Meghan Markle vs The Press: Duchess ready to 'take the stand against her father' in extraordinary court battle
It has emerged today that Meghan Markle is willing to take the stand in a legal battle with the British press, paving the way for a dramatic High Court showdown with her estranged father, who she has called a liar.
The 38-year-old Duchess of Sussex has brought a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, which owns Mail on Sunday and MailOnline (previously known as Daily Mail), after they reproduced parts of a handwritten note she reportedly sent to her 75-year-old father back in August 2018 -- three months after he couldn't show up at her royal wedding ceremony following a heart attack, MailOnline reports.
The first stage of the case started today at the High Court in London via video link due to coronavirus. It saw the publisher made an application to have parts of Meghan's claim thrown out.
David Sherborne, her celebrity barrister, told the hearing that his client had suffered "great personal anguish and distress" due to an alleged "agenda" the press had against her. Furthermore, he made it clear that Meghan would furnish evidence during any trial in the future.
"The defendant [Associated Newspapers] wants to cross-examine her [Meghan] as to whether that belief is reasonable or not - and they can do that," Sherborne said.
Meghan's decision to confront the paper emerged at the end of the day's proceedings. The Sussexes are believed to have watched the hearing online from Los Angeles, where they have started their new life with baby Archie.
The high-profile case, which is being dubbed 'Markle vs Markle', sees 75-year-old Thomas, the actress's estranged father, ready to give evidence against his own daughter in the so-called box-office trial where a judge would decide who is telling the truth about the letter Meghan wrote to him in August 2018.
Meghan's lawyers lodged court papers on Monday branding Thomas a liar, denying she knew that her influential friends had planned to spill details of her crumbling relationship with her father as well as the contents of her handwritten letter with People magazine in the United States.
According to Thomas, he felt pressured to share her letter with the media claiming its contents were misrepresented and how he was "vilified" in the People piece.
"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," he told the Mail on Sunday.
That said, the duchess would reportedly be asked under oath if she knowingly let her friends leak details of the said letter to the magazine in a bid to attack her father. The five friends, who cannot be named for legal reasons, could also be forced to testify in the coming days.
Nonetheless, Meghan alleges that her estranged father was "harassed and exploited" by the press despite having no communication with him for over two years or asking him if he agrees with her claims.