Curtain Raiser

Markle v. Markle: Meghan and Her Dad May Appear in Blockbuster Tabloid Trial

The astonishing prospect of Meghan Markle going toe to toe with her estranged father in a British court room just got real; plus, Prince Charles and Camilla’s curious clapping.

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See Meghan in court? We just might do that.

Meghan Markle seems ready to take her privacy and copyright case against the publishers of the Mail on Sunday all the way, and is ready to appear in court for cross-examination, her lawyers have confirmed.

Some are calling it the trial of the century and it certainly promises to give an unrivaled, and sensational, insight into royal life.

On Friday, it finally began. HRH The Duchess of Sussex versus Associated Newspapers Limited sees Meghan suing Associated Newspapers for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act after the Mail On Sunday published sections of a letter she had written to her father, Thomas Markle, in 2018.

Judgment

Harry and Meghan Face Day One of Their Tabloid Court Battle

Tom Sykes

As is usual in these affairs, the opening arguments were dominated by minutiae of mind-numbing tedium as lawyers for both sides argued back and forth over paragraphs, sub-paragraphs, and sub-clauses.

Associated Newspapers, who are seeking to “strike out” several sections of Meghan’s claim, managed to land one half-decent blow when their lawyer questioned how Meghan could confidently include in her particulars of claim the assertion that the Mail on Sunday was “harassing, humiliating, manipulating and exploiting” Thomas when Meghan admitted in the paperwork that she hadn’t spoken to him since the wedding.

The lawyer said claims made by Meghan about her father “appear to have been put on to the record without the claimant (Ms Markle) having contacted her father to see if he agrees with them.”

Some newspapers have been known in the past to be quite willing to defend the most egregious invasions of privacy in court because they know full well that few people have the financial firepower to take a case, and, even if they do, the prospect of cross-examination in the witness box convinces many to settle instead.

However, Meghan is made of sterner stuff. Meghan’s barrister David Sherborne told the hearing his client would give evidence, saying: “The defendant [Associated Newspapers] wants to cross-examine her [Meghan] … and they can do that.”

In other words: Bring it on.

Thomas Markle has previously said he will appear in court if called, as he is almost certain to be, setting up a bitter father/daughter courtroom battle.

Although no judgement on the “strike out” attempt will be handed down for a few days at least, Meghan’s camp subsequently sought to spin that the opening day had gone well, briefing that the “standout point” was that the Mail on Sunday did not even seek to argue against Meghan’s claim that the series of articles she is specifically complaining about were “dishonest” they only tried to argue that issues of honesty were not relevant.

Indeed, Associated’s own lawyers were forced to concede that even if their argument that Associated acted dishonestly is deemed irrelevant, it will not affect Meghan’s ability “to get home” on the case.

Meghan’s camp are keen to hammer home the central message that the case centers on “a private, personal, and hand-written letter from a daughter to her father.”

Meghan has publicly stated that damages over and above legal costs will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Smile, please

The comedy moment of the day came after lunch when the video feeds (the case was being conducted remotely due to Covid-19) were switched back on. All the 80-odd journalists and interested parties watching the show had managed to successfully mute their mics and switch off their video feeds.

Well, all except one.

The screen had previously showed just three human faces; the judge, Meghan’s lawyer and the newspaper‘s lawyer. Now they were joined by a fourth, the cheery visage of Arthur Edwards, the Sun’s veteran royal photographer, who appeared to be coming at us live and direct from his kitchen judging by the genteel display of blue and white Delft earthenware on a Welsh dresser behind him.

“I think somebody has left their…” began the judge, before bellowing, “Mr Edwards!”

Arthur chuckled like a naughty schoolboy as he leaned into the laptop and tried to adjust the controls, then his phone started beeping and ringing, then, finally, someone figured out how to erase the scamp from our screens.

Archie may make an appearance on first birthday

Meghan and Harry are preparing to release a new photograph of their son Archie on May 6, his first birthday. The Sunday Times quotes a Meghan and Harry source as saying: “You can expect to see him,” without specifying any more details about the picture, or how they will be sharing it now that they are no longer using their Sussex Royal Instagram account.

