Harry & Meghan: Legal Actions against the Media

[Somebody]

It was “mandated” by Kensington Palace “that all friends and family of [Meghan] should say ‘no comment’ when approached by any media outlet, despite misinformation being provided to the UK tabloids about her,” the document states.

“This shared frustration amongst the claimant’s friends left everyone feeling silenced, as it appeared that other so-called sources were able to disseminate false statements about the claimant, while people who knew her best were told they needed to remain silent.

“The claimant believes that is probably because of this reason, as well as concerns about the press intrusion by the UK tabloids, that a few friends chose to participate and they did so anonymously”.

This obsession with the media. It's therapy and mental health support which was rightly needed to deal with them.

Umm hard to claim her family was ‘mandated’ not to talk to the media beyond no comment when all they did for months was talk to the media. I presume they mean her mother and friends were ADVISED to not speak to the media, which seems pretty sound advice really. Also pretty sure the Kensington palace don’t get to ‘mandate’ anything to private individuals. Especially when those private individuals probably weren’t even citizens of the UK.

Isn't that exactly what Meghan advised her father to do: do not talk to the media when approached?! I would hope that Meghan gave the same sound advice to her family members and friends that she was in touch with; and not suddenly use other rules for those that would speak 'in favor' of her. If the friends sensed (or knew) that Meghan was unhappy with the 'don't talk to the media' rule because she wanted her story to be told; they would have known that Meghan would be happy for them to talk.

 

[Madame Verseau]

Here's one mag that look like they got some of the filings


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.to...-markle-new-court-claim-pregnant-unprotected/

After looking at this, the wedding revenue should have been left out and the HRH business. The judge may toss those out because of relevancy. As for the details of Dad's wedding arrangements it comes off that Meghan is mad her father trashed her in the press. Given the arrangements Dad got a hotel room and clothes and a minder. Doria got to stay at Nottingham Cottage and met the queen and senior royals. Dad may been hacked off over that, hence the hit pieces. Whatever the issues with families those should have been left out of court but it still doesn't justify how the press treated Meghan and had the BRF intervened more this may have not come to this. We may never know at this point.

@Somebody - I think Meghan is saying her friends went to People without her knowledge.

 

[phss]

It was “mandated” by Kensington Palace “that all friends and family of [Meghan] should say ‘no comment’ when approached by any media outlet, despite misinformation being provided to the UK tabloids about her,” the document states.

“This shared frustration amongst the claimant’s friends left everyone feeling silenced, as it appeared that other so-called sources were able to disseminate false statements about the claimant, while people who knew her best were told they needed to remain silent.

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“The claimant believes that is probably because of this reason, as well as concerns about the press intrusion by the UK tabloids, that a few friends chose to participate and they did so anonymously”.

This obsession with the media. It's therapy and mental health support which was rightly needed to deal with them.

So which is it?
Meg WANTED her family/friends to be able to speak out (she's saying she's upset Kensington Palace told them to say "No comment")
or
Meg DIDN'T want them to speak out (She wrote to her Dad because she was angry he didn't say "No comment")

She's mad because her dad DID speak and mad because her friends 'COULDN"T...
She cuts her Dad out of her life (and Archie's life) because he spoke... but DIDN'T cut the 5 friends out of her life when they spoke...

Basically as long as she can control exactly what you say she's cool with it

Makes the whole 'I didn't know they spoke' angle seem pretty ridiculous to me

 

[QueenMathilde]

If they're going to cause this much trouble they need to take the steps to strip both of them of their titles and Charles needs to stop giving them money. Let them really be on their own.

 

[Somebody]

@Somebody - I think Meghan is saying her friends went to People without her knowledge.

As I said previously. I would be very interested in the exact wording. Meghan could have been purposefully kept in the dark on them talking to People while at the same time having made hints that indicated that she would be happy if they did talk to the media (given how Meghan is both trying to argue that it was rather logical for them to do so while also stating that 'she didn't know'); for example, she could have made clear to them that 'nobody was defending her' and that she 'so much hoped someone would be willing to do so' but that, unfortunately, 'KP said that nobody should talk'. Not everything needs to be explicitly stated for friends to know what she'd like them to do without her being in a position to state just that.

Again, the fact that they remained close friends and how she seems to be defending them in the court case while throwing the BRF under the bus makes the above a rather likely scenario imho.

