Legal action by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, against a British tabloid for breaching her privacy had its first court hearing on Friday, with the newspaper’s lawyer attempting to have claims that it had acted dishonestly struck out.
Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry, is suing Associated Newspapers over articles its Mail on Sunday newspaper printed in February last year which included parts of a letter she had sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
The case is the latest step in growing hostility between the media and the couple, now based in North America, who announced this week they would have “zero engagement” with four of Britain’s top tabloids.
Lawyers for the duchess say the letter’s publication was a misuse of private information and breached her copyright. They are seeking aggravated damages from the paper.
As part of the claim, the lawyers accuse the Mail and other tabloids of harassing, humiliating and manipulating Thomas Markle, and contributing towards a fallout between father and daughter.
They argue the Mail had deliberately omitted parts of the letter, which was never intended to be made public, to paint the royals in a poor light.
Antony White, the lawyer representing the Mail, sought at a pre-trial hearing on Friday to have allegations the paper had acted dishonestly and had stoked the rift removed from the case, along with references to other articles about the royal which she says were false.
Read also: Senegal’s confirmed COVID-19 cases exceed 500
He said it was “remarkable” the claim about the treatment of Markle had been made without the duchess having contacted her father to see if he agreed.
Given Britain’s coronavirus lockdown, Friday’s hearing – one of the first stages in the legal action – was held by video, with lawyers and journalists joining remotely.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.