The Duchess of Sussex will receive just £1 in damages from the Mail on Sunday for invading her privacy by revealing a private letter she had written to her father. The nominal amount is detailed in court documents. The newspaper and its sister website MailOnline have conceded defeat and will not fight the long-running lawsuit to the Supreme Court.
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The newspaper will also pay an undisclosed sum for infringing on Meghan's copyright by publishing significant portions of the letter in a separate case. As the newspaper accepted defeat, the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline were forced to publish front-page and homepage notifications that they had lost the legal fight. The judges even prescribed the font in which the statements should be printed. The outlets chose Boxing Day to do so.
Paying the dues
The publisher of the publication has agreed to pay a sum of money in damages for copyright infringement. TheMail on Sunday may also be forced to pay a significant portion of Meghan's legal fees, which might total more than £1 million. According to a media lawyer, Mark Stephens, the minimal payment for Meghan's privacy issue revealed a flaw in that portion of her case:
Normally for that kind of invasion of privacy, you would expect £75,000 to £125,000. It does show that the curation of her reputation was an area where she had effectively invaded her own privacy.
However, the duchess has always maintained that her three-year legal struggle with the outlets was motivated by ideals rather than money. Meghan celebrated her triumph by calling for a restructuring of the tabloid industry. She praised her patience and criticised the tabloid industry that is cruel and benefits from the lies and agony that they cause.
Privacy priority
According to Associated Newspapers, Meghan's case should have gone to trial, but the judges decided against it. The duchess had a reasonable expectation of privacy over the contents of the letter to her father as per the judgment issued in early December. Appeal Judge Sir Geoffrey Vos said:
Those contents were personal, private and not matters of legitimate public interest.
Meghan's spokeswoman stated that the court victories proved the merits of both claims. The financial remedies would be based on Meghan's right to an accounting of the newspaper's earnings following her success. The considerable sum will be donated to charity. The subsequent big news is Prince Harry suing News UK and Daily Mirror publisher Reach in a lawsuit that might be heard later this year over phone-hacking charges.
