Meghan's ex-aide tells UK court she knew letter to father could be leaked
LONDON, United Kingdom — The Duchess of Sussex understood that a letter at the centre of a privacy breach row with a British newspaper could be leaked by her father, a court was told Wednesday.
Associated Newspapers Limited on Tuesday began an appeal against a ruling that its publication of parts of the letter to Thomas Markle breached her privacy.
A judge in February ruled the handwritten letter was "personal and private" and said publication was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful", ordering Associated to print a front-page statement acknowledging her victory.
The publishers of the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail and MailOnline have not yet done so because of the appeal, in which lawyers for the publishers argue that the letter was written with the knowledge that it could be made public.
Jason Knauf, who was communications secretary to Meghan and her husband Prince Harry until March 2019, said in a statement to the Court of Appeal in London that the duchess had told him that she had known it was possible that her father would release the letter.
Texts between her and Knauf included a draft of the letter and a message from Meghan reading: "Obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice, but please do let me know if anything stands out for you as a liability."
In a written statement to the court, Meghan denied she thought her father would actually leak the letter.
"While we had to recognise that anything was possible in the extraordinary circumstances in which we were living and therefore the need to mitigate against the risks of disclosure of the letter's contents, I did not think that my father would sell or leak the letter, primarily because it would not put him in a good light," she said.
'Toiled over every detail'
Meghan, 40, communicated with her father by letter rather than via electronic message so that individual sections could not be cut and pasted and then published, said Knauf.
"As part of a series of messages on 24 August 2018, she explained that she had given careful thought to how to prevent the letter being leaked in part or in a misleading way," he added.
"In the event that it was leaked she wanted the full narrative as set out in the letter to be understood and shared. She said she had 'toiled over every detail which could be manipulated'."
Meghan successfully sued Associated over a series of articles based on the letter for breach of privacy, copyright and data protection.
But Associated lawyer Andrew Caldecott argued in court that "the picture presented to the judge on behalf of the claimant ... was that this was an entirely private letter crafted for Mr Markle's eyes only.
"The position we now have is a different position and a more nuanced one, that the letter was written and crafted with readership in mind, and indeed she was happy for the public to read it if Mr Markle were to leak it," he added.
He said Knauf's evidence cast doubt on the original ruling, adding that the case should have gone to a full trial.
The case is due to last up to three days with judgment expected at a later date.
The letter to her 77-year-old father was written a few months after Meghan's wedding to Harry, 37, who is Queen Elizabeth II's grandson.
In it, Meghan asked her father to stop talking to tabloid newspapers and making false claims about her in interviews.
Royal couple Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, present their newborn child to the world for the first time.
BABY NEWS: Harry and Meghan talk of their own ‘bundle of joy’ as they show #BabySussex to the world. Meghan says ‘I have the two best guys in the world’.
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) May 8, 2019
But no name - yet... pic.twitter.com/Ad5a6qMkqY
In St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle, Harry says the baby, whose name and title has not yet been announced, has an even temperament while Meghan gushes about having the "two best guys in the world."
Prince Harry will become the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than a century when he testifies this week against a tabloid newspaper publisher.
Harry, 38, is expected to take the witness stand at London's High Court in a trial considering unlawful information-gathering claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
King Charles III's younger son and other high-profile figures allege that the publisher engaged in illegal activities, including phone hacking, at its titles and are seeking damages.
The case is one of several that Harry has brought against British newspaper groups since stepping down from royal duties in early 2020 and relocating to the United States. — AFP
Prince Harry was set to discuss his memoirs in highly anticipated television interviews Sunday after the controversy caused by details of the book's explosive revelations about royal rifts, sex and drugs.
The 38-year-old prince's ghost-written book "Spare" was widely leaked after it mistakenly went on sale in Spain ahead of the official publication date Tuesday.
Details include an allegation his brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, attacked him during a row about his wife Meghan; an account of how he lost his virginity; an admission of drug use; and a claim he killed 25 people while serving in Afghanistan.
They have prompted both condemnation and derision, though the palace has not reacted.
All the channels have already released clips where Harry speaks about his fractious relationship with William and accuses his family of planting negative stories about him and Meghan in the media.
Britain's ITV television was set to air its 95-minute show "Harry: The Interview" at 9:00 pm (2100 GMT) Sunday. -- AFP
Meghan Markle has apologised to a UK court after admitting being involved in a favourable biography of her short tenure as a frontline royal in Britain, despite having previously denied it.
The apology came as part of a British newspaper group's appeal against a High Court ruling that it breached the Duchess of Sussex's privacy, by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her father.
Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail and MailOnline, has submitted that she wrote the letter, knowing it was likely to be leaked, despite claiming the opposite. — AFP
Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will co-chair a fundraising concert urging more vaccinations that will air May 8, which the Bidens will also participate in, event organizers announce Tuesday.
Along with US president Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris will also appear at "Vax Live: The Concert To Reunite The World" where performers will include Jennifer Lopez, Eddie Vedder, J Balvin and HER.
Put on by Global Citizen, an international advocacy organization, the campaign is pushing businesses to "donate dollars for doses," and for G7 governments to share excess vaccines. — AFP
Prince Harry got an Invictus Games onesie for his newborn son Archie as he marked one year until The Hague hosts the sports championship for wounded soldiers.
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