Setback for Harry and Meghan in legal battle with UK tabloids

In a setback to Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, in their bitter legal battle against the British tabloids, a high court judge struck down key claims Friday in a lawsuit that Meghan brought against The Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter she sent to her father.

>> Mark LandlerThe New York Times
Published : 1 May 2020, 03:41 PM
Updated : 1 May 2020, 03:41 PM

The judge, Mark Warby, ruled that the newspaper would not be judged on whether it had acted dishonestly; had stirred up conflict between Meghan, who is also known as the Duchess of Sussex, and her father, Thomas Markle; or had published offensive and intrusive articles about the duchess.

Instead, Warby said, the court would decide only whether the publication of the letter had violated her privacy. The duchess’ law firm, Schillings, said she would press forward with the case but expressed disappointment that the judge did not consider the newspaper’s motives relevant.

“We are surprised to see that his ruling suggests that dishonest behavior is not relevant,” the firm said in a statement. “We feel honesty and integrity are at the core of what matters; or as it relates to The Mail on Sunday.”

Lawyers for the duchess said they would not appeal the decision but argued that the rest of their case remained strong.

At the heart of the case is an anguished, five-page letter that the duchess wrote to Thomas Markle, a former Hollywood lighting designer, in August 2018, four months after he was a no-show at her wedding to Prince Harry. In it, she accused her father of breaking her heart into a “million pieces” by speaking to the tabloids about their estrangement while refusing to take her phone calls.

The Mail on Sunday obtained the letter, presumably from Thomas Markle, and published it in February 2019. The paper’s owner, Associated Newspapers, contended that Thomas Markle had been under no legal obligation to keep the letter private and that the duchess, as a public figure, should not have expected it to remain confidential.

Last month, the couple, who have relocated to Los Angeles, notified The Mail and three other tabloids — The Sun, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Express — that they would no longer engage with them. In a letter, a spokesman for the couple accused the papers of “distorted, false or invasive” coverage.

© 2020 New York Times News Service