Dispute over letter to her father
Another win for Meghan – but the fight may not be over yet
Duchess Meghan will not get rid of the allegations of bullying despite denials
© imago images / i Images
Another legal success for Duchess Meghan: Prince Harry’s wife also won the appeal against the publisher of “Mail on Sunday” in the dispute over the publication of a letter to her father. The newspaper is now considering an appeal to the Higher Court.
In the legal dispute between Duchess Meghan and the British newspaper group Associated Newspapers over a letter from the 40-year-old to her father, the judgment has been pronounced in the second instance. Meghan had sued the publisher for the publication of the letter she had written after her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018 and won the case in a London court in February. The newspaper group refused to accept this and appealed.
Duchess Meghan speaks of “victory not just for me”
In its judgment, the court rejected the appeal on Thursday. “It was difficult to see what evidence could have been produced at the trial that would have changed the situation,” said Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos. The first judgment, according to which it would have been proportionate to publish a very small part of the letter but not half of the content, as ANL had done, was correct. The Mail on Sunday announced at noon that it would not be satisfied with the verdict. The newspaper announced that it would now check to appeal to the British Supreme Court.
Meghan described the decision as a “victory not just for me, but for anyone who was ever afraid to stand up for what’s right”. While the verdict sets a precedent, “the most important thing is that we are now brave enough together to reshape a tabloid industry that causes people to be cruel and that benefits from the lies and pain it causes”.
From day one, she saw the process as an important measure of right and wrong, said the Duchess in a statement, accusing the newspaper group of distorting the facts and manipulating the public in order to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers. In the nearly three years that have passed since the proceedings began, she has had to endure “deception, intimidation and calculated attacks”.
“Today the courts – once again – decided in my favor, confirming that the Mail on Sunday […] Has broken the law, wrote Meghan. The courts would have held the defendants accountable, “and I hope we all start to do the same”.
In February, a judge in London’s High Court ruled Meghan’s handwritten letter “personal and private,” making the publication illegal. The publisher of the “Mail on Sunday” based its appeal, among other things, on the testimony of the Duchess’ former PR advisor, Jason Knauf. He said that Meghan wrote the letter knowing that its contents could leak. Meghan has a difficult relationship with her father Thomas Markle, who is divorced from her mother.
Source: “Hello Magazine”, Omid Scobie on Twitter, AFP