Meghan Markle vs The Press: Duchess had no contact with her dad for two years and yet claimed tabloids were harassing him
The London high court recently heard that Meghan Markle who accused the UK tabloids of ‘harassing and manipulating’ her father, Thomas Markle, has not even talked to him for two years or asked him if he agrees with her claims.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers, owner of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, for damaging her relationship with her 75-year-old father, who is a retired television lighting director and director of photography. Meghan alleged that the media company had misquoted from the letter she sent to him.
The first court hearing in the privacy case started on Friday, April 24, where the publisher presented an application before the court of justice requesting to have parts of Meghan's claim discarded. Associated Newspapers’ attorney, Antony White QC, told Justice Warby that it is 'curious' that The Mail on Sunday is accused of 'harassing, humiliating, manipulating and exploiting' the 38-year-old’s father even though she has not spoken to him for two years.
He added that allegations made by Meghan about her father 'appear to have been put on to the record without the claimant (Ms Markle) having contacted her father to see if he agrees with them'. The ‘Suits’ actress and Prince Harry reportedly attended the hearing online from Los Angeles, California, given the coronavirus lockdown.
In the court documents filed against the publishing company, Meghan has accused The Mail on Sunday of breaching her privacy, copyright and data protection rights after it published the letter she sent to her father in August 2018, three months after she tied the knot with Duke of Sussex. Her legal team also claimed that Meghan was 'shocked and deeply upset' when her 'private letter' to Thomas was made public.
However, Associated Newspapers has denied the allegations, especially the one where Meghan claimed that the publisher edited the letter in such a way that it changed the meaning of her words. White also argued some segments of Meghan’s claim for damages is 'inadmissible' and 'should be struck out on the grounds of disproportionality'.
He added if the court finds the claims in her favor it 'would have consequences for the freedom of expression the press enjoys'. The publisher said that it will contest the case claiming it published the February 10, 2019, story in the public interest.
The media company has also alleged that on February 6, 2019, just four days before The Mail on Sunday piece was published, Meghan herself had 'expressly or tacitly' allowed her friends to leak the letter’s content to PEOPLE magazine, breaching her privacy. It claimed that Meghan’s 'immaculate' handwriting in the letter is proof that she wanted it to get published.
However, the court papers published earlier this week, stated that Meghan did not know that her friends were going to reveal her relationship with her father to the magazine.
Her father, Thomas, who is lives in Rosarito, Mexico, has also claimed that he shared the letter in pressure with the publishing company after the words of the letter were misquoted and he was 'vilified' in the US article. He told The Mail on Sunday: “I have to defend myself. I only released parts of the letter because other parts were so painful. The letter didn't seem loving to me. I found it hurtful.”
David Sherborne, counsel for Meghan, in his opening statement, said that it is 'important to bear in mind' that the case is about privacy. He also stated that this is 'not surprising' given that the publisher 'disclosed to the whole world the detailed contents of a private letter of a daughter to her father'.
According to reports, the routine hearing on Friday is the beginning of a full high court trial, which has been labeled 'Markle vs Markle', in late 2020 or early 2021 that could see Meghan and her father coming against each other and giving evidence.
Meanwhile, experts have said that Meghan is 'playing a very high stakes game'. Mark Stephens, a partner at Howard Kennedy, told Newsweek: “This has become a very high stakes game for Meghan because ultimately it gets into a situation of whether she's telling the truth. All of her five friends are going to have to come into the case. They're going to have to be cross-examined, she's going to have to be cross-examined.”
“The Mail on Sunday's QC is a brilliant cross-examiner. Even if she wins the case on a technicality she's going to lose the war. She's going to have huge lumps taken out of her reputationally,” Stephens added.
Gavin Millar QC, of Matrix Chambers, has said that Meghan’s accusations against The Mail on Sunday will hit her back as he said: “I think the way the claim has been pleaded is overblown. They've turned what ought to be a very straight-forward case about the correspondence and the privacy issues into a sort of public inquiry into the Mail's journalism over a long period.”
“There's a debate about whether the court should allow these kinds of things to go on. I think the court will pare the claim down from the way it's been pleaded and narrow it down. I think the court will do that and it should be done,” Millar added.