Charles and Camilla’s strange round of applause

It was lovely that Prince Charles and Camilla joined the now regularly scheduled U.K. applause for frontline health workers, especially as Charles has survived coronavirus himself. But let us briefly consider this curious video.

Everything about it proves, in the way these exercises tend to, that far from being like ordinary people, the royals most definitely are not.

The idea clearly was that Charles and Camilla are just going to stand outside their front door like everyday Britons. And yet, from the get-go, Charles first of all looks baffled by the idea of closing a door by himself.

But onwards... out they come, to face what? Is there a road in front of them, with ordinary neighbors, or is this just a random door in a palace with some empty outdoor space? Then there is their clapping, which sounds very lonely, and like the in-unison clip-clop of horses’ hooves. Look at their expressions, which pretty much say, “What the hell are we doing?” Nothing about this looks ordinary or normal. Oh, royals, you do you; full marks for effort etc.

William, Kate, and Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, stepped out of their Norfolk place, Anmer Hall, to do the same and did it much better… kids help, to be sure. And Princess Charlotte is destined to become the ultimate royal scene-stealer.

Prince Louis makes a happy mess

Rather more pin-sharp social media usage from the data streams of William and Kate, as they celebrated Prince Louis’ second birthday on Thursday, noting with a (very accessible, and on brand) “Instagram vs Reality” gag how the young prince got down to the messy business of making rainbows. Kate took the pictures.

We detect the welcome hand of their new social media guru, David Watkins, scooped up by the Cambridges after the Sussexes let him go as part of their relocation. Maybe Watkins could have lunch with Camilla and Charles and explain how to clap?

Happy 10th anniversary, Eugenie!

Her older sister Beatrice has had most of the recent attention, because of her canceled wedding plans due to coronavirus. Now Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s second daughter, has published a joyful Instagram post celebrating the 10th anniversary of her relationship with husband (of a year and a half) Jack Brooksbank. They met a decade ago in mega-posh ski resort Verbier.

Eugenie’s message: she and Jack “are lucky enough to be together at this time. ⁣If anyone has an anniversary this week, if you are together or not because of this challenging time, if you are a frontline worker wishing to tell your person you love them, then please do send me a photo and message via DM of how you are celebrating and I will share your messages on my story over the next few days.”

Sophie the Good

Prince Edward’s wife Sophie has been working secretly as a volunteer making lunches for NHS staff during the coronavirus pandemic. The Mail reports that Sophie, a firm favorite of her Majesty, has been volunteering once a week, engaged in lowly chores such as packing up pre-prepared vegetables while wearing a face mask, gloves, whites and an apron. Society caterer Peregrine Armstrong-Jones told the Mail: “Sophie’s done a fabulous job. She’s got stuck into everything, cooking, prep work and cleaning. She’s done it privately, without any fanfare, and the staff think she’s incredible. The team here are giving everything and it’s been a real boost to morale.”

Royal fashion watch

More than one magazine noted that Prince William and Prince Louis (in his second birthday images, see above) seem to have a fondness for blue-checked shirts. It’s a fairly traditional sloaney-male casual uniform, but we concede the inter-generational echo mutes the “hooray” overtones.

This week in royal history

William and Kate celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary this week. They were married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey. The world tuned in to watch Kate wear McQueen, and be more-than-slightly upstaged by her sister Pippa. Still, three children and many royal sagas later, the couple seem to be hitting a well-judged balance between preparing-for-throne and vaguely normal-seeming.

Harry and Meghan’s publicity mastery has also put a rocket under their asses, and suddenly they’re giving interviews, getting out there, and posting like crazy on social media (having employed Harry and Meghan’s former social media guy, as noted above) to excellent effect. The story in brief: Cathy just got chatty.

Unanswered questions

Which way will Harry and Meghan’s case against the Mail on Sunday go? Will the court agree that Meghan’s privacy was violated, or will it side with Associated Newspapers, which claims Meghan was using her friends to brief the media?

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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