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Mail on Sunday uses public interest defence and calls Meghan's father as key witness as legal battle continues

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Meghan Markle (Photo: Getty Images)
Meghan Markle (Photo: Getty Images)

Cape Town – While Prince Harry continues discussions with the queen after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's bombshell decision to "step back as 'senior' members of the royal family", Meghan's battle with the press continues.

In case you missed it, following Harry and Meghan's successful tour of Africa, the duke released a statement saying the couple has taken the decision to sue multiple media publications for their deliberate misrepresentations of the royals. Prince Harry said the couple would also take legal action over the contents of a private letter that was "published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner".

The letter was one Meghan Markle sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, that had "purposely misled you [the public] by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year".

In November, new court documents filed by the duchess revealed the true extent of the "ruthless campaign" Harry spoke about.

Now, in High Court documents seen by ITV News, one of the publications has said publishing the letter was in the "public interest". The Mail on Sunday added that Meghan "did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy that the contents of the letter were private and would remain so" because she's a royal.

"The Claimant is a major public figure, whose fitness to perform royal duties on behalf of the Crown and to be the recipient of public money is a proper matter for public scrutiny, and whose conduct, past and present, both in public and private, including her conduct in her relationships with her family and other people, is rightly of enormous public interest," the document reads.

To make matters worse, on Tuesday, multiple publications also reported that Thomas Markle would testify against Meghan in the case. According to Us Weekly, the 75-year-old could be a key witness in the case and has given lawyers text messages sent to him from Meghan Markle in support of their claim.

The royals have yet to comment on the new developments in the case.

Prince Harry is still working things out with the queen in the UK while Meghan is settling into the Sussex's new life in Canada. The queen revealed in her statement on Monday that the couple would indeed be moving to the country with their decision to step back. Though final decisions on their big move are yet to be made, the queen is hoping to reach a consensus within the coming days. 

READ MORE HERE: Prince Harry to continue discussions with the queen as Meghan settles into new life in Canada

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