|
 Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, is
suing publisher Associated Newspapers over articles its Mail on
Sunday newspaper printed in February last year that were based
on a letter she had sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
Lawyers for the duchess say its publication was a misuse of
private information and breached her copyright. They are seeking
aggravated damages from the paper.
Given Britain's coronavirus lockdown, Friday's hearing was held
by video, which the judge, Mark Warby, said was a relatively new
way of conducting such cases.
"It's not a trial, there will be no witnesses and I'm not going
to make any findings of fact about the underlying events," Warby
said. The hearing is one of the first stages in the legal action
and a date for a full trial has not yet been set.
Meghan and Harry, who are living in the Los Angeles area having
stepped down from their royal roles at the end of last month,
are expected to listen in remotely to part of the hearing, a
source said.
The lawyer for the newspaper, Antony White, sought on Friday to
have parts of Meghan's claim struck out, arguing they were
irrelevant or impermissible, not properly pleaded or
disproportionate for the court to investigate.
The case centres on articles published in February 2019 about
the rift between Meghan and her father who fell out after her
glitzy, pomp-laden wedding to Harry in May the year before.
Markle pulled out days beforehand after undergoing heart surgery
and following news he had staged photos with a paparazzi
photographer. Speculation about his attendance dominated the
build-up to the ceremony.
'HARASSING AND MANIPULATING'
Documents from Meghan's lawyers this week accused the Mail and
other tabloids of harassing, humiliating and manipulating Markle,
and contributing towards the fallout between father and
daughter.
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They argue the Mail had also misquoted from the letter, which was
never intended to be made public, to paint the royals in a poor
light.
The Mail says unnamed friends of Meghan had put her version of
events in interviews with the U.S. magazine People and that Markle
had the right to put his side.
The paper's lawyers also argue that given Meghan's royal status,
there was legitimate public interest in her personal and family
relationships.
In the papers submitted by Meghan's lawyers this week were details
of text messages sent by Harry to his future father-in-law, pleading
with him not to talk to the press and to call him and his daughter.
The duchess missed a call from Markle at 4.57 a.m. on the morning of
the wedding and she has not received any calls or messages from him
since then, the court papers added. She sent her letter to him in
August 2018.
The legal action is the latest step in growing hostility between the
media and the couple.
This week Meghan and Harry announced they would have "zero
engagement" with four of Britain's top tabloids, accusing them of
false and invasive coverage.
That was treated with derision by commentators in many British
newspapers, who accused them of egotism and questionable timing by
making the announcement during the COVID-19 crisis.
(Editing by Stephen Addison and Frances Kerry)
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