A US court has dismissed a defamation case brought against the Duchess of Sussex by her half-sister, Samantha Markle.
The Duchess was accused of spreading “demonstrably false and malicious lies” to a “worldwide audience” in the royal couple’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
On Thursday, a Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit though, saying the former Suits actress was expressing “an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-sibling” and a statement of pure opinion was “not capable of being proved false”.
In court papers seen by the PA news agency, US District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote: “As a reasonable listener would understand it, defendant merely expresses an opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her half-siblings.
“Thus, the court finds that defendant’s statement is not objectively verifiable or subject to empirical proof…. plaintiff cannot plausibly disprove defendant’s opinion of her own childhood.”
Samantha brought the defamation case against her younger sister in March 2022, alleging the duchess had defamed her by giving information to an unauthorised biography called Finding Freedom and by discussing their relationship with Oprah on live TV.
Judge Honeywell also found the duchess could not be liable for the contents of the book because she did not publish it.
Meghan previously filed a motion to stop depositions in the case from taking place, but this was dismissed by the judge back in February.
“Defendant Markle does not show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay, or that prejudice or an undue burden will result if the court does not impose a stay,” the rejection stated. “Defendant Markle does not satisfy the high standard required to stay discovery pending the resolution of a dispositive motion.”
The filing further argued that Meghan used the “powerful resources” of the Royal Family to spread “lies worldwide” about Samantha and their father, Thomas Markle. The siblings have different mothers.
In the past, Thomas has also been vocal in his opposition to Meghan and on one occasion, slammed Meghan and "her ginger husband" on his YouTube channel while chatting with photographer Karl Larsen.
He said: "I've been trying for almost four years to try and see my daughter and her ginger husband in a court room face-to-face.
"I haven't seen them face-to-face and I haven't seen my grandchildren so I'd be thrilled to come to court and defend my oldest daughter."
In another moment back in September 2022, Thomas hit out at his daughter after she claimed that she had “lost him.”
The comments were made during Prince Harry and Meghan’s chat with The Cut, where she said: “Harry said to me, ‘I lost my dad in this process.’ It doesn’t have to be the same for them as it was for me, but that’s his decision.”
Omid Scobie later clarified that Meghan was referring to her own father, not King Charles, which Thomas commented on during one of his many interviews with the Mail on Sunday.
He scathed: "She didn't 'lose' me, she dumped me. I am not lost. She knows where to find me. My number hasn't changed.
"I would love to hear from my daughter and meet my son-in-law and my grandkids for the first time."
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