ROYAL NEWS
Former aide claims Meghan Markle knew letter to dad ‘could be leaked’
A witness statement from the Sussexes’ former employee has been released
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s former communications secretary Jason Knauf has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex knew her infamous letter to her father Thomas Markle could be leaked. In a witness statement made public by the Court of Appeal, Jason said that Meghan asked him “to review the text of the letter, saying ‘obviously everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked so I have been meticulous in my word choice but please do let me know if anything stands out for you as a liability.’”
Jason added, “She also asked a specific question regarding addressing Mr Markle as ‘Daddy’ in the letter, saying ‘given I’ve only ever called him daddy it may make sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked it would pull at the heartstrings.’”
According to Jason, the Duchess of Sussex “indicated in messages to” him that “she recognised that it was possible that Mr Markle would make the letter public.”
“In the event that it was leaked she wanted the full narrative as set out in the letter to be understood and shared. She said she had ‘toiled over every detail which could be manipulated,’” Jason said. “The Duchess wanted to make sure that if the letter became public it would assist with setting out her perspective on the problems with her father’s behaviour.”
He continued, “In the messages on 24 August she said she felt ‘fantastic’ after writing it and added that: ‘And if he leaks it then that’s on his conscious(sic) but at least the world will know the truth. Words I could never voice publicly.’”
Earlier this year Meghan won her privacy case against the Mail on Sunday, which published part of the letter Meghan sent her father. Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, is challenging the ruling. Per Reuters, lawyer Andrew Caldecott told judges on the Court of Appeal, “The letter was crafted specifically with the possibility of public consumption in mind, because the claimant appreciated Mr Markle might disclose it to the media.”
