- Back in October 2019, Meghan Markle sued the Daily Mail. On Friday, that hearing officially kicked off.
- Among Meghan and Prince Harry's legal team is none other than David Sherborne, who once represented Princess Diana.
- In April, the couple officially cut ties with the British press.
In October 2019, Meghan Markle (with Prince Harry's support) sued The Daily Mail and its parent company Associated Newspapers over publishing a private letter to her father. Those legal proceedings officially kicked off today, and the couple—no surprise—have an ace legal team working with them, per HELLO!. And one of them is noted celebrity lawyer Barrister David Sherborne, who actually represented Princess Diana too.
Sherborne specializes in "privacy, confidentiality and defamation," and he's worked on phone hacking cases including with actor Hugh Grant. He's also apparently represented Chelsea Clinton, Kate Moss, Kate Winslet, Sir Elton John, the Spice Girls, and the Trumps. Princess Diana often said she felt harassed and threatened by the paparazzi's intrusion in her life, and a reporter was even convicted for invasion of her privacy. So it makes sense that Harry, who referenced the press' treatment of Diana as an important reason why he and Meghan resigned as senior royals, might turn to someone who tried to help protect his mother's safety too.
According to royal reporter Omid Scobie, the hearing against The Daily Mail started today at 10:30 a.m. BST (5:30 a.m. EST), and Meghan and Harry are expected to listen in on parts of the hearing (which is being conducted virtually):
Apparently the pair "see today's hearing as a procedural step in a longer legal process" but encouraged by the hearing moving forward. Before a trial happens, there also has to be a case management conference, "which is a chance for the court to identify and understand what the real issues in dispute are and to consider whether they can be narrowed."
So we have a little ways to go before anything comes out officially on this, but stayed tuned—it sounds like it's going to be quite a process.
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