British Tabloid to Pay Meghan Markle Only $1.35 to Settle Years-Long Legal Battle The legal battle between the Duchess and the Mail has spanned over three years.
By Emily Rella Edited by Jessica Thomas
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A three-year-long legal battle has come to a halt and a tongue-in-cheek win for Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.
Markle took on Associated Newspapers, the parent company to British tabloid the Mail on Sunday (which also runs MailOnline in digital format) after the outlet published excerpts from a handwritten letter she wrote to estranged father, Thomas Markle.
The duchess sued the Mail on grounds of privacy infringement, and after threats of bringing the case to the UK Supreme Court, settled the case for a sum that she will be finally be paid on January 9 — $1.35 (the equivalent of just £1.)
Associated Newspapers will also pay Markle a "confidential" sum regarding her claims of copyright infringement (because she authored the letter that was reprinted without her legal permission) and potentially cover part of her legal costs, if ordered by the court.
"This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right," Markle said last month after the Mail lost its request to appeal the case after a judge ruled in her favor without a formal trial earlier in 2021. "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."
The low sum backs Markle's claims that she was trying to make noise to change the tabloid industry, not necessarily gain money from the legal battle.
"The courts have held the defendant to account, and my hope is that we all begin to do the same. Because as far removed as it may seem from your personal life, it's not," she said. "Tomorrow it could be you. These harmful practices don't happen once in a blue moon — they are a daily fail that divide us, and we all deserve better."
Markle's settlement with the Mail also required the outlet to carry out front page statements (both in print and online) about losing the case, which it did on December 26.
It is estimated the duchess' legal costs exceed £1 million.
