The Duchess of Sussex said she was “reshaping” the tabloid media industry as she said her trial was “a victory for anyone who has ever been afraid to stand up for what is right”.
The Duchess won a Court of Appeal challenge on Thursday against the publisher of The Mail On Sunday over the publication of a personal letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
The Duchess, 40, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), also the publisher of MailOnline, over five articles reproducing parts of a “personal and private” letter to Thomas Markle, 77, in August 2018.
In a victory statement, she used the last line to say the tabloid practices are a “daily failure that divides us”, in an apparent nod to the nickname used by Daily Mail critics for the paper.
Statement from the Duchess of Sussex, in full
The statement read: “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever been afraid to stand up for what is right.
“While this victory sets a precedent, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel and profits from the lies and pain they create.
“From day one, I have treated this trial as an important measure of good versus evil.
“The defendant treated it like a game without rules.
“The longer they dragged on, the more they could twist the facts and manipulate the public (even during the call itself), making an extraordinarily convoluted simple case in order to generate more headlines and sell more papers – a model that rewards chaos above truth.
“In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation and calculated attacks.
“Today the courts ruled in my favor – again – confirming that The Mail on Sunday, owned by Lord Jonathan Rothermere, broke the law.
“The courts have held the defendant accountable, and I hope we all start to do the same.
“Because as far as it may seem from your personal life, it is not.
“Tomorrow it could be you.
“These harmful practices don’t happen once in a blue moon – they’re a daily failure that divides us, and we all deserve better.”
The Duchess won her case earlier this year when a High Court judge ruled in her favor without a full trial.
However, ANL appealed and, at a three-day hearing in November, argued the case should go to trial over Meghan’s claims against the publisher – including breach of privacy and copyright.
Three senior judges delivered their decision on the appeal at 10 a.m. Thursday and sided with the Duchess.
“The Duchess had a reasonable expectation of confidentiality in the content of the letter”
Summarizing the Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss Associated Newspapers’ appeal, Sir Geoffrey Vos said: “The Court of Appeal upheld the judge’s decision that the Duchess had a reasonable expectation of confidentiality in the content of the letter.
“These contents were personal, private and not of legitimate public interest.
“The Mail on Sunday articles interfered with the Duchess’s reasonable expectation of privacy and were not a justified or proportionate means of correcting inaccuracies in the letter.”
Associated Newspapers plans to appeal
An ANL spokesperson said it was considering appealing to the Supreme Court, believing the case warranted a trial.
“We are very disappointed with the Court of Appeal’s decision,” the publisher said in a statement.
“We strongly believe that judgment should only be made on the basis of evidence tested at trial, and not on a summary basis in a highly contested case, even before the disclosure of documents.
“No evidence was tested in cross-examination, as it should be, particularly when Mr. Knauf’s testimony raises questions about the Duchess’s credibility.
“After People magazine published an attack on Mr Markle, based on false briefings from friends of the Duchess misrepresenting the letter as a love letter, it was important to show that the letter was not a such thing.
“The letter and People magazine have also seriously misrepresented the reasons for Mr Markle’s non-attendance at the royal wedding.
“The articles corrected these issues and raised other questions of public interest, including the reasons for the breakdown of the relationship between the Duchess and her father.
“We are considering appealing to the UK Supreme Court.”
