A US judge has ruled that Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle will be cleared of defamation charges brought by her half-sister.
Reuters reported today, March 13, that a judge in the state of Florida (USA) has dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by her half-sister against Ms. Meghan Markle , wife of British Prince Harry.
In a lawsuit filed last year, plaintiff Samantha Markle said she had been harmed by “disparaging, hurtful and false” statements from her British royal daughter-in-law .
According to Ms. Samantha, Ms. Markle’s statements on the Netflix platform and a 2021 interview with TV queen Oprah Winfrey implied that her half-sister was a “fame-seeking fraud.”
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle visit One World Trade Center in New York City in September 2021
REUTERS
The lawsuit specifically focuses on Ms Markle’s comments that she and her sister Samantha were not close. Ms Markle also said that since she began dating Prince Harry, her sister had changed her surname to Markle, The Times reported .
In response to the above accusation, Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell ruled on March 12 that Ms. Markle ‘s statements were only opinions, were essentially true, and did not defame the plaintiff Samantha.
Ms Markle and Prince Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III , effectively gave up their royal titles in 2020, after moving to the US. The couple’s feud with the British royal family has been a topic of discussion around the world for years.
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In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple accused the royal family of racism, neglect and revealed internal feuds. When asked by Winfrey about the “supposed tell-all book” her half-sister had written, Markle replied that “it would be hard to tell you all when you don’t know me.”
According to CBS News, the couple’s appearance at that time attracted 49 million views worldwide.