 

[sophie25]

I said a while back that I sympathised with Meghan's father and I was shot down in flames for saying so. He's not perfect but by her own affirmation he was a wonderful father to her and then was just 'dropped'.The list of people who were very close to her who have claimed this also happened to them is long indeed and I believe their stories to be true. Harry has hitched his wagon to Meghan's though and seems prepared to take his family down alongside her as she clearly has no time for the whole royal institution. Sad times indeed.

 

[Curryong]

From the Town and Country article linked above by Madame Verseau.

The latest court documents also provide further specifics on the attempts Meghan says she made to contact her father in the run-up to the wedding, describing how “Friend A witnessed the Claimant’s many calls to her father during the week of the wedding, from Nottingham Cottage, as well as from wedding rehearsals and pre-wedding events in Windsor and from Windsor Castle, all of which were ignored or declined.”

https://www.townandcountrymag.com/s...-markle-new-court-claim-pregnant-unprotected/

 

[Eskimo]

It is hard to understand what possible connection this has to the copyright issue - which I believe is what the one of the problems the judge had with some of the claims which were disallowed - he didn’t rule either way on whether there was a campaign against Meghan by the media just that it was unrelated to the current action she is taking.

It appears that Meghan is using this action to air out all her grievances with the tabloids. She may view this as her opportunity to give her version of events but she’s going to burn some powerful bridges if she’s not careful - they have chosen as a couple to base themselves in a fickle world where their appeal and power is derived from Harry’s connections. If he’s publicly cutoff from those connections his worth and therefor THEIR worth to those people is going to diminish pretty quickly.

Another way to look at this is they are lashing out for exactly what you say in the last few lines— they’ve figured out just how limited their brand is (it will not bring in anywhere near the money they thought it would)

 

[QueenMathilde]

Another way to look at this is they are lashing out for exactly what you say in the last few lines— they’ve figured out just how limited their brand is (it will not bring in anywhere near the money they thought it would)

The Hollywood crowd and the silicon valley crowd will support them no matter what they do. They fantasize about being royalty. But seriously if they are going to create issues within the royal family I don't see where the queen or charles has a choice. They have to cut them off. I don't care what they do to Princess Michael but Bea and Eugene have never done anything to them and they have problems of their own.

 

[sophie25]

The Hollywood crowd and the silicon valley crowd will support them no matter what they do. They fantasize about being royalty. But seriously if they are going to create issues within the royal family I don't see where the queen or charles has a choice. They have to cut them off. I don't care what they do to Princess Michael but Bea and Eugene have never done anything to them and they have problems of their own.

Princess Michael hasn't done anything to them either but it was her husband who was mentioned in the court papers anyway not her.

P.S.I am shocked that Harry has turned on his family like this. I don't think there will ever be a way back for him now, even if his marraige fails.

 

[Amelia]

The Hollywood crowd and the silicon valley crowd will support them no matter what they do. They fantasize about being royalty..

Arguably this only applies if they are SEEN to be royalty, if they are publicly associated with the BRF - hence their desire to remain half in. It’s also demonstrated by their need to release the information that they had video called the Queen on her birthday. Without being able to show up and stand with her on the balcony at Buckingham palace how else do they reinforce their royal status. Their worth is based on Harry (and Archie) being royal. That’s all they have to sell. While they may get by for awhile, people have short attention spans, no new pic or stories of them with the BRF and they loose their major appeal. They will always have limited appeal but maintaining that top level global fame they appear to desire will be unattainable without continuing public association with BRF members. In private Harry (and Archie) will always be members of the BRF but without the public association Hollywood, at least the Hollywood they clearly want, won’t be interested. Meghan burning bridges like this may generate interest and sympathy in the short term but she should be really focusing on the long term implications.

 

[Lord_Royal]

In my assessment, this is an extremely poorly formulated lawsuit and I can only imagine that Meghan is ignoring legal advice by pressing ahead. What she is attempting to do is in contrast to established privacy law cases, and is still trying to have her cake and eat it too by not fully disclosing all material facts.

The bizarre arguments about Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Prince Michael of Kent miss the mark widely: none of them receive funding from the Sovereign Grant or represent the Queen in any formal way. And never have. Contrast that with Meghan and Harry who were to be 'working royals' with a full schedule like the Gloucesters and Kents and Cambridges etc, but who wanted to be 'half in, half out' on their road to 'financial independence'...all so convoluted it's clear nobody knew what they were actually talking about.

