Prince Harry has been no stranger to court since he and his wife, Meghan, stepped down as working royals in 2020. Indeed, the 40-year-old filed a lawsuit against the Daily Mail over phone hacking claims and has an ongoing case to reinstate his security, which ended when he left the firm.
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Meghan will also be facing her own court case in 2025. Reports have revealed that the Duchess of Sussex has been given a court date in the lawsuit filed by her half-sister, Samantha Markle. So far, Meghan has stayed quiet concerning the lawsuit against her.
Prince Harry’s appeal in his security court case
As mentioned above, Prince Harry has been battling with the UK government to reinstate his security. The father-of-two claims he and his family do not feel safe when visiting his home country. These claims relate to the hate and trolling Meghan suffered while a working royal.
When Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in February 2020, the Prince lost his government-funded protection. On Tuesday, 8 April, Harry arrived at the Court of Appeal in London to challenge the decision to stop government-funded protection.
As per AP News, Prince Harry has made few appearances in court so far, and his arrival today could be an indication of the case’s importance to him. The appeal is a two-day hearing, and the case will be heard in front of three judges, as reported by Sky News.
Prince Harry argues that his private protection team in the US isn’t sufficient in the UK, as they do not have access to UK intelligence information needed to keep Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, safe.
The Duke of Sussex offered to pay for the security himself instead of taxpayers, but this option was denied by the court after a government lawyer reasoned the police shouldn’t be used as ‘private bodyguards for the wealthy’.
Meghan Markle’s court case with Samantha to go to court
As mentioned above, Meghan Markle is also entangled in a court case. However, instead of a government issue, it is with a family member. Indeed, Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha, first sued the former actress back in 2022.
Per Express, Samantha started her libel lawsuit against Meghan in 2022. At the time, Meghan’s legal team revealed they would give the case ‘the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves’.
Samantha sued her half-sister a second time following Meghan and Harry’s Netflix docu-series but lost in March 2024. However, the case will be going to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta, Georgia.
Per Newsweek, the case was ‘assigned to tentative calendar number 21 in Atlanta during the week of 11 August 2025’. Which means the Markle sisters are set to go to court just a few days after the Duchess’ 44th birthday.
Samantha Markle claims remarks made by the former Suits actress ‘unfairly undermine’ her. Moreover, she claims that Meghan and Harry’s docu-series ‘guided’ viewers to believe that Samantha played a part in the online trolling suffered by Meghan. Meghan has never directly spoken of her half-sister.
The Duchess' lawyers said in their own past filing:
An implicit or express statement that [Samantha] belongs to a hate group spreading disinformation about Meghan is an opinion protected by the First Amendment.
Read more:
Prince Harry and Meghan have differing views on children’s public presence, royal expert claims
Meghan Markle accused of using children to promote brands by royal experts
Sources used:
Sky News: ‘Prince Harry's security case back in court - all you need to know’
AP News: ‘Prince Harry appeals the loss of his UK security detail’
Express: ‘Meghan Markle set for courtroom showdown with sister Samantha as date revealed for trial’
Newsweek: ‘Meghan Markle and Samantha Markle Set for Crunch Court Battle’
