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Meghan Markle reveals private letter to her father was written at a ‘time of great personal anguish’

The Duchess is taking legal action against a newspaper for publishing the personal letter

Credit: WENN.com

Meghan Markle has revealed that the private letter she wrote to her father was written at a “time of great personal anguish and distress.”

Legal documents filed at the High Court in London on Monday show that the Duchess of Sussex is suing 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.

In papers seen by the Press Association, Meghan’s solicitors say the handwritten letter was “obviously private correspondence” which detailed her “deepest and most private thoughts and feelings about her relationship with her father.”

They added: “The claimant intended the detailed contents of the letter to be private, and certainly did not expect them to be published to the world at large by a national newspaper, and without any warning.”

Meghan’s legal team have also claimed that the newspaper “chose to deliberately omit or suppress” parts of the letter, which “intentionally distorted or manipulated” its 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.

Photo credit: PA images / Getty images – Chris Jackson

Associated Newspapers have denied Meghan’s claims, and revealed their intent to fight the case in the High Court.

The Duchess’ plan to sue the newspaper was revealed earlier this month 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.

“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” he wrote. “I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

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