Meghan Markle privacy battle: ‘Palace Four’ Royal aides refuse to take sides in duchess’ legal fight with Mail on Sunday

AP

Four Royal aides are refusing to “take sides” in the Duchess of Sussex’s High Court privacy battle but can shed light on how Meghan crafted a disputed letter to her father.  

Meghan, 39, is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over the publication of parts of a handwritten letter to Thomas Markle.  

Extracts of the letter were published by the newspaper in February 2019, sparking a legal claim by the Duchess for breach of copyright and invasion of privacy.  

The Royal aides – dubbed the Palace Four – have become embroiled in the row as a trial would explore who was involved in the drafting of the letter.  

ANL believes Jason Knauf, former communications secretary to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, was “involved”, while the couple’s ex-deputy communications secretary Christian Jones, their former private secretary Samantha Cohen, and Sara Latham, who was director of communications, are also believed to have relevant evidence in the case.  

In a letter to the court, released today, lawyers for the Palace Four said they did not want to be involved in the legal fight but confirmed they would give evidence at trial if needed.  

“None of our clients welcomes his or her potential involvement in this litigation, which has arisen purely as a result of the performance of his or her duties in their respective jobs at the material time”, solicitors Addleshaw Goddard wrote.  

“This is particularly the case, given the sensitivity of, and therefore discretion required in, their particular roles in the Royal Household. As you will appreciate, all our clients are bound by obligations of confidentiality to their former and/or current employers.

“Nor does any of our clients wish to take sides in the dispute between your respective clients. Our clients are all strictly neutral. They have no interest in assisting either party to the proceedings.”

The Palace Four want a “level playing field” in the dispute and believe they can “shed some light” on how the letter was created and drafted, whether Meghan anticipated her letter becoming public, and if there was any collaboration by the Duchess with the authors of biography Finding Freedom.  

The Palace Four no longer work for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after the couple’s departure from the Royal fold.  

Meghan’s lawyers argue the publication of the letter was “a triple-barrelled invasion of her privacy rights”, while ANL claim the news articles were in the public interest in putting Thomas Markle’s story out.

ANL also claims Meghan wrote the letter with a view to it becoming public, expecting her father would leak it to the media.  

She is seeking summary judgment and victory in the case, but ANL has argued there are issues “crying out for investigation at trial”.  

The hearing before Mr Justice Warby continues. It is expected he will reserve judgment until a later date.  

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