Meghan fires another salvo at royals

THE DUCHESS of Sussex felt unprotected by the royal family while pregnant with Archie, she said on Wednesday in court papers.

Meghan revealed she was in such a state that five of her closest friends gave a bombshell interview to the US magazine People.

The duchess made the claims in documents filed at the High Court in a battle against the press over a letter she sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle. Among the extraordinary details:

● Meghan said her Windsor wedding in 2018 was a £1 billion money-spinner for the UK.

● She said two of her friends were told about her private letter to Markle. She denied authorising them to speak publicly.

● The 38-year-old duchess said in 2018 she was a working royal who did not make money from other sources – but pointed out that several royals were allowed to “undertake paid work”, including princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

● She unmasked her five “inner circle” friends to the High Court.

● Meghan insisted she had taken “great steps” to ensure her father attended the wedding.

Wednesday’s developments raised the stakes in the extraordinary High Court case dubbed “Markle versus Markle”, in which Meghan’s 75-yearold estranged father is prepared to give evidence against her.

She is suing the Mail on Sunday for publishing extracts from a private letter she sent to him in 2018.

The newspaper says her father revealed it to correct the false impression that her friends had given about the letter when they gave their interviews to People.

Meghan said her friends had spoken to the magazine only because they were worried about her.

She said she had been the subject of damaging and distressing articles but that Kensington Palace had mandated she could say only

“no comment”. The five friends had decided to “help” by giving interviews anonymously.

The High Court judge has thrown out the claims that the press waged a malicious campaign against her.

He struck out multiple allegations that journalists had acted dishonestly and aggravated the rift between her and her father.