Meghan Markle makes powerful statement after The Mail On Sunday lose privacy battle

The Duchess speaks out

Meghan Markle
(Image credit: Getty)

The Duchess of Sussex has issued a powerful statement about standing up for what is right after The Mail On Sunday lost its appeal to overturn the High Court’s ruling that it infringed upon her privacy.

  • The Sunday newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers, lost its appeal to overturn the High Court’s ruling that it infringed upon Meghan Markle’s privacy when it published a private letter she had written to her father, Thomas Markle.
  • Meghan Markle said this was a “victory” not just for her, but for anyone scared to stand up for what is right.
  • It follows royal news that Prince William and Kate Middleton have a "secret" third home 

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits 1 World Trade Center on September 23, 2021 in New York City.

(Image credit: Gotham/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

Meghan Markle has made her victory against The Mail On Sunday a public one in a powerful new statement about differentiating between right and wrong. 

Having successfully fought for her privacy rights against The Mail On Sunday who published a private letter she wrote to her father, the Duchess—who has been the victim of tonnes of online hate since joining the royal family—put some words down on paper.

She wrote, “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right. While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.

“From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as an important measure of right versus wrong. The defendant has treated it as a game with no rules. 

"The longer they dragged it out, the more they could twist facts and manipulate the public (even during the appeal itself), making a straightforward case extraordinarily convoluted in order to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers—a model that rewards chaos above truth. In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation, and calculated attacks.”

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex leave from the West Door of St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor on May 19, 2018

(Image credit: Photo by Ben STANSALL - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The Duchess of Sussex won the case back in February, but had since been waiting to see if The Mail On Sunday’s appeal would be granted to overturn the result. 

The Court of Appeal accepted Meghan’s argument that the letter she wrote to her estranged father in 2018 was not in the public interest.

The three judges agreed and said its contents were “personal, private and not matters of legitimate public interest.”

Georgia Farquharson

Georgia writes across Woman & Home and Good to Know and specialises in all things royal. Previously labelled the "Queen of the royals," Georgia knows the whose who and what's what when it comes to the monarchy. When she's not eagerly following the royal family, Georgia enjoys shopping and self-care. She lives with this motto in mind; "if your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."