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Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, awarded $800,000 in court costs after winning privacy claim against Mail on Sunday

Michael Holden
Australian music industry legend Michael Gudinski dies aged 68

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been awarded 450,000 pounds (AU$803,210) as a provisional payment towards her legal costs after she won a privacy claim against the Mail on Sunday.

The former actress had been seeking 1.5 million pounds ($AU2.67 million) after the Mail on Sunday printed extracts of a letter she wrote to her father.

Last month, a judge at London’s High Court ruled the tabloid had breached her privacy and infringed her copyright by publishing parts of the five-page letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, who she fell out with on the eve of her wedding to Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry.


At a hearing on Tuesday, Warby refused the paper permission to appeal that decision, saying he saw “no real prospect” that the Court of Appeal would reach a different conclusion.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is seeking millions in legal costs after a court win over privacy.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is seeking millions in legal costs after a court win over privacy. Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

However, the paper is able to apply directly to the court.

Warby agreed to make an interim costs order of 450,000 pounds, saying the final sum “may well be considerably more than that” after other outstanding issues were resolved at later hearings.

Meghan’s legal team also demanded the paper hand over any copies it has of the letter and called for the judge to order the paper to publish a statement on its front page stating she had won her case, with a notice also placed on the MailOnline’s home page for “not less than 6 months” to act as a deterrent.

Warby said he would not make an order for the delivery or destruction of any copies of the letter yet.

A judge at London's High Court ruled last month a UK newspaper had breached Meghan's privacy. Credit: AP


Her lawyer Ian Mill told the hearing that they were not seeking to punish the paper and would accept nominal damages based on the profits the Mail made from its articles, saying this was a “proportionate” way forward.

As regards to Meghan’s decision to only seek nominal damages, the paper’s lawyers had written: “No purpose would be served by a hearing to determine the precise amount, which by definition is not relevant. It is suggested that 1 pound, 2 pounds or 5 pounds would do.”

Meghan, 39, and husband Harry, 36, have rarely been off the front pages of British newspapers in the last month, having announced they were expecting their second child, followed by news of their final split with the royal family after their decision to move to the US last year.

On Sunday, a highly-anticipated in-depth interview they gave to US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey will be aired.

Prince Philip moved

The development comes as 99-year-old Prince Philip was transferred to another London hospital to undergo testing for a heart condition.

An ambulance carrying the Duke of Edinburgh was seen leaving King Edward VII hospital on Monday morning (local time) after he was loaded in while being shielded from the media by umbrellas.

Buckingham Palace has confirmed the 99-year-old was being transferred to nearby St Bartholomew’s Hospital, which has a specialist heart ward.


The royal is responding to treatment and “remains comfortable”, it added.

Prince Philip, who turns 100 in June, was taken to King Edward VII’s hospital in London on 16 February as a precaution after feeling unwell.

This latest stint in hospital is his longest stay ever.