Court papers have revealed Meghan Markle knew her emotional note to her father would be leaked. Photo / AP
Court papers have revealed Meghan Markle knew her emotional note to her father would be leaked. Photo / AP
Meghan Markle knew her "private" letter to her father would be leaked - and called him "Daddy" to tug at the public's heartstrings, court papers have revealed.
According to The Sun, the Duchess of Sussex told her former private secretary Jason Knauf, originally from New Zealand, that she had been"meticulous" with her words in the letter, documents say.
And a witness statement from Knauf claims she messaged him in 2018 with a copy of the letter asking if any part of it was a "liability".
The papers continue, "She also asked a specific question regarding addressing Mr Markle as 'Daddy' in the letter, saying 'given I've only ever called him Daddy it may make sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings."
The Duchess of Sussex later texted Knauf again, writing, "Honestly Jason, I feel fantastic.
The revelations come as the Mail on Sunday appeals against Meghan's privacy win at the High Court today.
She won the case in February after the outlet published parts of the handwritten letter to her father Thomas Markle, claiming it misused her private information.
The Mail on Sunday believes that she was not the only copyright owner of the letter, since Knauf was a co-author - meaning it belonged to the Crown.
It's been confirmed Knauf told her to mention her father's ill health in the "deeply personal" missive.
Meghan and Harry's former press secretary Jason Knauf has revealed his role in writing the letter. Photo / Getty Images
The court was told he claimed Meghan and Harry "co-operated" with the writers of Finding Freedom, despite denying it numerous times.
Knauf's witness statement claims they authorised "specific cooperation" for particular topics for the explosive book.
Knauf also says he met with writers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand to chat about the "briefing points" Meghan wanted him to share with them, including her "happiness about moving to Windsor" and details around her wedding tiara.
Other topics underlined in the witness statement included "information on how she had very minimal contact with her half-siblings throughout her childhood".
Meghan also reportedly wanted Knauf to discuss how she had been close with her father for most of her life "in spite of his reclusiveness".
Knauf said he wasn't aware of either Harry or Meghan meeting directly with the writers during his time as their press secretary.
