As it looks set to go to jury trial, the defamation case of Samantha Markle against her sibling the Duchess of Sussex in Markle v Markle looks set to make the ‘Wagatha Christie’ case look like a walk in the park
The public have spent the first part of this year lapping up the ‘Wagatha Christie’ and Johnny Depp v Amber Heard defamation cases, but if it goes to plan Samantha M. Markle v Meghan Markle could become the truly most addictive legal ‘must watch’ of 2022.
Pitching the prospect of the Queen’s grandson’s wife, the Duchess of Sussex, appearing against her very own half-sister in a Tampa, Florida courtroom as a drama most definitely doesn’t require anything other than gleeful gloating and if it does occur, it will, quite frankly, be the ultimate sh*tshow.
Like watching a car crash, the Twitterati will no doubt be addicted. They will love the fact that the “private citizen” plaintiff, Mrs Samantha Markle, wants “in excess of £61,000 ($75,000 €71,000 or درهم275,000) exclusive of interests, costs and attorney’s fees” from her estranged ‘private when it suits’ sibling and that Prince Harry’s wife is being called out for “fake quotes against her sister.” That the pugnacious PR peddler Omid Scobie’s Finding Freedom is also being slammed as full of “false information” will be a veritable bonus.
Of that trashy tittle-tattling tome, the elder sister declares in her latest amended complaint submitted earlier this month:
“The book was used by the Duchess to affirm the false narrative that she portrayed to the Royal Family, that she supposedly lived a rags to riches storybook life. A life that took her from a humble beginning like that of Cinderella, to the wife of a Prince, a Duchess. She did not hesitate to strike back at what she mistakenly believed to be actions of Mrs. Markle, her older sister, against her.”
“She needed to distance herself from Mrs. Markle and to blame any and all issues on her. In the book Finding Freedom, in which the Duchess provided the information through her communications secretary, there is an entire chapter 12, starting on Page 310 entitled A Problem Like Samantha which defamed Mrs. Markle and falsely describes her ‘ploys’ to gain notoriety and money from her relation to the Duchess.”
“It stated as fact: ‘The trouble began with Samantha Markle. Meghan’s romance with Harry had hardly been public a full 24 hours when her half-sister sensed an opportunity. Never mind that she hadn’t seen her estranged half-sister in more than a decade. Samantha – who had changed her name from Yvonne and died her hair a fresh shade of blond…’”
“The false and defamatory statements which follow not only caused harm to Mrs. Markle financially in her professional occupation as a mental health counselor, but also subjected her to incomprehensible amounts of public scrutiny causing her mental health and well-being to deteriorate.”
Going further, the plaintiff calls out other supposed lies and falsehoods and claims her health and reputation have suffered immensely. She adds that the Duchess of Sussex “instilled anger in her fan base against [her]” and that this “caused substantial, irreparable prejudice, injury and harm.” She suggests that she “receives hateful emails and messages on a regular basis, is subjected to ongoing negative media portrayals, news articles, nasty negative press, and her reputation has been so damaged that she has been unable to work as a mental health counselor.”
Aside from having had to “seek and obtain an ‘Injunction for Protection Against Stalking’ in Polk County, Florida against one of Defendant’s zealous fans,” here is a woman who claims to suffer “emotionally from the worldwide hatred, contempt, and ridicule that she is forced to endure” and now she’s quite rightly fighting back.
If the Duchess of Sussex and her decided drip of a husband had any sense, they’d now do one thing: They’d man-up and make amends with both their families and bring them into the fold. That, however, would be too sensible, so, of course, they bloody well won’t.
Pictured top – In times past, the ever so conveniently forgetful former actress was happy to pose for pictures with her the sister she is now at war with both in the courts and via the media.
