptable - the wife Charles wanted, rather than the one he was bullied into marrying. Perhaps the ghost of the needy, unstable Diana can now be laid. Prince Harry, whose outspoken attitude and robust disregard of expected Royal behaviour was always high-risk, and whose legitimacy, despite all claims to the contrary, remains questioned by many, is also out of the way (by his own choice or by pressure remains unclear).

I have suspected for a long time that the Queen would not long survive the loss of her husband. I also expect that Charles will not reign for long. The affection of the people is mostly given these days to William and Kate, who have already made clear the direction they want the 'Firm' to go in - more open, more involved, less distant. William is personable, compassionate and, when he wants to be, funny. Kate is a beauty with a good mind and an iron will. It won't be hard for them to persuade the ageing Charles to step down after a few years - he has had too many years of relative freedom in which to actively work on projects that were meaningful to him. The constraints of being King will irk him, and he no longer has the energy, even if he had the will, for extensive reform of the Monarchy.