As Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, prepares to (virtually) face one of Britain’s biggest-selling tabloids in court this Friday, her lawyers have today filed her legal response—complete with emotional text messages to her father—in her case against The Mail on Sunday’s publisher.

The 33-page document obtained by BAZAAR.com points out a number of mistruths published by the paper and details numerous moments that the duchess repeatedly tried to make contact with her dad, Thomas Markle, in the days leading up to her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry. The messages include the Sussexes’ begging Thomas to reach out to them after he was admitted to the hospital with chest pains and unable fly to the United Kingdom and walk Meghan down the aisle.



“I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts…,” Meghan wrote in one text. “Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don’t respond...Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again? I’m very sorry to hear you’re in the hospital but need you to please get in touch with us... What hospital are you at?”

Thomas had previously refused any assistance offered by Kensington Palace aides and the couple, despite being repeatedly targeted at his Mexico home by the tabloids. Records show that about 10 minutes later, Meghan added, “Harry and I made a decision earlier today and are dispatching the same security guys you turned away this weekend to be a presence on the ground to make sure you’re safe... they will be there at your disposal as soon as you need them. Please please call as soon as you can.. all of this is incredibly concerning but your health is most important.”

The document goes on to state that Harry then sent a further message with details of the security guard, but Thomas declined. “While Mr Markle responded later that evening to say that he appreciated the offer but did not feel in danger and would instead recover at a motel, the Claimant [Meghan] responded 10 minutes later to make a further request for the hospital details so that she would know where he was.

“The Claimant [Meghan] will refer to the fact that the Defendant’s [Mail on Sunday’s] description of this exchange intentionally omits any reference to the Claimant or her husband attempting to protect Mr Markle and ensure that he was safe,” the paperwork continues, adding that the “unpleasant nature of the message she received on 16 May” led Meghan to call Thomas four times, and Harry to send a text. He wrote, “Tom, it’s Harry, please answer your phone. I need to know this is actually you because it doesn’t sound like you at all.”

An Evening Standard paper highlights Thomas Markle days ahead of Meghan and Harry’s 2018 royal wedding. Richard Baker Getty Images

In the days leading up to their Windsor ceremony, court documents show that Harry also repeatedly tried to make contact with Thomas, who had just been revealed by the Mail on Sunday to have colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage photos of himself preparing for the wedding. “Tom, Harry again! Really need to speak to u,” he wrote in one text. “U do not need to apologize, we understand the circumstances but ‘going public’ will only make the situation worse. If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don’t involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks.”

He added, “Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1.” Thomas didn’t reply to any of the messages and instead went to TMZ to share the news of his hospitalization. The court filing goes on to detail that Meghan’s last contact with Thomas was a missed call at 4:57 on the morning of her May 19, 2018, wedding and she has not had a missed call or text from him since.

Both Harry and Meghan hope that these text messages, which debunk a number of Mail on Sunday reports, will form part of the case against the newspaper, which alleges invasion of privacy, breaches of copyright, and misuse of personal data after it published extracts from a private letter she sent to Thomas in the summer of 2018. A “Strike Out Hearing” will take place on Friday, which provides a chance for the judge to review the full case. The hearing will take place remotely via a video link. No date has been set for the official trial yet.

Meghan and Harry during their first royal engagement in December 2017. Max Mumby/Indigo Getty Images

In her legal response today, Meghan says that the publisher of the Mail, Associated Newspapers, has gone out of its way to “attack and intimidate her.” She also adds that she had no idea that five of her close friends had chosen to speak with People magazine in a February 2019 article defending her from press attacks. The Mail on Sunday had previously claimed that Meghan had given the revelations to People her blessing (and therefore, Thomas had “legitimate right to reply”), but Meghan says she was unaware and “distressed” when the information was made public.

Meghan’s lawyers also suggest Thomas claims to have been tricked into the nine-hour interview with the Mail on Sunday in July 2018. In his reply to Meghan’s letter, he wrote, “He [the reporter] said a few things I said in confidence, but 85% were lies and bullshit! I called him and told him he was a thief, a liar and a coward and I would GET EVEN! ... I didn’t want or intend to give him an interview and I certainly would not do nine hours for free!”

On Sunday evening, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, now based in California, bolstered their argument by issuing a letter to the editors of British tabloids The Sun, Mirror, Mail, and Express (including their online and Sunday editions), stating they would now work only on a policy of “zero engagement” with them.

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