The claim against Associated Newspapers, which publishes the British tabloid in question, concerned the publication of extracts from the letter in February 2019. Judge Mark Warby said that the Duchess of Sussex had a “reasonable expectation” that the contents of the letter to Thomas Marklewould remain private; the publication of the letter “interfered” with that expectation. Ruling in Meghan’s favor, he said, “It was, in short, a personal and private letter. The majority of what was published was about the claimant’s own behaviour, her feelings of anguish about her father’s behaviour—as she saw it—and the resulting rift between them. “These are inherently private and personal matters.” The duchess released a heartfelt statement about winning the case, expressing her gratitude to the court for holding Associated Newspapers to account for their “illegal and dehumanising practices.” She went on, " For these outlets, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships and very real sadness. The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep.” “The world needs reliable, fact-checked, high-quality news. What The Mail on Sunday and its partner publications do is the opposite. We all lose when misinformation sells more than truth, when moral exploitation sells more than decency, and when companies create their business model to profit from people’s pain. “But for today, with this comprehensive win on both privacy and copyright, we have all won. We now know, and hope it creates legal precedent, that you cannot take somebody’s privacy and exploit it in a privacy case, as the defendant has blatantly done over the past two years. “I share this victory with each of you—because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better.” She ended by thanking her husband Prince Harry, her mother Doria Ragland, her legal team, and her lawyer Jenny Afia. Although Judge Warby found that Meghan’s copyright had been infringed, further aspects of her copyright and data protection claims will be hammered out in a forthcoming trial. Next up, Princess Eugenie has given birth to a boy! Here’s everything we know.
