Meghan Markle’s sister, Samantha, has accused the duchess of “ridicule, contempt and disgrace” by portraying her as a “disgusting opportunist”, a court has heard.
Peter Ticktin, a lawyer for Samantha Markle, 58, Meghan’s half-sister, claimed that she had caused her half-sister “great harm” by suggesting that she had only changed her surname back to Markle to cash in after she started dating Prince Harry.
The hearing was conducted remotely via Zoom, where Samantha appeared from what seemed to be her home, wearing a blue blouse.
Meghan, 41, made the claim in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Samantha, eldest daughter of Thomas Markle, the Meghan’s father, is seeking $75,000 (£62,205.00) in damages over claims made with Winfrey, which she has alleged subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale”, according to legal reports via The Telegraph.
She has accused Meghan of claiming “false and malicious lies” about her fairytale “rags-to-royalty” upbringing. She has contested her half-sister’s claim that she “grew up as an only child”.
Meghan’s legal team is reportedly attempting to get the libel case dismissed, arguing that she did not deny having a half-sister. The team are also arguing that her opinions and recollection of growing up were not “proper subject matter” for litigation in court.
Michael Kump for Meghan, argued that the duchess had not accused Samantha of changing her name to “cash in on her new found fame”, but instead, he said Meghan told Winfrey that her half-sister had changed her name when she was in her early Fifties, when she started dating Prince Harry and had added: “So I think that says enough.”
He told the judge: “The fair reading of that is that Meghan is saying to the interviewer, we’ve talked enough in this very short period about Samantha Markle.”
The Independent has contacted representatives of the Duchess of Sussex for comment.
