Face of Nation : The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have begun the final day of their overseas tour as the Mail on Sunday says it will “vigorously” defend itself in a court case launched by the couple. Prince Harry’s wife is suing the paper over a claim it unlawfully published a private letter Meghan sent to her father, Thomas Markle.
The duke said the legal action was in response to “relentless propaganda”. A Mail on Sunday spokesman said the paper stood by the story it published. Prince Harry said “positive” coverage of the couple’s tour of Africa had exposed the “double standards” of “this specific press pack that has vilified [Meghan] almost daily for the past nine months”.
The royal couple visited Tembisa township, near Johannesburg, to learn about a scheme to tackle youth unemployment, on the final day of their 10-day tour. Meanwhile law firm Schillings, acting for the duchess, filed a High Court claim against the paper and its parent company – Associated Newspapers – over the alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The duchess’s action comes after the Mail on Sunday published a handwritten letter she sent her father shortly after she and Prince Harry got married in 2018. The paper is accused of an “intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter” and of a campaign of publishing false and derogatory stories about the Duchess of Sussex.
Referring to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry said his “deepest fear is history repeating itself”. In a lengthy personal statement on the couple’s official website, he said the “painful” impact of intrusive media coverage had driven him and his wife to take action.
Prince Harry said: “I lost my mother, and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.” “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person,” he added.
Diana was once described as the “most hunted person of the modern age”. “Ever since I came to this country as a young boy, trying to cope with something I could never possibly describe, Africa has held me in an embrace that I will never forget and feel incredibly fortunate for that,” he said.
“Every time I come here I know that I’m not alone. I always feel wherever I am on this continent that the community around me provides a life that is enriching and is rooted in the simplest things – connection, connection with others and the natural environment.”
Prince Harry said he wanted to teach his son Archie the lessons he had learned from Africa about “the value of the natural world” and “community and friendship”.
