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Meghan Markle's lawyers insist she wasn't interviewed by Finding Freedom authors

Entertainment
 Lawyers for Meghan Markle say neither she nor Prince Harry were interviewed for Finding Freedom (Image: Getty Images)

Meghan Markle's lawyers have denied she "collaborated" with the authors of a recent book about her and Prince Harry at a High Court hearing.

The Duchess of Sussex is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday over its publication of a "private and confidential" letter sent to her estranged dad Thomas Markle before her wedding in August 2018.

Meghan, 39, said the five articles from February 2019 were a misuse of her private information and breached the Data Protection Act.

A trial is set to take place in January.

At the latest preliminary hearing in London, Associated Newspapers (ANL) asked to change its defence to Meghan's claim to argue she "co-operated with the authors of the recently published book 'Finding Freedom' to put out their version of certain events".

Lawyers for ANL also claimed Meghan's letter to her father was discussed with the Kensington Palace communications team before it was sent, because the Duchess wanted to use it "as part of a media strategy".

The publisher says Meghan wrote the letter to Mr Markle “with a view to it being read by third parties and/or disclosed to the public, or knowing that this was very likely”.

 Harry and Meghan have moved to Los Angeles in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic (Image: Getty Images)

Antony White QC, representing ANL, said Finding Freedom, which was published in August, gave "every appearance of having been written with their (Meghan and Harry's) extensive cooperation".

Mr White told the court that the book "sets out in great detail accounts of events" that only the couple or a close source would know.

He said either Meghan “gave or allowed others to give this information to the authors”, that friends provided it to the authors “despite her wishes”, or that the information is "the product of invention".

However lawyers for the former Suits actress say references by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand were simply "extracts from the letter lifted from the defendant's own articles".

In written submissions, Justin Rushbrooke QC said: "The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book."

He added the couple have not spoken to Mr Scobie or Ms Durand, who were also "not given the impression that the claimant wanted the contents of the letter to be reproduced in the book".

The court also heard legal costs for both sides could reach Sh414 million (£3million) after the trial in January.

 The couple have repeatedly denied involvement with Finding Freedom, which was published in August

It's estimated the case could cost Meghan around Sh248 million (£1.8million), the court heard.

In documents before the court, Jessie Bowhill - who also represents the Duchess - said: "The overall total costs figures are Sh248 million (£1,798,043.57) for the claimant and Sh170,000 (£1,230,425) for the defendant.

"At the broad brush level, Sh248 million (£1.8 million) is a reasonable and proportionate amount for a seven to 10-day trial in the High Court in a case concerning private information, personal data and intellectual property rights of a high-profile individual."

Last month, the Duchess won the most recent tussle in the legal action after Mr Justice Warby ruled in her favour over protecting the identities of five friends who gave an anonymous interview to a US magazine.

The five friends, who gave an interview to People magazine speaking out against the bullying Meghan said she has faced, will remain anonymous.

Alexandra Marzec, representing ANL, told the court the duchess was using her friends as "PR agents” to “influence the media” in the months before the letter was sent to Mr Markle in 2018.

Meghan is suing ANL over five articles in total, two in the Mail on Sunday and three on MailOnline.

The headline of the first Mail on Sunday article read: "Revealed: The letter showing the true tragedy of Meghan's rift with a father she says has 'broken her heart into a million pieces'."

Other issues to be discussed today include the timetable for naming witnesses, the trial date, a cap on legal costs and the application by Associated Newspapers' lawyers to amend their defence ahead of the trial.

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