Prince Harry takes legal action against the press

[Usethegoodbudder]

m.eonline.com/news/1078711/prince-harry-defends-meghan-markle-against-ruthless-tabloid-campaign

About bloody time I say!

@CatherineOfAragonsPrayerBook

Firstly, I hardly think this is a faux pas, indeed, they seem to be getting support from the public for this. Maybe Harry should have written the letter long ago.

Secondly, you ignore the fact that no other royal has been IN this situation before, where there is a bi-racial woman marry into the Royal Family, and where there is enormous racial abuse on places like the Daily Fail. You can't say it is 'unbecoming' because a) this is a unique situation that the RF has never faced before and b) It is not something that H and M asked for. They were forced to respond to the abuse, they didn't ask for this. What you are doing, to me, is akin to victim-blaming. It's like; a bully beats up on another boy all the time, the victim suddenly has enough and finally responds with a punch back. You then call the victim's behaviour 'unbecoming'. There would have been no need for Harry to write the letter if his wife hadn't been hounded and racially abused for months on end. I for one think they've withstood this for a long time with dignity and grace, and finally, at long last finally answered back (with grace, sensitivity, earnestness and dignity) and you are attacking them for standing up for themselves. Just wtf? Classic victim-blaming. Blaming H and M for something they never asked for, deserved and was out of their control. You cannot take an abnormal situation not of their doing, and then say they are breaking protocol for responding to a not normal situation. That is simply not logical. You compare like with like (ie baby shower with non-baby shower). You cannot compare a situation of racial abuse of the first and only bi-racial member of the RF, because, there is no other precedent that lends itself to demonstrate protocol in this situation.

We are not talking about Anne or E&S or even Fergie because they are white, not bi-racial, and not from a foreign country/foreign power. That's why. Lets be honest here. There is no need for amnesia, because no one, no one, has been able to give 1 (one) example of something they've done that disrespects or breaks royal protocol. NO......ONE. And the question in a few months when another thread pops up, will still be the same. And the answer will still be......crickets. Because the bullies on here know there is only one real true reason they are being talked about. Lets be honest here; you know it, I know it, everyone on here does, including those who hate her do. Everyone knows. If only there was 1 (one) definitive example. There is not. There never is. There won't be. Now, or 5 months down the track.

Great post Sara absolutely spot on especially the last two sentences.
Wholeheartedly agree with you

You are on a bit of a crusade, SaraNade. How can you say quite definitively that M will never, ever commit any kind of transgression? Five months down the track, ten years down the track.... anyone might do something silly/wrong/illegal. You can't possibly say equivocally that M will never put a foot wrong.

They were forced to respond to the abuse

Why? IME written and spoken abuse reflects far more badly on the abuser than it does on the target, and most have the sense to see it for exactly what it is

I could just about see the need to reply if silly name calling had the potential to affect them in any tangible way, but as long as they remain under the RF's umbrella their position's practically untouchable. Why not just treat any real abuse with the contempt it desrves and move onto something more positive?

Why? If the letter writer has the copyright the paper published it without her permission. The recipient is irrelevant isn’t he?

Because standing on your strict legal rights isn't always the wisest course of action, particularly when there are significant PR considerations at play.

That was in response to this post “didn’t Megans father give the letter to the press? This is all baffling”

So nothing to do with whether it’s a wise move or not @Cohle

Thanks, but I had understood the context @Passthecherrycoke. Whether Meghan's father leaked the letter is one of the PR considerations you would have expected her to take into account when deciding to purse legal recourse.

I think many people appreciate that Meghan may be successful legally but that her choice to pursue the matter at this time and this way is still "baffling".

@IrmaFayLear Seriously I didn't know I had to micro-explain every single thing or foresee every 'gotchya' angle. I would have thought it was obvious that I was talking about the period up til now, and unless anything that clearly breaks protocol occurs between now and then.

@Puzzledandpissedoff That's easier said than done, but the old 'oh just ignore them' clearly hasn't worked. So, they finally decided to address the issue. As I am sure most would choose to do as it is the reasonable thing to do.

“Whether Meghan's father leaked the letter is one of the PR considerations you would have expected her to take into account when deciding to purse legal recourse.”

Why? I genuinely don’t understand

You don't think it will look bad for her if it is confirmed her own father leaked the letter?

Accusations will be made that she's choosing to pursue the press rather than take up the matter with her father directly. Many already believe she knew he would leak the letter and drafted it accordingly. He is in poor health and it's not going to be a great look for her if the stress of this causes him further serious health issues. It gives him further platform to cause her hurt and embarrassment just as he had begun to fade from the pubic eye etc. etc.

Why? her father leaked did leak the letter, that’s never been in doubt has it?

I don’t think she can do anything to make him look bad, that ship has long sailed.

Do you think she would be taking action over the letter if it had been anyone other than her father?

TBF he did support her in his latest rant, but it's true she's been left to bring the prosecution (though I don't know if this had to be the case because she alone signed the letter)
From what I've read, she is suing among other things for breach of copyright which she owns, as the writer of the letter.

I suspect the letter is the only thing they’ve done that is illegal. Can’t sue them for being nasty cunts

I dont know why the fact that it was her father that leaked the letter has any bearing on this. They printed it. I doubt hes leaked it, more like he gave it to them openly. Hes the only one who could have done it as the recipient. They have published it, so have a responsibility to make sure they are complying with the law. They know she is estranged from her father and they are not on good terms.

No of course the fact he provided it doesn't effect the case legally. What it impacts is the public perception of Meghan and how the press reports on her in the future.

But everyone knew her father provided the letter when it was first published months ago. Why would the public view it any differently now?

he Sussexes haven't helped themselves at times but when I saw them take Archie to meet the Archbishop I felt quite tearful. That dear little happy boy has no idea about the awful hatred his parents face each day.

What tripe.They get criticism not hatred.There is a difference.

Because now she's suing over it.

And issuing statements blaming the press alone for an invasion of privacy that her father was ultimately responsible for.

The Mail have clearly been going to the Markles for stories, possibly offering them money to dish the dirt. Of course its her fathers fault too for disclosing a private letter, but the press are the ones who should have a responsibility not to publish things that are untrue. Do you think he would have given them the letter for free? The court case is over publication. Her father has offered the letter to the press. They could have refused to publish it because it breaks the law, as well as the Press code of conduct and Human Rights law. They didnt.

Ok, well I completely disagree with your POV and don’t think this specific legal action will have any negative PR impact whatsoever

She obviously does believe that her father has let her down, but he is elderly and ill, and when she wrote that letter she must have known that he might give it to the press as he had been in contact with them before. No one is behaving ideally here, but it is hard to know what suing will ultimately achieve. Flying to LA and talking to him would have been so much better than writing a confusing letter anyway. It is sadly probably too late for that to happen now.

Suing won’t really achieve anything. They’re just firing a warning shot, letting the press know they will do it

Call me picky, but do we actually know it was Tom Markle who handed over this letter? We might suspect it or think it's the most likely scenario, but that's not knowing

He's not even alone in trying to make a few bob out of this, since the ghastly half sister and the drug dealing half brother have done the same - so again, how do we know they're not involved in some way?