You mark my words, this case must settle. If it proceeds to Court it will be a spectacular failure for the Sussexes and they will be more disgraced than they already are. And they will owe Associated Newspapers a fortune in legal fees. A fortune they do not have. And I would also suggest that there is a very real risk that their actions will lead to someone being accused of perjuring themselves...

 

[Eskimo]

The Hollywood crowd and the silicon valley crowd will support them no matter what they do. They fantasize about being royalty. But seriously if they are going to create issues within the royal family I don't see where the queen or charles has a choice. They have to cut them off. I don't care what they do to Princess Michael but Bea and Eugene have never done anything to them and they have problems of their own.

@Amelia in reply #1214 said it very well. Hollywood fantasize about associating with Royalty and the connections they get. H&M cannot introduce their friends to his father, grandmother etc. in a public setting that will generate massive PR.

Think of their “friendships” with the Clooneys. The Clooneys are now involved with The Prince’s Trust. Massive payoff for them in terms of publicity and prestige. Their is no such payoff possible for anyone associating themselves with H&M anymore.

 

[Sun Lion]

In my assessment, this is an extremely poorly formulated lawsuit and I can only imagine that Meghan is ignoring legal advice by pressing ahead. What she is attempting to do is in contrast to established privacy law cases, and is still trying to have her cake and eat it too by not fully disclosing all material facts.

The bizarre arguments about Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and Prince Michael of Kent miss the mark widely: none of them receive funding from the Sovereign Grant or represent the Queen in any formal way. And never have. Contrast that with Meghan and Harry who were to be 'working royals' with a full schedule like the Gloucesters and Kents and Cambridges etc, but who wanted to be 'half in, half out' on their road to 'financial independence'...all so convoluted it's clear nobody knew what they were actually talking about.

You mark my words, this case must settle. If it proceeds to Court it will be a spectacular failure for the Sussexes and they will be more disgraced than they already are. And they will owe Associated Newspapers a fortune in legal fees. A fortune they do not have. And I would also suggest that there is a very real risk that their actions will lead to someone being accused of perjuring themselves...

I hope The Queen doesn’t have to have another Paul Burrell/ah yes now I remember moment in order to save their skins Lord Royal.

Too many people watching for that bird to fly again.

 

[Madame Verseau]

The mistake was Meghan trying to turn this lawsuit into a privacy/defamation combo. They should be two separate cases. If Meghan backs out the vicious press wins. I hope she and her lawyers regroup and take a new tact.

 

[Iluvbertie]

Here's one mag that look like they got some of the filings


https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.to...-markle-new-court-claim-pregnant-unprotected/

After looking at this, the wedding revenue should have been left out and the HRH business. The judge may toss those out because of relevancy. As for the details of Dad's wedding arrangements it comes off that Meghan is mad her father trashed her in the press. Given the arrangements Dad got a hotel room and clothes and a minder. Doria got to stay at Nottingham Cottage and met the queen and senior royals. Dad may been hacked off over that, hence the hit pieces. Whatever the issues with families those should have been left out of court but it still doesn't justify how the press treated Meghan and had the BRF intervened more this may have not come to this. We may never know at this point.

@Somebody - I think Meghan is saying her friends went to People without her knowledge.

What could the Royal Family do?

In 1981 The Queen called the editors of the British papers to BP to ask them to stop hounding Diana. At that time the media was a lot more deferential than they are today.

How did that go down? The media didn't stop hounding Diana.

If the Queen couldn't do anything in 1981 what does anyone think she could do in 2018 when the media isn't as deferential - and nor is the public?

 

[Betsypaige]

The Hollywood crowd and the silicon valley crowd will support them no matter what they do. They fantasize about being royalty. But seriously if they are going to create issues within the royal family I don't see where the queen or charles has a choice. They have to cut them off. I don't care what they do to Princess Michael but Bea and Eugene have never done anything to them and they have problems of their own.

Charles is never going to cut his son off....and that’s the sad thing about it. Harry supporting Meghan is tantamount to also throwing his family under the bus, but he knows that even if his brother remains distant from him, his father won’t...and either will the Queen.. There has to be the fear that if they act too harshly (from Harry’s POV), Harry may cut them off. He’s chosen his wife over his family - his father, brother, grandparents - so his loyalties are with Meghan.

