Meghan Markle's new lawsuit could change how the tabloids treat the royal family
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The Duchess of Sussex is taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday, a newspaper that published excerpts from a private letter she wrote to her father earlier this year.
Prince Harry released a statement on Tuesday saying the publication "strategically omitted select paragraphs" from the letter to manipulate its readers.
A spokesperson for The Mail on Sunday told Insider: "We categorically deny that the Duchess's letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning."
It's relatively rare for the royal family to seek out legal action against the media, even when publications do write false stories.
The case is being privately funded by the couple, and any damages won will be donated to an anti-bullying charity, their lawyers have confirmed.
However, even if Markle wins this lawsuit — and potentially others after that — this won't eradicate false stories spread on other platforms, such as social media.
Meghan Markle is suing British tabloid the Mail on Sunday after it published excerpts from a private letter she sent to her father earlier this year.
The Duchess of Sussex's legal team says the letter was released as part of a campaign "to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her."
Prince Harry released a statement on Tuesday in which he claimed the publication "vilified [Markle] almost daily for the past nine months" and edited her letter to manipulate the reader.
"In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you [the reader] by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year," said Harry.
Markle has filed a claim against Associated Newspapers — the parent company of sister publications the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday — over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
A spokesperson for the newspaper has defended its decision to publish the story, however, telling Insider: "We categorically deny that the Duchess's letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning."
What will happen if Markle wins the lawsuit?
Back in 2016, Harry said he "has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories" written about him.
This seems to be the case for the royal family as a whole, with Harry's relatives only taking legal action in extreme circumstances, such as the time Prince William and Kate Middleton were awarded $112,800 (£92,000) in damages after French magazine Closer published topless photos of the duchess in 2012.
Associated Press
Four months ago, Harry also won another legal dispute, this time against Splash News, a photo agency which used a private helicopter to take pictures inside his and Markle's former home.
As well as arguing that they invaded his privacy, the Duke of Sussex also based his case on the photographers having mishandled his personal data under Europe's new GDPR law, as Insider's Kieran Corcoran reported.
While in the past it has been more common for the royals' representatives at Buckingham and Kensington Palace not to comment on stories, Harry's recent statement — and his recent win against Splash News — suggest he and Markle have had a change of heart.
"For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long," he said on Tuesday.
"To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in."
He added: "There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives.
"Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn't acceptable, at any level. We won't and can't believe in a world where there is no accountability for this."
The case is being privately funded by the couple, and any damages won will be donated to an anti-bullying charity, their lawyers have confirmed.
It's difficult to say whether Markle winning this case alone would change her relationship with the press.
Even following Prince Harry's win against Splash News, the British media have continued to manipulate the way the couple are portrayed in headlines. A recent example of this was when they were criticized for flying by private jet to Elton John's home in the South of France, despite John saying that he paid for the jet to be carbon neutral.
Therefore, this lawsuit — whether successful or not — is not likely to limit the amount of tabloid gossip aimed at the couple.
However, if Markle and Harry make a habit of taking legal action in the future — as Harry's statement implies — this should make the press proceed with more caution when it comes to the couple's privacy.
The couple will still have social media trolls to contend with
In his statement, Harry compared Markle's treatment by the press to the treatment of his mother, the late Princess Diana.
However, one thing Diana didn't have to face was the scrutiny through social media, as pointed out by Joe Little, managing editor at Majesty magazine.
AP/John Redman
"Something had to happen, because since the Sussexes' wedding last year Meghan in particular has been criticized a great deal for all manner of things in the tabloid media, both online and in print. On social media there has been much trolling – very unpleasant stuff – and that has made a bad situation even worse," Little told Insider.
Former Daily Mirror editor and Guardian columnist Roy Greenslade agrees with this sentiment — even going as far as to say the couple are wasting their time by going after the press.
"The press — particularly the tabloid press — is far less powerful now than it was during his mother's era," he told Radio 4's Today programme, according to BBC News.
"Is he taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut here? I think he may well find that this is counter-productive."
The palace has made an effort to restrict negative social media comments in the past, even releasing a set of official social guidelines to the public.
Of course, it would be impossible to sue every person to write a false tweet about the couple. It makes sense, then, that they are instead going after those who can be held accountable for their actions.
"In the final years of her life Diana came in for close media scrutiny by the tabloids and, as Harry and William witnessed, this upset her greatly. Thankfully, there was no social media back then," Little added.
"Harry is therefore doing all he can to prevent this happening with Meghan."
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