Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are facing another scandal after their blockbuster revelations on Netflix, in the press, on television interviews, and in Harry’s memoir “Spare.”
Meghan’s stepsister, Samantha Markle, who Meghan spoke about in Netflix’s documentary “Harry and Meghan,” is bringing a defamation case against her. Prince Harry and Meghan may have to take the stand in court.
Samantha Markle’s lawyers filed the paperwork for the lawsuit on Friday, February 4. She is demanding that Prince Harry and Meghan testify in court in her defamation lawsuit that alleges that Meghan made false and malicious statements about Samantha in the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Samantha is requesting that Meghan make 38 separate admissions during her deposition to set the record straight, in Samantha’s opinion. She wants Meghan to admit that she lied about her upbringing and relationship, in order to create a false “rags to riches” tale, and she wants Meghan to say that the late Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III are not racists. It’s not clear what she gains with this demand.
Samantha, who has the same father as Meghan, Thomas Markle, but a different mother, accused her half-sister of withholding evidence and outright lies.
Thomas Markle is also expected to take the stand, along with Jason Knauf, a former royal aide; Ashleigh Hale, Samantha’s daughter; and Christopher Bouzy, an online security expert.
Samantha, 58, and Meghan, 41, had been fighting for years, even before the 2021 Oprah Interview. Meghan accused Samantha and her father of selling false stories about her to the British tabloids.
Samantha is seeking $75,000 in the lawsuit. She filed the document after Meghan said she grew up as an only child and, according to Samantha, lied to Oprah about the last time the sisters were together. Samantha says Meghan’s lies during her interview with Oprah subjected her to humiliation and hateful feedback, particularly online.
Samantha, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, says she was shocked and angered by claims that the couple made in their 2020 biography titled “Finding Freedom.” She alleges that Harry and Meghan have been spreading false information about her in their memoirs and documentaries.
The two conflicting parties hope to avoid a full-blown embarrassing trial that could turn into a circus and have hired Mary Ruth Houston, a British lawyer, to mediate the case.