Meghan Markle's Lawyers Seek Ruling in Case About 'Serious Breach' of Her Privacy

Meghan Markle is seeking a court ruling.

The 39-year-old Duchess of Sussex’s lawyers asked a British judge on Tuesday (January 19) to settle her lawsuit against Associated Newspapers before trial by ruling that the publication of a “deeply personal” letter to her estranged father was “a plain and a serious breach of her rights of privacy,” via Huffington Post.

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In the lawsuit, Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over a series of articles in 2019 in The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, which featured parts of a letter from her father Thomas after her marriage to Prince Harry.

Associated Newspapers is fighting the claim. The full trial is due this fall at the High Court in London, United Kingdom. Meghan is seeking a summary judgment that would dismiss the defense case.

Her lawyer Justin Rushbrooke argued they had “no real prospect” of winning the case.

“At its heart it’s a very straightforward case about the unlawful publication of a private letter,” he explained, adding that his client felt “a heartfelt plea from an anguished daughter to her father” would stay private.

The lawyer also said her letter was “a message of peace” to her father “to stop him talking to the press,” and that she took steps to avoid it being intercepted by sending it by FedEx through her accountant to her father’s home in Mexico.

Lawyers for Associated Newspapers argue that Meghan likely knew the letter would one day be published, and that she made personal information public by working with the authors of a behind-the-scenes book, Finding Freedom, to present a version of events “favorable and flattering to her.”

Meghan denies collaborating with the authors, but let someone close to her to speak to them. The book is expected to be featured in the trial.

Her lawyer said the fact that she is a public figure “does not reduce her expectation of privacy in relation to information of this kind,” and that “the sad intricacies of a family relationship … is not a matter of public interest.”

The defense will respond on Wednesday (January 20).

Find out how the royal couple is doing a year after stepping down from their royal duties.