Court documents claim Meghan Markle knew her letter to her father would be published

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made waves last year as they announced they were taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday after the tabloid published a private letter that Meghan Markle had written to her father, Thomas Markle.

‘I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces’, Prince Harry explained, referring to the constant online abuse his wife has faced since becoming a royal.

‘There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.’

The case has been making headline news this week, with it reported that Thomas Markle might be called in to give evidence, making up part of the Mail on Sunday’s defence against Meghan’s allegation of breach of privacy copyright and data protection.

The details of the court documents that are making the most news however are the claims that Meghan knew her private letter would be published.

‘The Letter appears to have been immaculately copied out by the Claimant in her own elaborate handwriting from a previous draft. There are no crossings-out or amendments as there usually are with a spontaneous draft,’ the Mail on Sunday’s defence is reported to have submitted to the court. ‘It is to be inferred also from the care the Claimant took over the presentation of the letter that she anticipated it being disclosed to and read by third parties.’

The claims continue: ‘[The Letter] rehearses the Claimant's version of the history of her relationship with her father and her family in a way that strongly suggests the Claimant wanted or expected third parties to read it.’

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have not responded.