Filing suggests Thomas Markle may testify in Meghan lawsuit

LONDON — The estranged father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex could be called to testify against the royals in her lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday newspaper, court papers reveal.

The prospect of a court battle is more bad news for a British royal family already shaken by Meghan and Prince Harry’s decision to drop out of full-time royal duties.

Meghan is suing the newspaper and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, for publishing a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle. The civil lawsuit accuses the newspaper of copyright infringement, misuse of private information and violating the U.K.’s data protection law with the publication of the letter.

Documents filed at the High Court in London show the newspaper plans to rely on evidence from Markle, stating that he “had a weighty right to tell his version of what had happened between himself and his daughter, including the contents of the letter.”

Papers drawn up by lawyers for the newspaper also argue that the letter’s publication was in response to a “one-sided” article in People Magazine in February 2019 featuring an interview with five unnamed “close friends” of the duchess which referenced the letter, meaning its existence was in the public domain.

The revelation that Thomas Markle would be prepared to testify against his daughter raises the unseemly and potentially explosive possibility of a courtroom showdown in which Meghan would face cross-examination about her dealings with the news media. Other royals, such as her husband, Harry, might be called as witnesses.