Meghan Markle denies lying to Oprah Winfrey over 'rags to royalty' upbringing claim

Meghan's half-sister is suing over the "false" comments about her childhood

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry caused quite the stir when they sat down for their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired in March 2021.

The conversation upset Prince William, but another sibling too - Meghan's half-sister Samantha.

The former Suits actor claimed she "grew up as an only child", which alongside similar remarks in the Finding Freedom biography, written by Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, has upset Samantha.

Samantha Markle - who is the daughter of Meghan's father Thomas Markle - has reportedly ignited a legal suit against Meghan - who has son Archie and daughter Lilibet with husband Prince Harry - in a defamation case.

Samantha is reportedly hoping to win £57,000 worth of damages following Meghan's comments because of the "humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale" she was subjected to.

However, the 40-yea-old royal is on the defence and has insisted she did not lie about the comments made in conversation with her friend and neighbour, but the comment was a "subjective statement".

In legal paperwork, Meghan's lawyers state: "Plaintiff [Samantha] asserts that she can disprove that Meghan 'grew up as an only child' but this perception is inherently unfalsifiable. It is hard to imagine a more personal and subjective feeling than how one views their own childhood.

"Moreover, Plaintiff's opposition completely ignores the context of the statement, where Ms Winfrey asked Meghan about her 'relationship' with Plaintiff (to whom Ms Winfrey referred as her 'half-sister on her father's side'). Meghan’s response to that question that she 'grew up as an only child' was obviously not meant to be a statement of objective fact that she had no genetic siblings or half-siblings.

"Rather, it was a textbook example of a subjective statement about how a person feels about her childhood."

Meghan's legal team are also reportedly working on a counter-argument protecting Meghan from any further law suits, or threats of being sued, in relation to Finding Freedom, as she has insisted she did not write the 2020 release, which the authors have supported.