In this Monday, March 9, 2020 file photo, Britain’s Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex receives flowers as she leaves after attending the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London. A preliminary hearing in the Duchess of Sussex’s legal case against the Mail on Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, is set to take place in Britain’s High Court on Friday, April 24, 2020, as Meghan challenges the publication of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
LONDON — A preliminary hearing opened Friday at Britain’s High Court in the Duchess of Sussex’s legal action against a British newspaper that published what she describes as a “private and confidential” letter she wrote to her father.
Meghan is suing the Mail on Sunday and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, for publishing a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle. The civil lawsuit accuses the newspaper of copyright infringement, misuse of private information, and violating the U.K.’s data protection law.
Associated Newspapers denies the allegations — particularly the claim that the letter was presented in a way that changed its meaning. The company has said it intends to vigorously fight the case.
Lawyers for Associated Newspapers will ask the court to strike out parts of Meghan’s case ahead of a full trial of the issues, arguing that allegations of “dishonesty and malicious intent” should not form part of her case.
As the hearing opened via video conferencing, Anthony White, a lawyer representing the publisher, told the judge that lawyers for Meghan had made “further assertions of improper, deliberate conduct,” and accused the publisher of “harassing, humiliating, manipulating and exploiting” Thomas Markle.
Harry and Meghan were expected to listen in to the part of the hearing conducted by her lawyers.
Thomas Markle’s strained relationship with his daughter complicated Meghan’s entry into the royal family.
He had been due to walk Meghan down the aisle at her May 2018 wedding, but pulled out at the last minute, citing heart problems. The former television lighting director has given occasional interviews to the media, complaining in December 2018 that he’d been “ghosted” by his daughter after the wedding.
The letter was written three months after the royal wedding at Windsor Castle.
Analysts have compared the legal case to the late Princess Diana’s lawsuit over photographs showing her exercising on gym equipment. The case was settled before it was to be heard.