Meghan Markle loves drama. Ever since she and her husband, Prince Harry, vowed to “step back” as senior royals — which they say was to preserve their privacy and autonomy — they have done everything in their power to attract attention. For instance, Meghan’s decision to make a family matter (her fraught relationship with her father, Thomas Markle) a matter for the media as well.

Meghan is currently suing the Mail on Sunday for publishing a handwritten letter she wrote to Thomas, ahead of her wedding. Thomas claims that he only leaked the letter to the Mail in order to counter libelous rumors spread by Meghan’s friends, who had already spoken of its contents to People magazine. Meghan’s legal team denies this and additionally argues that Thomas was harassed and exploited by the press. But how would Meghan know that her father had been harassed if she isn’t in contact with him? Last week, Justice Warby noted this and other inconsistencies when he “struck out” significant parts of Meghan’s case as “irrelevant,” “inadequate” and “impermissibly vague” ahead of trial.

Meghan’s legal team now faces an uphill battle. They must prove that she, a public figure, had a “reasonable expectation to privacy” when she sent the letter to her father, a letter already discussed by her friends in the press. If the case goes to trial later this year or early 2021, then father and daughter will be forced to testify against each other under oath.

You Might Like

While we await the season finale, on August 20 we can enjoy a new biography, Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, in which the authors offer an “honest, up-close and disarming portrait” of the “confident, influential, forward” couple. Naturally, Harry and Meghan gave an interview to the authors of this flattering work. So much for being camera-shy!