UK judge rules that newspaper invaded Meghan Markle’s privacy by publishing personal letters
- Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over articles in The Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website
- The ruling means Meghan has won her case on privacy grounds, but the judge said a ‘limited trial’ should be held to decide some of the copyright issues
A British judge ruled on Thursday that a newspaper invaded Duchess of Sussex’s privacy by publishing personal letter to her estranged father.
Judge Mark Warby said Associated Newspapers misused the duchess’s private information in five February 2019 articles in The Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website, which published portions of a handwritten letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
The judge said the duchess “had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private. The Mail articles interfered with that reasonable expectation.”
The ruling is a major victory for Meghan, who sued the publisher for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.
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Associated Newspapers contested the claim, and a trial was scheduled for the fall. The duchess asked for a summary judgment to settle the case without a trial.