ROYALSMeghan Markle Accused Of Using Her Friends To 'Enhance Her Image' In New Book
The bombshell tell-all, Finding Freedom, has Meghan Markle in some hot water.
The 39-year old allegedly colluded with authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand as part of "a media strategy to improve or enhance her image," which started shortly after she married Prince Harry in 2018. The Mail on Sunday is accusing Markle of using her friends as "de facto media relations agents" to feed nearly 50 pieces of personal information — "which could only have come from her" — to the authors of the explosive biography.
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According to The Sun, the California native lost her bid to block claims that she cooperated with the authors about her and her husband's departure from the royal family. This means the The Mail on Sunday can now rely on the biography in its defense against Markle over the publication of a letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr.
The mom to 17-month-old son Archie is suing the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers (ANL), over privacy infringement for publishing the private correspondence between her and her father.
In papers filed by The Mail on Sunday, they argued that "The Claimant does not object to details of her own or other people’s personal relationships and correspondence being publicly disclosed, provided that such disclosure is couched in terms that are favorable and flattering to her."
The newspaper claims Markle became "increasingly frustrated that the press coverage she received was not to her liking and did not do her justice" and she "wanted to take more active steps to promote a positive image of herself."
She "began to feel that the British press was in some way acting against her, so much so that she believed (and still believes) that there were 'hundreds of thousands' of inaccurate articles about her. She therefore decided that she would by-pass or augment the efforts of the Palace communications team and pass information to the media and to the authors herself, using her friends as her de facto media relations agents or conduits," the paper read.
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The Mail on Sunday said that Markle and her husband allegedly "allowed the authors to observe and interact with them, their friends and associates, and allowed their friends and associates to speak and pass information to the authors."
The publication also claims much of the information in the bestselling book "could have originated only from Meghan and/or her husband" and goes on to list 49 details which "must have come directly" from Meghan herself.
The intimate details that were included was Markle's relationship with Prince Harry, her feelings towards Kate Middleton and her birth plan for Archie.
Additionally, Finding Freedom contains several photographs originally published Harry and Meghan’s Instagram account, SussexRoyal. The paper points out that Markle has previously complained to the media about its use of these pictures, but not to the authors of Finding Freedom.
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"It is inferred that Meghan gave the authors permission to republish these images in the book," the outlet claims.
Markle's lawyer, Justin Rushbrooke, argued, "The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book," and suggested that the book draws on material published by ANL and other public domain sources.
Judge Francesca Kaye has since allowed the ANL defense to use the book and refused Markle permission to appeal against the ruling. Markle's lawyers have the option of taking Kaye's decision to the Court of Appeal.
The case is due to go to trial in January 2021.
