Publication of Meghan’s letter in Mail ‘serious invasion’ of privacy, court hears

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The publication of the letter which was “intrinsically private, personal and sensitive” letter sent by Meghan Markle to her 76-year-old father, Thomas Markle, was a “plain and serious invasion” of privacy, her lawyers have argued. The two-day remote High Court hearing began on Tuesday with the duchess’ lawyers asking Mr Justice Warby to grant “summary judgement” in relation to her privacy and copyright claims. Mr Rushbrooke added in written submissions: “It is as good an example as one could find of a letter that any person of ordinary sensibilities would not want to be disclosed to third parties, let alone in a mass media publication, in a sensational context and to serve the commercial purposes of the newspaper.” He also said that even if ANL was justified in publishing parts of the letter to Mr Markle, “far more” extracts from the letter were published “than could have been justified in the public interest”, and the Mail’s “use of the letter was and is manifestly disproportionate”. Recommended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share childhood photos on new website “There are now on the record a number of inconsistent statements made by her that she will need to explain.” He argued that, if the court assessed whether Meghan had a reasonable expectation of privacy in relation to the letter, “it would be likely to come to the conclusion that the claimant has not shown a reasonable expectation of privacy” and that “on the contrary, she expected or intended its contents to enter the public domain”.