Meghan Markle is moving forward with her lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the parent company that owns the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.
In documents filed by the Duchess of Sussex’s legal team and obtained by People, Meghan hits out at Associated Newspapers for publishing reportedly incorrect information about her home, her New York City baby shower and the former actor’s dealings with her father, Thomas Markle.
The court filings, submitted Nov. 11 by the Schillings law firm, say that she and Prince Harry never made outrageous additions to their home, Frogmore Cottage, despite the claims of extensive soundproofing and wasteful spending in certain articles. Schillings denies that the couple spent over half a million dollars on airplane soundproofing, a yoga studio, a wing for Meghan’s mother, a tennis court or a $6,500 copper bathtub.
Contrary to some media reports about Meghan’s New York baby shower, the filings say that the Duchess of Sussex’s mother, Doria Ragland, was invited and simply couldn’t attend because of work. The court documents also dispute claims about the cost and some of Meghan’s friends who were present.
“The baby shower (which actually cost a tiny fraction of the $300k falsely stated in the article) was organized and hosted by one of her best friends from university,” the filings say. “The 15 guests who attended the shower were close friends and included long-term friendships some of which had existed for over 20 years.”
A Mail on Sunday spokesman told HuffPost in a statement provided by email on Tuesday: “As we have said before, we will [be] defending this case with the utmost vigour. There is nothing in this document which changes that position.”
One of the most inflammatory subjects addressed in the lawsuit is a letter that Meghan wrote to her father, which was reprinted by the Daily Mail in February 2019. In the filings, her lawyers say that “the omitted or suppressed parts of the letter amount to almost half of the actual contents.”
“The omitted parts demonstrate the claimant’s care for her father and others, as well as her concern about the UK tabloid media exploiting her father,” the lawyers add, as reported by People.
Prince Harry announced that the duchess was pursuing legal action against Associated Newspapers in a fiery letter published on the couple’s website during their recent trip to South Africa. He accused the British press of unleashing a “ruthless campaign” against his wife.
“In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year,” Harry wrote.
Just after Meghan’s lawsuit was announced, Thomas Markle explained why he’d released his daughter’s private letter in an October interview with The Mail on Sunday.
“I decided to release parts of the letter because of the article from Meghan’s friends in People magazine. I have to defend myself. I only released parts of the letter because other parts were so painful,” he said.
Many of Meghan’s friends ― and even those who haven’t met her ― have publicly supported her decision to take legal action.
“When I heard [she was suing], I was like ‘Bravo. Good for her,’” supermodel Naomi Campbell told The Guardian in a November article. “I don’t know how Meghan Markle deals with this and I’m really glad she’s taken action to defend herself.”
Meghan is not the only one in her family suing the media. The Duke of Sussex is pursuing legal action against The Sun and the Mirror for alleged phone hacking.
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