Meghan Markle's Dad Wants To Take Legal Action Against Duchess' Friends Over Alleged Defamation

Meghan Markle's father, Thomas Markle Sr., wants to sue the Duchess of Sussex's friends who allegedly spread "lies" about him.

Thomas, 76, said he plans to take legal action against the five mystery pals who shared the details of the letter she sent him following her and Prince Harry's 2018 wedding to People magazine in 2019. According to him, he has been trying to find out the identities of Markle's friends who spoke to the outlet so he can file a defamation lawsuit against them and the magazine.

"I’m trying to get the names and I’ll take legal action," he told U.K. tabloid the Sunday People in an exclusive interview. "There were lies told about me, it’s defamation. The magazine might be liable too and the people who gave the information – but nobody seems to want to give up their names."

The former lighting director, who previously said he would testify against his daughter in her case against British tabloid Mail on Sunday, revealed that he gave the newspaper a copy of the letter after seeing the People article with the headline, "The truth about Meghan," that revealed its existence. The report quoted Markle's five anonymous pals who made the first reference to the letter.

During the interview, Markle's friends denied claims that he couldn't reach her. Instead, they said it was Thomas who didn't contact the Duchess of Sussex.

"He knows how to get in touch with her," a longtime friend of Markle's said. "He’s never called; he’s never texted. It’s super-painful."

Thomas denied Markle's claim about their relationship and exposed the letter to allegedly show how she really communicated with him. He had said in a witness statement that the article made false claims about him and portrayed him as dishonest and cold-hearted.

In July 2020, Mail on Sunday allegedly attempted to name the five friends who spoke in her defense, but Markle strongly disagreed, asserting that they had the basic right to privacy and there is no reason to reveal their identities other than for clickbait and commercial gain, which she said is "vicious and poses a threat to their emotional and mental wellbeing."

"These five women are not on trial, and nor am I," Markle said in her witness statement filed at London's High court of Justice at the time. "The publisher of the Mail on Sunday is the one on trial. It is this publisher that acted unlawfully and is attempting to evade accountability; to create a circus and distract from the point of this case—that the Mail on Sunday unlawfully published my private letter."

Markle's request to protect the identities of her friends was granted "for the time being at least." However, High Court Judge Mark Warby said at the time, "The weight to be given to the relevant factors may well change as the case progresses."

Last month, the duchess scored a major legal win in her privacy and copyright infringement case against Mail on Sunday and its publisher, Associated Newspapers. Judge Warby granted summary judgment in Markle's favor over the publication of extracts from her letter to her father.

The judge said Markle "had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private. The Mail articles interfered with that reasonable expectation." The judge also ruled that the tabloid had infringed on the copyright in the letter.