Duchess Meghan
That was the "end of the relationship" for her father
Duchess Meghan at an appearance in London
© imago images / i Images
Meghan has sued a newspaper that published a letter from her. Now her father Thomas Markle has made a statement.
Thomas Markle (76) has taken a position and explained why a letter from his famous daughter to him was made public. Duchess Meghan (39) has sued the editors of "The Mail On Sunday" and "Mail Online" for articles in which parts of this handwritten letter to her father were published. In August 2018, she sent it to Thomas Markle. Prince Harry's (36) wife is asking for damages in court for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of data protection law. The five newspaper articles in question appeared in February 2019.
The other side, Associated Newspapers, claims, however, according to British media reports, Meghan wrote the letter "to make it public at a later date" in order to "defend herself against allegations that she was a loveless daughter". Meghan's lawyers, however, see the publication of the letter as a "clear and serious violation" of their privacy. The letter was also written "more in sadness than anger" and an attempt to get her father to stop talking to the press. According to the Guardian, the Duchess' team wants to get a fast track trial.
"Letter signaled the end of the relationship"
Thomas Markle has now also commented. In a testimony that was apparently submitted by the newspaper's lawyers, Meghan's father is said to have stated according to the "BBC": The claim of a "long-time friend" of his daughter in an interview with "People" magazine that Meghan wrote the letter, to "repair" the father-daughter relationship is wrong. He also said that he had to "defend" himself against the "People" article, that he was portrayed as "dishonest, exploitative, seeking public attention, loveless and cold-hearted", says Thomas Markle. He said he "never intended to speak publicly about Meg's letter" until he read the story on "People", in which he claimed he was "responsible for the end of the relationship".
The report also stated in his statement: "The letter was not an attempt at reconciliation. It was a criticism of me." And: "The letter did not say that she loved me. It did not even ask how I was doing. It showed no concern that I had had a heart attack and asked no questions about my health." In fact, the letter "signaled the end of our relationship, not reconciliation".