Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who lives in the US has received a court-enforced public apology from the British publication, The Mail on Sunday.
Some observers say that the American wife of Prince Harry was “hounded out” of the UK by bad press coverage that bordered on racism.
More than two years ago, in February 2019, The Mail printed excerpts of a five-page letter that Meghan wrote to her estranged father.
The duchess sued for copyright infringement. The court battle lasted about 18 months costing Meghan about $1.88 million.
Earlier this year a judge ruled that The Mail and the MailOnline website had violated Markle’s privacy.
Associated Newspapers – the owners of the two publications – filed a request with the Court of Appeal to have the matter heard on trial, which was rejected at the beginning of this month.
Apart from refusing to have the matter go on trial, the Court ordered an apology be made to the duchess.
On Sunday The Mail carried a notice that reads in part: “Following a hearing on 19 – 20 January, 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May, 2021, the Court has given judgment for the Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement.
“The Court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online. Financial remedies have been agreed.”
The judge also ordered that the apology be published on MailOnline‘s homepage and remain there for a week.
On top of that, the newspaper group has been ordered to pay Meghan in damages.
Commenting on her victory Meghan said: “This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right.”
Before packing their bags for the US, Meghan and Prince Harry clashed repeatedly with Britain’s media, particularly the tabloid newspapers which they accused of bigotry and invading their privacy.
Meghan, who was trending on social media after the front-page apology in The Mail on Sunday, said: “While this win is precedent-setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create.”
