Meghan Markle’s legal battle against The Mail On Sunday officially kicks off today, as the first High Court hearing will take place via video chat.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the UK Mail on Sunday, for printing a “private and confidential” letter to her estranged father Thomas Markle.
Meghan’s father received the letter in August 2018, months before sections of it were published in the UK Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline in February, 2019.
The handwritten letter was “obviously private correspondence” which detailed Meghan’s “deepest and most private thoughts and feelings about her relationship with her father.”
Meghan’s legal team have claimed that the newspaper “chose to deliberately omit or suppress” parts of the letter, which “intentionally distorted or manipulated” it’s meaning.
The Duchess’ lawyers also said that had the letter been published in full, it would have “undermined the defendant’s intended negative characterisation of the claimant”.
The mother-of-one is seeking damages from Associated Newspapers Ltd for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.
Associated Newspapers have denied Meghan’s claims, and it’s understood they plan to defend the document’s publication by suggesting Meghan put the letter in the public domain by allegedly telling friends about it – who later spoke to People magazine.
However in new court documents, the Duchess has insisted she was unaware that five close friends were planning to speak to People magazine about her strained relationship with Thomas, for an article published in February 2019.
The documents were submitted to the Royal Courts of Justice, ahead of today’s High Court hearing between Meghan and Associated Newspapers.
According to the documents, Meghan’s friends discovered she was distressed about the situation with her father when they visited her in London, but the Duchess maintains she didn’t know they were going to speak to the press about it.
The People magazine article, which was published on February 18, 2019, referred to letters exchanged between Meghan and her father Thomas.
The documents state: “It is admitted that People magazine, a US title, published articles based on interviews given by five unnamed friends of the Claimant in its 18 February 2019 hard copy and online edition and that these interviews contained the text quoted therein.”
“It is further admitted that in the course of these lengthy articles, a brief and passing reference was made to the Letter (as well as the response from the Claimant’s [Duchess of Sussex] father [Thomas Markle].”
“This reference was neither the main focus nor any substantial part of the articles. Further, it did not contain the detailed contents of the Letter and insofar as it purported to summarise the Letter and the Claimant’s [Duchess of Sussex] purpose in sending it was completely wrong.”
The documents also state: “In fact, the Claimant [Duchess of Sussex] did not know that a number of her friends agreed to give an interview about her to People magazine.”
“As she later discovered, following visits to see her in London at the beginning of 2019, some of her close circle of friends became extremely concerned at the aggressive attacks upon her in the media and the palpable and profound impact which this was having upon her, especially as she was vulnerable as well as heavily pregnant at the time.”
“As a result, one of her closest friends decided that they should help by arranging to give anonymous interviews to this American magazine whose Editor was a very good friend of hers in which they might explain what the Claimant [Duchess of Sussex] was truly like (as opposed to the tabloid portrayal of her).”
The latest court documents also included a series of text messages Meghan and her husband Prince Harry sent her father, days before they got married in May 2018.
The Duchess included the text messages in court documents, to prove that she tried to reach out to her father numerous times before their wedding.
The High Court hearing between Meghan and Associated Newspapers will take place remotely later today, due to the time difference in Los Angeles – where Meghan is currently living with her husband Prince Harry and their son Archie.
All legal representatives and journalists reporting on the case will dial into the hearing remotely, while judge Mr Justice Warby will be at the High Court.
According to the Telegraph, Meghan’s lawyers may discuss her finances and the public funding formerly granted to support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s office during today’s hearing.
This would be in response to Associated Newspapers’ claim that Meghan and Harry have “immense wealth and privilege.”
Meghan’s lawyers intend to argue that her role as a public figure shouldn’t compromise her rights.
The Duchess’ plan to sue the newspaper was revealed late last year, in a personal statement released by her husband Prince Harry.
In an emotional message posted on their website, the Duke slammed the British press for “bullying” his wife, and said he feared “history repeating itself” – referencing his late mother, Princess Diana.
Speaking about Meghan’s decision to take legal action against Associated Newspapers, Harry said: “This particular legal action hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media.”
“The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question.”
“In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year.”
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