 

[KellyAtLast]

Charles is never going to cut his son off....and that’s the sad thing about it. Harry supporting Meghan is tantamount to also throwing his family under the bus, but he knows that even if his brother remains distant from him, his father won’t...and either will the Queen.. There has to be the fear that if they act too harshly (from Harry’s POV), Harry may cut them off. He’s chosen his wife over his family - his father, brother, grandparents - so his loyalties are with Meghan.

Don't be so sure..especially now that they brought other members of the family into their none sense. The crown will not bend over for the 6th in line and his wife. The Crown must win and it will win.. In the 90s nobody thought the queen would call for the divorce of Charles and Diana but she did and they didn't expect her to take away Dianas HRH but she did.

 

[Lord_Royal]

I hope The Queen doesn’t have to have another Paul Burrell/ah yes now I remember moment in order to save their skins Lord Royal.

Too many people watching for that bird to fly again.

It's a very different fact pattern here. In the Burrell case there was a clear gap in information where The Queen could intervene that would turn the tide of the point of the prosecution pursuing him.

In this case, this lawsuit is wholly Harry and Meghan's invention. They chose to instigate this litigation and they chose to conduct this litigation as they have. There is nowhere for The Queen to intervene. They are on their own.

 

[Lord_Royal]

The mistake was Meghan trying to turn this lawsuit into a privacy/defamation combo. They should be two separate cases. If Meghan backs out the vicious press wins. I hope she and her lawyers regroup and take a new tact.

I agree that from a litigation standpoint the two facets of this case being heard together are a mess and would have been better pursued separately. However, I do not think there is a valid case in either case.

The judge has already tossed elements of the case and the most recent admonishment from the bench about their disclosure being "vague" does not bode well for them.

In my view, Meghan has not been defamed. In order to succeed she must prove that the press made defamatory statements that are untrue and that the press knew them to be untrue. She has not clearly defined what she says is untrue. And even if she had been defamed, the damages for defamation of a sort not connected to criminal accusations are very low and can usually be remedied with a simple retraction, which newspapers often do.

In terms of the privacy case - the case law established in Campbell v. Mirror and Zeta-Jones/Douglas v. HELLO! are not going to support her position. Once that People Magazine article was released (and as I alluded to earlier, I think there is a real risk of perjury if the party line is the Sussexes had no knowledge of that article...the risks under cross examination in Court are massive), it brought the contents of the letter into the public domain, at which point, because they are public figures, it can be said to be of public interest and comment on it being fair with the letter's disclosure.

 

[Madame Verseau]

More news outlets are picking this story up. As you read you find Meghan's lawyers are specifically going after Kensington Palace Comm team for her handling the negative press. In the Bylines Investigates story Harry's lawyers stated a KP' staffer's friend leaked details of the Sussexes' step back as senior royals to Dan Wooten of the Sun for cash. If there is a beef between House Sussex and House Cambridge it may spill out at trial. Also, more details are scheduled regarding Dad. I think Meghan has decided to come for her father.

 

[KellyAtLast]

More news outlets are picking this story up. As you read you find Meghan's lawyers are specifically going after Kensington Palace Comm team for her handling the negative press. In the Bylines Investigates story Harry's lawyers stated a KP' staffer's friend leaked details of the Sussexes' step back as senior royals to Dan Wooten of the Sun for cash. If there is a beef between House Sussex and House Cambridge it may spill out at trial. Also, more details are scheduled regarding Dad. I think Meghan has decided to come for her father.

But what does all this have to do with copyright claim that this lawsuit is about?She is suing for the letter she wrote to her dad nothing else..

 

[Sun Lion]

It's a very different fact pattern here. In the Burrell case there was a clear gap in information where The Queen could intervene that would turn the tide of the point of the prosecution pursuing him.

In this case, this lawsuit is wholly Harry and Meghan's invention. They chose to instigate this litigation and they chose to conduct this litigation as they have. There is nowhere for The Queen to intervene. They are on their own.

Good to hear Lord Royal.

If the Duke and Duchess of Sussex choose to put their heads in a noose, I will be glad if the Royal Family lets them find their own way out of it.

(Enjoying your posts on the more legal aspects of this.)

 

[Claire]

I really dont think this court case has anything to do with anything really. I feel that it is just so that Meghan and Harry have something to point to when people ask them why they didnt do anything about their horrid situation in England. They can say we did - here look. It is all visuals at the moment - I doubt there is any substance here.
And way you look at this the message that they are making certain you hear is - I was bullied and my mental health suffered while I was pregnant and the people who were supposed to help didnt. That is the message M & H's PR people are drumming.

