Meghan's sister takes bitter fight to court

Judge hears Samantha Markle’s claim that defamatory” comments by the royal caused harm and damage”

- Lisa Blake

The feud between the Duchess of Sussex and her half-sister raged on last week when Samantha Markle appeared in court.

Days after it was reported Meghan and Harry could be questioned under oath during the defamation lawsuit, Meghan’s legal team appealed to the judge to throw out the case, which relates to comments made in the couple’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, as well as in 2020 biography Finding Freedom. Samantha claimed she has been subjected to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale” and is seeking $75,000 in damages.

The Florida court was told that Samantha, 58 – who is the eldest daughter of Thomas Markle, the duchess’s father – had been subjected her to “ridicule, contempt and disgrace” by portraying her as a “disgusting opportunist”.