Meghan Markle won her privacy suit against a British tabloid after a judge ruled she had a right to expect her letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, would remain “private.”
Judge Mark Warby ruled the Duchess of Sussex “had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private,” and that the articles published in The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline “interfered with that reasonable expectation,” according to NBC News in a piece published Thursday. (RELATED: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Enjoying New Life: ‘A Weight Has Been Lifted,’ Friend Says)
View this post on Instagram
“Taken as a whole the disclosures were manifestly excessive and hence unlawful,” Warby added, according to NBC News. “There is no prospect that a different judgment would be reached after a trial.” (RELATED: Report: Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Plan To Have At Least One More Child)
In a statement after the ruling, Markle expressed her gratitude to the courts “for holding Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday to account for their illegal and dehumanizing practices.”
“For these outlets, it’s a game,” she added, according to NBC News. “For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships, and very real sadness. The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep.”
The ruling means that the former “Suits” actress’ case against the tabloid will not need to go to a full trial.
According to NBC News, a spokesperson for the media company shared that Associated Newspapers was “very surprised” by the ruling and “disappointed at being denied the chance to have all the evidence heard and tested in open court at a full trial.”
“We are carefully considering the judgment’s contents and will decide in due course whether to lodge an appeal,” the person added.
It comes after the duchess sued the media company Associated Papers for publishing excerpts, over five articles, in February 2019, from a handwritten letter that she wrote to her father following her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018.