Meghan Markle wins privacy case against UK tabloid that published father’s letter

The Duchess of Sussex, formerly known as Meghan Markle, has won a privacy case filed against the publisher of the United Kingdom’s The Mail on Sunday for its decision to publish extracts of a private letter sent to her estranged father before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.

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At issue was whether The Mail on Sunday misused Meghan’s private information, breached her copyright and violated data protection legislation when it decided to publish portions of the five-page letter.

In a summary judgment issued Thursday, Judge Mark Warby wrote that “the only tenable justification” for publishing parts of the letter “was to correct some inaccuracies about the letter” contained in an article published by People magazine in February 2019. However, he added that the excerpts subsequently published by The Mail on Sunday “were not a necessary or proportionate means of serving that purpose.”

“For the most part they did not serve that purpose at all,” he wrote. “Taken as a whole the disclosures were manifestly excessive and hence unlawful.”

Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, said he was “shocked” by the People article, which he claimed wrongly represented him as “dishonest, manipulative, publicity-seeking, uncaring and cold-hearted, leaving a loyal and dutiful daughter devastated,” according to court records. He subsequently reached out to a reporter at The Mail on Sunday to share his daughter’s letter.

Attorneys representing Associated Newspapers argued that Meghan had a limited expectation of privacy given her role as a “high-ranking member” of the British royal family. However, Warby rejected the claim, writing Thursday that the duchess “had a reasonable expectation the content of the letter would remain private.”

The summary judgment issued Thursday allowed for the case to be settled without going to trial. A spokesman for Associated Newspapers told BBC News that the company was considering appealing the decision.

“We are very surprised by today’s summary judgment and disappointed at being denied the chance to have all the evidence heard and tested in open court at a full trial,” the spokesman said.

In a separate statement obtained by BBC News, Meghan praised the courts for holding Associated Newspapers accountable “for their illegal and dehumanizing practices.”

“For these outlets, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships, and very real sadness,” she said. “The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep.”

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