Meghan Markle Felt 'Silenced' By The Royal Family
New documents in Meghan Markle’s case against two British newspapers show just how alone she felt as part of the Royal Family
It’s been months since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped back from their royal duties and moved to L.A., and yet, we’re only just beginning to learn about some of the behind-the-scenes drama that likely contributed to their choice to break away from the Royal Family. Meghan’s lawsuit against a number of British tabloids is still ongoing, and in new court documents, we learned just how alone she felt when she says the Royal Family wouldn’t protect her, and wouldn’t let her protect herself.
Markle is suing the publisher of Mail on Sunday and Mail Online after they published private letters she had written to her father. The new court documents state, “The Claimant had become the subject of a large number of false and damaging articles by the UK tabloid media, specifically by the Defendant, which caused tremendous emotional distress and damage to her mental health.”
They also detail five interviews with Markle’s friends, one of whom stated, “As her friends had never seen her in this state before, they were rightly concerned for her welfare, specifically, as she was pregnant, unprotected by the Institution, and prohibited from defending herself.” The Duchess’ lawyer claims “everyone felt silenced” after her friends and family were told they couldn’t defend the former actress to journalists even amid untrue stories about her.
There’s been a lot said already about the press coverage Markle received in the UK, and how racist much of it was. What hasn’t been discussed as much is the Royal Family’s response: Aside from Harry, the family largely stayed publicly silent on matters of how the press wrote about Markle. It’s tough to imagine how alone the Duchess must have felt, if the Royal Family truly was as quiet behind the scenes as they were in public.
Markle’s lawsuit is ongoing, as she seeks damages from Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement, and breach of the Data Protection Act. At a preliminary hearing in May, a judge struck down several parts of the complaint, saying, “Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed,” and adding, “I do not consider that the allegations struck out on that basis go to the ‘heart’ of the case, which at its core concerns the publication of five articles disclosing the words of, and information drawn from, the letter written by the claimant to her father in August 2018.”
Schillings, the law firm representing Markle, said that the core elements of her case were still the same.
