Royals: Meghan Markle's father may take the stand against his daughter in privacy case

Meghan Markle’s father may take the stand against his daughter over a claim a newspaper unlawfully published one of her letters to him.

Thomas Markle may give evidence in his daughter’s legal case against a British tabloid.

The Duchess of Sussex cannot claim a right to family privacy because she allowed friends to leak negative stories about her father, it is claimed.

Meghan “caused, permitted or authorised” briefings to a US magazine about her troubled relationship with Thomas Markle after her wedding, it is alleged.

The claim is made in legal papers submitted by Associated Newspapers, publisher of The Mail on Sunday, in response to Meghan’s legal action against the paper.

She is suing it for misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act for publishing a private letter she wrote to her father after marrying Harry in May 2018. Mr Markle did not attend the ceremony after reports of a family rift.

The Daily Mail reports today that Mr Markle was prepared to take the stand against the Duchess of Sussex as a key witness for the defence in the case.

Mr Markle, 75, has given lawyers previously unseen text messages sent in the build-up to Meghan’s wedding, according to a report published in The Sun.

In its defence, filed with the High Court, the Mail on Sunday says there is a “huge and legitimate” public interest in the royal family. The submission states that Meghan is a “high-ranking member” who enjoyed “immense privilege and wealth”, funded in large part by public money.

The paper asserts that she could not have had a reasonable expectation that the letter would remain private, as Mr Markle was entitled to tell his own story. It alleges that Meghan took great care over the letter’s presentation — copying it out in her “elaborate” handwriting from a previous draft — because she expected it may be leaked. “There are no crossings-out or amendments as there are with a spontaneous draft,” it states. “It is to be inferred from the care the claimant took over the presentation of the letter that she anticipated it being disclosed to and read by third parties.”

Meghan Markle as a baby with father Thomas Markle. Picture: Meghan Markle/Instagram

Lawyers for The Mail on Sunday claim that Meghan “stoked” public interest in her private life by permitting information about her relations with her father to appear in People, an American magazine, days before it published her letter in February last year.

The People article quoted five of Meghan’s friends, all unnamed, speaking out against the “heartbreaking lies and bullying” she had endured from the press. The article included new details of her strained relationship with Mr Markle. It claimed that he refused to get into the car sent to collect him for Meghan’s wedding, and revealed the existence of her letter, saying she wrote asking him to “stop victimising me through the media”.

Kensington Palace has refused to comment on whether People’s sources had Meghan’s consent, the paper asserts. “It is to be inferred that the claimant... permitted the information in the People interview to be published, or acquiesced in the same,” the submission states. Mr Markle’s right to respond to the People article outweighs Meghan’s right to privacy, it says. “The claimant’s privacy rights do not extend to silencing her father.” It is not known whether Mr Markle will give evidence in the dispute in person.

Meghan and Harry announced their legal action in October, saying they were forced to take action against “relentless propaganda”. They accused the newspapers of strategically omitting certain paragraphs and words from the original letter to manipulate readers.

The proceedings are being funded privately by the Sussexes. They say that any damages will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Schillings, their legal representatives, says the “unlawful” publication of the letter “was part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and derogatory stories” about the royal couple. Harry has issued proceedings against the owners of The Sun and the Daily Mirror over alleged phone hacking. The Sun is part of News UK, which also publishes The Times.

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