Judge says new royal book can be used in Meghan privacy case

Prince Harry and Meghan have faced a setback in their legal case. Photo / AP

The publisher of Britain's Mail on Sunday newspaper can use the contents of a recent behind-the scenes book about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in its legal defence for an invasion of privacy lawsuit brought by the duchess, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Francesca Kaye gave Associated Newspapers Ltd permission to amend its defence to add "further particulars" relating to the book, Finding Freedom, published last month.

The former Meghan Markle, 39, is suing the publisher over five February 2019 articles in the Mail on Sunday and on the MailOnline website that published portions of a handwritten letter she wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Harry in 2018.

Associated Newspapers is contesting the claim. Its lawyers argue that Meghan made personal information public by cooperating with the authors of the book "in order to set out her own version of events in a way that is favourable to her".

Antony White, a lawyer for Associated Newspapers, said in written court submissions that the book appeared to have been written with Meghan and Harry's "extensive cooperation".

Meghan's lawyers deny that she collaborated with the book's authors, Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie.

American actress Meghan Markle, who starred in TV legal drama Suits, married Harry, a grandson of the Queen, in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Their son, Archie, was born the following year.

Early this year, the couple announced they were quitting royal duties and moving to North America, citing what they said was the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. They recently bought a house in Santa Barbara, California.

- Associated Press