Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex is suing British tabloid, The Mail over a claim the paper unlawfully published a private letter Meghan sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
A law firm, acting for the duchess, filed a High Court claim against the paper and its parent company – Associated Newspapers – over the alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The duchess’s action comes after the Mail on Sunday published a handwritten letter she sent her father shortly after she and Prince Harry got married in 2018.
The paper is accused of an “intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter” and of a campaign of publishing false and derogatory stories about the Duchess of Sussex.
In a lengthy personal statement on the couple’s official website, he said the “painful” impact of intrusive media coverage had driven him and his wife to take action.
Prince Harry said: “I lost my mother, and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
“I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditized to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” he added.
Princess Diana was once described as the “most hunted person of the modern age”. She died in a car crash in 1997 while being pursued through Paris by a pack of paparazzi journalists.
Referring to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry said his “deepest fear is history repeating itself”.
A Mail on Sunday spokesman said the paper stood by the story it published and will “vigorously” defend itself.
