Meghan Markle 'Will Feel Vindicated' She Won Court Battle, But She Won't 'Win The War,' Expert Claims
Meghan Markle won her court battle after her father, Thomas Markle, leaked a letter in 2019, but it seems like people still won't be on her side.
"Meghan will feel vindicated and joyful that she has won this battle but I’m not sure she is going to win the war," Phil Dampier, who writes a weekly column for The Royal Observer, told The Sun.
"There’s no doubt in my mind that popularity of Harry and Meghan has plummeted in the U.K. and even though she may regard this as a victory over the press, which they want to control, in the course of public opinion I think they are definitely losing and I don’t think this decision will change the public’s attitude towards them," he continued. "They have proved to not completely tell the truth in the past in the Oprah Winfrey interview and also during the proceedings of this court case and I think people will still remember that despite this victory for her in the courts."
Meghan previously sued Associated Newspaper Limited (ANL) for publishing the letter, which she said infringed on her copyright. On December 2, the 40-year-old spoke out after she came out on top.
"This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right," she began. "While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create. From day one, I have treated this lawsuit as an important measure of right versus wrong. The defendant has treated it as a game with no rules."
She continued, "The longer they dragged it out, the more they could twist facts and manipulate the public (even during the appeal itself), making a straightforward case extraordinarily convoluted in order to generate more headlines and sell more newspapers — a model that rewards chaos above truth. In the nearly three years since this began, I have been patient in the face of deception, intimidation and calculated attacks. Today, the courts ruled in my favor — again — cementing that the Mail on Sunday, owned by Lord Jonathan Rothermere, has broken the law. The courts have held the defendant to account, and my hope is that we all begin to do the same."
ANL appealed earlier this year, as they claimed that someone helped Meghan with the letter, which would mean it would be owned by the Crown. However, the court ruled in her favor.
Royal biographer Angela Levin didn't seem happy with the outcome. "She’s attacked the Mail On Sunday for wanting to sell more newspapers," she said. "But she’s taken it and twisted it to suit her own beliefs and her grandiosity. This was somebody who was not a very well known actress who married a prince and it’s all gone to her head — she feels she wants to control everything really."