 

[Alison H]

A few weeks ago, this wouldn't have attracted any interest, but everyone's so sick of coronavirus that the press are glad to have something else to talk about. It's just making Harry and Meghan even more unpopular, at a time at which William and Kate, in particular, are doing such a good job at a difficult time. And I'm sure Beatrice and Eugenie are fuming about their names being dragged into something that's got nothing to do with them.

 

[Betsypaige]

Don't be so sure..especially now that they brought other members of the family into their none sense. The crown will not bend over for the 6th in line and his wife. The Crown must win and it will win.. In the 90s nobody thought the queen would call for the divorce of Charles and Diana but she did and they didn't expect her to take away Dianas HRH but she did.

That’s true...HM and Charles didn’t give in to H and M in January, and they won’t give in now. I don’t know what they can do, though, as they are not going to get involved in a tawdry lawsuit.

 

[poppy7]

That’s true...HM and Charles didn’t give in to H and M in January, and they won’t give in now. I don’t know what they can do, though, as they are not going to get involved in a tawdry lawsuit.

They won't get involved.Paul B was a different case and they risked being embarrassed by it anyway. They have nothing to fear from this. If they are talking about a friend of a partner of KP staff leaked the leaving for Canada story well then that is ridiculous. Happens all the time that kind of thing. I would point to the girlfriend of JK a Rowling lawyer leaking her identity as the Strike novelist.

The Crown wins. The Queen would throw herself under a bus if it would safe the Crown. Charles may continue, and probably will, to support Harry. William may too, but George won't even know him that well and may only do so as a favour to his father. But he will have the rest of the family to support then too. So we will see. Harry will fade away as time goes on and this transition period fades. The Cambridges will get bigger, Eugenie and Bea will have their own families (if that is what they want) and it's the natural epping and flow of life. When your not there, you aren't there. The next generation won't even be aware William had a brother. Until they watch the Crown probably. A lot of people don't know the Queen had 4 kids.

 

[akina21]

I sort of assume that Harry and Meghan thought the tabloids they sued would just settle quickly out of court , especially because they announced all of this after the Africa tour and the infamous interview which was supposed to get them into a place of being seen as victims of the press by the general public who would be on their side . Instead the interview had the opposite effect and no matter what, those tabloids saw it as a win win situation for them and now the Sussexes are stuck in this litigation .

I just wish they would get new advisers or listen to the ones they've got .

 

[Heavs]

Even in Hollywood most PR firms/managers would advise people to say "no comment" to a lot of trash gossip stories or other issues, lest their clients be dragged into something that becomes a worse mess after that or a "he said/she said" issue. It's not just a KP thing.

 

[Betsypaige]

They won't get involved.Paul B was a different case and they risked being embarrassed by it anyway. They have nothing to fear from this. If they are talking about a friend of a partner of KP staff leaked the leaving for Canada story well then that is ridiculous. Happens all the time that kind of thing. I would point to the girlfriend of JK a Rowling lawyer leaking her identity as the Strike novelist.

The Crown wins. The Queen would throw herself under a bus if it would safe the Crown. Charles may continue, and probably will, to support Harry. William may too, but George won't even know him that well and may only do so as a favour to his father. But he will have the rest of the family to support then too. So we will see. Harry will fade away as time goes on and this transition period fades. The Cambridges will get bigger, Eugenie and Bea will have their own families (if that is what they want) and it's the natural epping and flow of life. When your not there, you aren't there. The next generation won't even be aware William had a brother. Until they watch the Crown probably. A lot of people don't know the Queen had 4 kids.

Oh, I’m not worried about the BRF. They have handled themselves brilliantly during this time, and I am confident that the general public sides with them with regards to how Megxit went down. H and M have conducted themselves childishly, to put it mildly.

I agree with you that H will fade away with time...not because he’s physically separated (lots of families are, and they are still close), but because he’s seemingly emotionally separated himself from his family. Let’s assume he is close to his father ...he’s still finding his way with his brother, and like you said, he’s not going to know his niece and nephews well. George is going to grow up with the knowledge that he has a duty to protect the monarchy, and I just wonder what stories he’ll be told about his uncle ...his aunt as well.