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Meghan Markle admits sharing personal information with the authors of Finding Freedom

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Updated on July 5, 2023

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Meghan Markle is said to have given the writers of “Finding Freedom,” the tell-all book about her and Prince Harry’s departure from the British royal family, personal information.

The Duchess of Sussex’s attorneys claim in court filings acquired by E! News on Wednesday, Nov. 18 that neither she nor Prince Harry ever talked to or cooperated with Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand on the book.

But according to documents filed with the High Court, Markle expressed concern that the book would feature “her father’s narrative” about her, which included that she had supposedly abandoned him. As a result, she told a source her version of events so that “the true position…could be communicated to the authors to prevent any further misrepresentation,” according to the Telegraph.

On Wednesday, it was also revealed that the Duchess of Sussex wrote to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, on the recommendation of two “senior” Royal Family members.

The information might have an influence on Meghan’s legal action against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of The Mail on Sunday, which she is suing for publishing sections of the handwritten letter she sent to Mr Markle.

In her statement the duchess makes clear she “did not provide a copy of the letter or its contents, or a description of its contents, to the authors, whether directly or indirectly.” Lawyers for the duchess are categoric that Meghan did not collaborate with the authors any further and never gave either Omid Scobie or Carolyn Durand an interview either formally or informally. According to the statement filed today: “Neither the Claimant nor her husband wished to be involved in any way with the Book.”

Meghan’s attorneys further emphasize that she worked on the contents of the controversial letter she wrote to her father with Prince Harry and Communications Secretary Jason Knauf.

Despite external participation, she claims that there was no discussion about the letter being used as part of a “media strategy” to improve her image, a charge she calls “misconceived and offensive.”

“Once it had been decided that the Claimant would write to her father, the Claimant informed Mr Knauf. Mr Knauf was not only a trusted advisor, who had spoken to the Claimant’s father repeatedly, particularly in the lead-up to the wedding, and was aware of the state of his health,” the filing reads, “but he was also responsible for reporting (as was required by palace protocol) the fact that the Claimant was going to write to her father to more senior people in the Royal households, all of whom had to be kept apprised of any public-facing issues (the media spectacle surrounding Mr Markle being one such issue).”

The Duchess is suing Associated Newspapers, the owner of The Mail on Sunday, for invasion of privacy and copyright.

However, attorneys for the newspaper claim that the 39-year-old violated her own privacy when she ‘permitted’ facts about her life, including ‘information about the letter,’ to be shared with the writers of the bombshell biography.

Meghan wrote the letter to her father on her iPhone, which she shared with Jason and Prince Harry “for support, as this was a deeply painful process that they lived through with her,” according to the attorneys.

Markle is also said to have stated that she did not communicate directly with the writers, but that she could not say if the Kensington Palace communications team provided information on her behalf.

Meghan handwrote the letter to her father after Meghan, Jason, and Harry agreed on the final draft, which was eventually published by the Mail on Sunday.

The Duchess’ legal team vehemently disputed the accusation that she worked on the book in September, calling the claim “false” “fantastical” and “a conspiracy theory”

In July, a spokesman for the couple informed Page Six that “the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to “Finding Freedom.” “This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”

Meghan’s legal team was granted their request to move the privacy trial to the autumn for “confidential” reasons, and the trial was set to commence in January 2021.