The Duchess of Sussex is suing publisher Associated Newspapers after two of its newspapers, the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, published five articles which reproduced parts of a letter she sent her father. Meghan claims that publishing the handwritten letter breached her privacy and copyright. Yet, Associated Newspapers has hit back and said Meghan violated her own privacy when she permitted five friends to speak to People magazine where one of them first mentioned the letter.
After reading People’s article, Thomas Markle decided to show parts of the real letter to the newspapers.
Meghan has fought to keep her friends’ identities concealed and won this court battle in August.
However, Associated Newspapers recently announced its intention to use the unauthorised biography, ‘Finding Freedom’ by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, as evidence and amend its defence claim.
Yet Justin Rushbrooke QC, Meghan’s attorney, said in written submissions that the book was not authorised by the Sussexes.
He said: “The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book.”
Both authors reiterated this message, although there is a page in the book which concedes that the biographers did talk to the Sussexes “when appropriate”.
Mr Rushbrooke also claimed Mr Scobie and Ms Durand “were not given the impression that the claimant wanted the contents of the letter to be reproduced in the book” and suggested the extracts were taken from the Mail’s articles.
READ MORE: Palace blunder exposed: Meghan was ‘never going to be routine royal’
The Duchess of Sussex announced her intention to sue in October last year.
However, the 10-day trial is not expected to begin until January and may result in Meghan seeing her father once again after two years without speaking to one another.
Yet, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl claimed Meghan is “adamant that she will have her day in court”, despite this potentially “deeply uncomfortable” meeting and the ongoing challenges of the lawsuit.
A source close to Meghan said: “There’s no wavering.
“She is resolute that she intends to see this to the end.”
Speaking last month, the insider told Vanity Fair: “It’s costing a lot of money, but no one has been in the dark about the scale of this and what it’s going to cost.
“The Duchess’ eyes were wide open when she went into this, and she feels as strongly now as she did then that she has to draw a line in the sand.”
