Meghan Markle's father is 'confident' of coming out a winner in her legal battle with newspapers
Meghan Markle's half-brother has said their father Thomas Markle Sr. is "confident" about winning his court battle that involves his estranged daughter. Thomas Jr. claimed the 75-year-old is ready to take the stand to defend his actions and isn't worried about the ongoing privacy court case, according to New Idea.
Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers for publishing parts of a letter she allegedly wrote to her father in confidence.
“Our dad will have no problem winning his case,” Thomas Jr said. “He’s got all his documents in order, everything is ready. He’s ready to go. He’s calm and collected.”
Thomas Jr. also claimed his father his still holding a grudge because Prince Harry did not ask him before marrying his daughter. “My dad has always been upset that Harry never asked him formally for his daughter’s hand in marriage,” he said.
This comes just days after Meghan lost an early round of her privacy battle against the British publication.
A London High Court judge dismissed claims made by Harry and Meghan that the Associated Newspapers Ltd "stirred up" a dispute between the Duchess of Sussex and her estranged father by publishing a letter she had written to him in 2018.
Following an application filed by Associated Newspapers -- publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline -- Meghan's claims that the reports were part of a media "agenda" against her and that journalists had caused the rift with her father were struck out.
The court also dismissed allegations that the paper acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter in its reports.
The dismissal was part of legal action against Associated Newspapers, launched by Harry and Meghan after the couple alleged that the media firm had misused private information and indulged in copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act by publishing a "private and confidential" handwritten letter from Meghan to her dad.
With these provisions struck out, the case will now center on whether Meghan had a reasonable expectation of privacy over the letter.
Justice Warby said the ruled out parts can be revived at a later date, provided they are put on a proper legal basis.
"Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded. Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed. I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties," the judge said in a statement, The Sun reported.
The statement continued: "I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the 'heart' of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018. Some aspects of the case that I have struck out at this stage may be revived if they are put in proper form."
The publication of the letter has reportedly further strained the relationship between Meghan and her father.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seeking aggravated damages from the paper.