Royal Revenge: Meghan Markle Accuses 2 Tabloids Of Harrassing, Exploiting Her Father
The legal war between Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and some of the U.K's biggest publications intensifies after their recent virtual preliminary hearing on Friday (April 24).
In her lawsuit, Meghan Markle accused Mail on Sunday and MailOnline for allegedly "harassing," "manipulating" and "exploiting" his father Thomas Markle, which have caused their father-and-daughter relationship to drift apart.
It came after the 38-year-old ex-royal filed a case against the Associated Newspapers after publishing a "private and confidential" letter she gave to her estranged father during their royal wedding in May 2018.
With this, it was mentioned that Mail on Sunday has published two articles while MailOnline released three write-ups containing excerpts of the handwritten letters of the former "Suits" star to her father.
The civil lawsuit cites violation of Britain's data protection law, copyright infringement, and misuse of private information to satisfy the reader's "curiosity."
Associated Newspapers Slams Meghan's Wrongful Accusations
The publication, on the other hand, has denied all the allegations. The group is determined to fight the legal battle.
Associated Newspapers representative Antony White told Justice Warby -- representative of the Sussexes -- that the accusations of Meghan were irrelevant and have no proper legal grounds.
"In this context it appears that the claimant has seen fit to put these allegations on the record without having spoken to Mr. Markle, verifying these allegations with him or obtaining his consent (she admits ... that she has had no contact with him since the wedding)," White mentioned.
Moreover, White clapped back at Meghan's claims that the Associated Newspapers "acted dishonestly" when determining which parts of the letters should be published.
"It is extremely common for the media to summarise or edit documents when reporting current events, and that is not a basis for an allegation of dishonesty," White added.
Prince Harry And Meghan's Emotional Messages To Thomas Markle
Earlier this week, Meghan and Prince Harry's emotional text messages to Thomas were revealed as part of the 33-page response to Daily Mail.
On May 5, 2018, the Duchess of Sussex messaged her father to ask if everything was okay and if he needed any assistance. Meghan even tried to arrange security for her father's protection against the aggressive media before their royal wedding.
She never got a call or text from Thomas but learned that he was hospitalized after he issued a tell-all interview with U.S. gossip site TMZ.
The Pleading Prince
Days later, the 75-year-old Markle apologized that he would not be able to attend her daughter's nuptials.
The Sussexes tried to call Thomas, but he was unable to answer any of it.
Prince Harry then sent a text message saying that he and Meghan "understand the circumstances" and there's no need to apologize. He also advised his father-in-law not to issue any public statement as this "will only make the situation worse."
"If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don't involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to you. Thanks!" Prince Harry added.
