Publisher Appealing Meghan Markle Privacy Invasion Ruling, As She Is Awarded $1.87M

The Associated Newspapers plans to appeal against a judge’s ruling that it invaded the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle after her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry, according to the Associated Press.

Meghan Markle sued the publisher for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday, which reproduced portions of her letter to Thomas.

Judge Mark Warby ruled that she “had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private” and concluded the paper’s publication of large chunks of it was “manifestly excessive and hence unlawful.”

Their request to appeal has been denied by Warby. “The Court of Appeal, of course, may take a different view,” he said, adding that Associated Newspapers can take its case directly to the appeals court.

Warby also ordered Associated Newspapers to make an interim payment of 450,000 pounds ($625,000) toward her legal costs, and said further “financial remedies” would be meted out later, with a total in $1.87 million expected in payouts.

The publisher agreed to remove the articles until the issue was resolved.

DELAY

Meanwhile, some are asking the pair, and CBS, to delay airing its Oprah Winfrey interview, which many believe will attack the royal family. They point to the 99-year-old Prince Philip‘s health, and warn it may end up making them look bad. Penny Junor, author of Prince Harry, Brother, Soldier, Son, told The Daily Beast: “Anything could hijack this interview. Philip is ill. He is 99 and could die at any time. They were not to know he would get ill, but it could be seen to be the wrong time. But I doubt it is in their gift to postpone the interview. The control is in the hands of CBS and Oprah.”

Robert Lacey, historical consultant for The Crown and author of the definitive royal biography Majesty, told The Daily Beast: “I think it would be a marvelous turnaround for Harry’s image if he took the brave step of canceling the whole thing this weekend—or, if that’s not practical, postponing it at least.”