MEGHAN Markle won’t face her dad in a public showdown after she won her latest legal battle – despite explosive claims that threatened her credibility.
The Duchess of Sussex, 40, sued the Mail on Sunday over the publication of the “personal and private” letter she sent to Thomas Markle in 2018.
The High Court issued a summary judgment in February – meaning she won without having to face a messy high-profile trial.
Publishers Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) launched an appeal against the ruling – arguing the judge was not aware of all the facts at the time.
But judges at the Court of Appeal today ruled in Meghan’s favour and dismissed the appeal.
She will now not have to come face-to-face with Mr Markle in a blockbuster showdown in court.
The Duchess released a scathing statement after the ruling as she accused the newspaper of treating the case as a “game with no rules”.
Meghan added: “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right.”
Today’s judgment read: “The Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s decision that the duchess had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of the letter.
“Those contents were personal, private and not matters of legitimate public interest.
“The articles in the Mail on Sunday interfered with the duchess’ reasonable expectation of privacy and were not a justified or proportionate means of correcting inaccuracies about the letter.”
Read our Meghan and Harry live blog for the latest updates
During the three-day appeal hearing, the court was presented with a string of sensational claims – including from Meghan’s own witness statement.
Meghan maintained previously she sent her estranged father the “heartfelt” five-page letter in 2018 after they reached “breaking point”.
But in a fresh statement, she said she only wrote the 1,250-word note on advice of senior royals “A” and “B” after “significant pressure” was put on her and Prince Harry.
Meghan also claimed the “catalyst” for writing the letter was “seeing how much pain” it was causing her husband.
And she lashed out at the royals – accusing them of “constantly berating” Harry over her dad’s actions in a text to her former press secretary.
The messages – revealed in court – were sent to Jason Knauf in August 2018 after the couple stayed with Prince Charles.
Meghan added: “Even after a week with his dad and endlessly explaining the situation, his family seem to forget the context and revert to ‘can’t she just go and see him and make this stop?’
“They fundamentally don’t understand so at least by writing [Harry] will be able to say to his family, ‘she wrote him a letter and he’s still doing it’.
“By taking this form of action I protect my husband from this constant berating and while unlikely, perhaps it will give my father a moment to pause.”
‘DADDY’ CLAIMS
In his witness statement, Mr Knauf claimed Meghan had emailed with an electronic draft of the letter asking if anything stood out as a “liability”.
The papers read: “She also asked a specific question regarding addressing Mr Markle as ‘Daddy’ in the letter, saying ‘given I’ve only ever called him daddy it may make sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings.”
It came at a time when Mr Markle missed his daughter’s wedding after suffering a heart attack and repeatedly spoke to the media.
Mr Knauf suggested she reference her dad’s health problems in the letter as it is his “best opening for criticism and sympathy”.
The duchess replies saying it is a “very valid point” and says she will attempt to squeeze it into the five page, 1,250-word letter.
Meghan also explained how she feared the letter would leak and said she had been “meticulous” in her wording.
And she apologised to the court for not remembering an email exchange agreeing Mr Knauf could provide information to the authors of Finding Freedom.
