Prince Harry announced legal action against a British tabloid over what he called a “ruthless campaign” against his wife, Meghan Markle.
Sources confirmed that Meghan Markle is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday. This comes after the tabloid newspaper published a “private letter” from the Duchess of Sussex.
In an emotional announcement released on Tuesday, he referenced the death of his mother, Princess Diana. Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997 trying to escape from paparazzi.
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” Harry wrote. “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
According to many publications, the issue is the publication by the Mail on Sunday of a handwritten letter from Meghan to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Meghan wrote the letter in August of 2018, a few months after her wedding to Harry in May 2018. Thomas Markle did not attend the wedding. He bowed out of the proceedings amid a paparazzi scandal that also involved the Mail on Sunday.
According to Harry, the Mail altered the contents of the letter to omit and highlight certain things. The Mail on Sunday allegedly did this in an attempt to continually vilify Meghan Markle.
Here is a summary of the lawsuit:
A spokesperson from Meghan’s legal representatives has issued a statement. The statement said that they initiated legal proceedings against the Mail on Sunday.
They accused the Mail of publishing false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband. Meghan Markle will be suing for breach of privacy, infringement of copyright and the media agenda to taint her image.
Harry wrote that Meghan had become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press. He accused them of waging campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences.
Harry said that the “continual misrepresentations” of Meghan have escalated in the last year. He accused the media of tarnishing her image throughout her pregnancy and birth of the couple’s newborn son.
The announcement comes amid the Duke and Duchess’ current South Africa tour. The tour has received glowing coverage from the same outlets that otherwise bully Meghan Markle. Harry called out the “double standards” of treatment in the statement.
“They have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she was not visible while on maternity leave,” he wrote. “She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day… Just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.”
Do you think of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are right to pursue legal action against the Mail? Comment below.
