Meghan Markle privacy ruling to be appealed by British newspaper publisher

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A British newspaper publisher announced on Tuesday it has plans to appeal against a judge’s ruling that it invaded Meghan Markle’s privacy by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father after her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry.

In written submissions released as part of a court hearing on Tuesday, Associated Newspapers’ lawyer Antony White sought permission to appeal, saying a bid to overturn High Court judge Mark Warby’s ruling "would have a real prospect of success."

In response, attorneys for the Duchess of Sussex demanded the publisher to hand over the letter and destroy any electronic copies or notes it held. They also asked the judge to order the Mail on Sunday to remove the five articles from its website and to run a front-page statement about the 39-year-old’s legal victory.

"The defendant defiantly continues to do the very acts which the court has held are unlawful," said Ian Mill, an attorney for the former American actress.

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The U.K. tabloid published a private letter Meghan Markle (left) wrote to her father, former Hollywood lighting director Thomas Markle (right).  (Getty Images/Mega)

"The defendant has failed to deliver up copies it has of the letter such that the threat to infringe and further to misuse her private information remains real and, inexplicably, the defendant has still not removed the infringing articles from MailOnline."

The former "Suits" star previously sued Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement over five February 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website that reproduced large portions of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle.

Last month, Warby ruled that the publisher had misused the duchess’ private information and infringed her copyright. He said Markle "had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private." He also concluded the paper’s publication of large chunks of the letter was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful."

In his ruling last month, the judge said a "limited trial" should be held to decide the "minor" issue of whether Markle was "the sole author" and lone copyright holder of the letter. It is expected to take place in the fall.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry currently reside in California with their son Archie. (Getty)

At the time of Warby's ruling, Markle broke her silence.

"After two long years of pursuing litigation, I am grateful to the courts for holding Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday to account for their illegal and dehumanizing practices," the 39-year-old said in a statement sent to Fox News last month.

"These tactics (and those of their sister publications MailOnline and the Daily Mail) are not new; in fact, they’ve been going on for far too long without consequence," she shared. "For these outlets, it’s a game. 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 world needs reliable, fact-checked, high-quality news," Markle continued. "What The Mail on Sunday and its partner publications do is the opposite. We all lose when misinformation sells more than truth, when moral exploitation sells more than decency, and when companies create their business model to profit from people’s pain. 

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The Duchess of Sussex is expecting her second child. (Getty)

"But for today, with this comprehensive win on both privacy and copyright, we have all won. We now know, and hope it creates legal precedent, that you cannot take somebody’s privacy and exploit it in a privacy case, as the defendant has blatantly done over the past two years. I share this victory with each of you — because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better."
 
"I particularly want to thank my husband, mom, and legal team, and especially Jenny Afia for her unrelenting support throughout this process," the duchess concluded her statement.

Markle married Harry, 36, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born the following year.

In early 2020, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California, and are expecting a second child.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.