For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.
This particular legal action hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media. The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question. In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year.
There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.
Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. 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. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.
We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it.
MEDIA INFORMATION
Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Sussex has filed a claim against Associated Newspapers over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
The proceedings in the Chancery Division of the High Court relate to the unlawful publication of a private letter.
A legal spokesperson from Schillings who are representing The Duchess of Sussex said:
“We have initiated legal proceedings against the Mail on Sunday, and its parent company Associated Newspapers, over the intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter written by the Duchess of Sussex, which is part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband. Given the refusal of Associated Newspapers to resolve this issue satisfactorily, we have issued proceedings to redress this breach of privacy, infringement of copyright and the aforementioned media agenda.”
The case is being privately funded by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Pending a Court ruling, proceeds from any damages will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.
This was throwing down the gauntlet in a major way. It was a declaration of war against the British press and while the American media might not have understood this, their counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic did. Although it isn’t totally unheard of for royals to sue, it is highly unusual. And the timing could not have been worse from the point of view of the British Nation, even if it could not be bettered from the point of view of Sunshine Sachs, whose brief was not to protect Britain’s interests, but to weaponise any and everything to the advantage of the Sussexes personally.
Putting aside the personalities and the personal benefits Sunshine Sachs could gain for the Sussexes by hijacking the purpose of a royal tour to the detriment of Britain’s national interests and indeed the benefits that would otherwise have accrued to the people of South Africa, the announcement brought a worse than sour end to royal duties that had been a howling success. The statement eclipsed a tour that had been months in the making, had cost a vast sum of money, and had gone so well until the declaration of war had stolen the scene from South Africa and its problems. The only mitigating factor, if one existed, for stealing the tour’s thunder and diverting attention away from its purpose, i.e. the South African people and their problems, to the personal interests of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, was that Sunshine Sachs, being an American company with left-wing sympathies, had neither knowledge of nor interest in furthering the monarchic and Commonwealth agenda when they could take a wrecking ball to a royal occasion on behalf of their clients. Unsurprisingly, their timing was greeted by outrage in Britain.
There was little doubt who had advised him and Meghan regarding the statement and its timing. It had all the hallmarks of an American initiative and this smacked of interference by a foreign entity into the national life of another country. Sunshine Sachs, Harry and Meghan might not have had it to the forefront of their thinking, but the press, the palace and the rest of the Royal Family appreciated in full the constitutional significance of members of the British Royal Family taking on the press the way they had one. The statement itself was a curious blend of fact, fiction, wishful thinking, fear, loathing, and false accusation. Harry’s passion and emotion were uplifting, though whether they were misplaced was another matter altogether. The fact was, when you cut through all the unfounded claims of bullying, of the wicked press manipulating a gullible public and hounding Meghan and Diana who, as stated earlier, customarily tipped off journalists and was therefore largely if not totally responsible for her own pursuit, the supposedly innocent Meghan was not suing over lie after lie, as Harry stated, but because her father had approached the Mail on Sunday
