Meghan Markle's messages to former royal aid Jason Knauf have been revealed. Image Source: Salon
Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has been accused of a "clear contradiction" after text messages she wrote to royal assistant Jason Knauf was exposed at MailOnline's appeal hearing. Until March 2019, Jason Knauf served as Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's communications secretary.
Meghan Markle's lawyers, who sued the UK newspaper The Mail on Sunday earlier this year, over the leaked letter she addressed to her father, Thomas Markle, stated in the initial filing that the Duchess intended the letter's exact contents to be private. However, according to the newly disclosed messages, Meghan Markle was aware that the letter she wrote to her father might be exposed.
The former actress told Jason Knauf that she fears that the letter might be leaked to the publication and that she has used her words correctly. She quoted, "Obviously, everything I have drafted is with the understanding that it could be leaked, so I have been meticulous in my word choice, but please do let me know if anything stands out to you as a liability." In her messages to Jason Knauf, Meghan Markle stated, "Given I’ve only ever called him Daddy, it makes sense to open as such (despite him being less than paternal), and in the unfortunate event that it leaked, it would pull at the heartstrings."
Also revealed in the texts is Meghan Markle's claim that "Prince Harry" was purportedly subjected to "continuous berating" by the Royal family over her connection with her estranged father, Thomas Markle.
Meghan Markle penned a letter to her father, Thomas Markle, requesting that he stop speaking to the British press to protect her husband, Prince Harry, from the Royal family's "continuous berating" ahead of their wedding in 2018. Meghan Markle opted to sue the Mail on Sunday for misusing private information, a violation of copyright, and a breach of the Data Protection Act 2008 after the letter was leaked to the magazine and published online.
The letter was published, however, because of the "great and legitimate public interest" in the royal family, including its personal and family relationships, according to the newspaper's defense. According to the publication, Thomas Markle only shared the letter to show his side of the story after one of his daughter's friends mentioned it in an interview with People Magazine in February.
Thomas Markle refused to attend the royal wedding because he wanted to save his daughter from embarrassment but later stated that he was ill. Image Source: The Independent
Meghan Markle's father refused to attend her wedding a day before the royal wedding because he was discovered faking his paparazzi images to boost his public image. Following the scandal, Thomas Markle stated that he would not attend the wedding to spare the royal family embarrassment, but he later changed his mind because he wanted to lead his daughter down the aisle. Shortly after, he revealed that he had to have heart surgery due to acute chest problems and would not be able to recover in time for the wedding.
Prince Charles was delighted to walk Meghan Markle down the aisle. In an interview after the wedding, Thomas Markle remarked in an interview that he was "proud" that Prince Charles took his place, but that he was disappointed to miss the occasion. "I felt envious; I wished I could have been there, that it had been me," he stated. "But thank God he was there," says the narrator.
Meghan Markle, in her leaked text messages to Jason Knauf, revealed her decision to write a letter to her father was mainly because it was creating issues for Prince Harry, and she wanted it to stop. She wrote, "I am currently in Toronto and have drafted a letter to have mailed to my dad. I share this with you in confidence – the letter itself and its content. My thinking behind this is that, unlike a text or email, it can't be forwarded or cut and pasted to only share one small portion. It also does not allow for a conversation. The catalyst for my doing this is seeing how much pain this is causing H [Prince Harry]. Even after a week with his dad [Prince Charles] and endlessly explaining the situation, his family seems to forget the context—and revert to "can't she just go and see him and make this stop?" At the very least, by writing, H will be able to tell his family, 'She wrote him a letter, and he is still doing it. ’ By taking this form of action, I protect my husband from this constant berating, and while unlikely, perhaps it will give my father a moment to pause".
Jason Knauf responded to Meghan Markle by saying that the draft letter was very strong and that it was a good idea. He further added that the letter had enough emotion to be authentic, but all in resigned sadness and anger.
The former royal-aid Jason Knauf has decided to speak up. Image Source: Yahoo News
In 2019, a close friend of Meghan's revealed that Thomas Markle wrote her a long letter in response, begging for a public photo opportunity, to which she responded, "That's the reverse of what I'm saying." I'm telling you that I don't want to communicate through the media, and you're requesting that I do so. Did you hear what I just said? It's almost as if they're passing ships. "
In March 2021, High Court Judge Mark Warby gave a decision in Meghan Markle's favor, ruling that the Mail on Sunday had violated her privacy and infringed on her copyrights by printing parts of her handwritten letter to her father, Thomas Markle, in 2018. Another victory for Markle came when the judge ordered the outlet's publisher, Associated Newspapers, to run a statement on the front page confessing to the legal setback.
In his ruling, Mark Warby stated that the front-page font size cannot be smaller than the paper's February 2019 title, "Meghan's Shattering Letter to Her Father." The court found that "Associated Newspapers infringed her (Markle's) copyright by publishing sections of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online," the judge added.
Meghan Markle told Andrew Ross Sorkin, "In terms of this appeal, I won the case and this issue, frankly, has been going on since I had no children at all. I now have two children, as you know." It's an arduous process. But again, it's just me standing up for what's right, be it in this case or in the [case for economic and professional parity] we're talking about today. At a certain point, no matter how difficult it is, you know the difference between right and wrong. You must stand up for what's right, and that's what I'm doing. "
Jason Knauf’s evidence also questioned the couple’s long-running assertion that they were not involved in creating "Finding Freedom," a book written by royal reporter Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. Meghan and Harry, who left the royal family last year due to media intrusion and relocated to the United States, have previously stated that they had no role in the book. The pair 'approved particular co-operation' with the book author's work, according to the information revealed by Kanuf's texts. Meghan Markle wanted Jason Knauf to share "briefing points" with Scobie and Durand, so he met with them. He also discussed the meeting with Prince Harry.
As the messages between Duchess of Sussex and former royal aid were revealed, Meghan Markle said in a witness statement seen by Newsweek and released November 10th, 2021, "To be clear, I did not want any of it to be published, and wanted to ensure that the risk of it being manipulated or misleadingly edited was minimised, were it to be exploited." The Duchess accepted that some information about the royal house was provided to the authors, "Mr. Jason Knauf did provide some information to the authors for the book, and he did so with my knowledge, for a meeting that he planned with the authors in his capacity as communications secretary," the Duchess said.
On Thursday, the concluding day of a three-day hearing, senior judge Geoffrey Vos said, "We will take time to examine our decisions in the usual way." The judges, he said, would study the arguments "very carefully."
Meghan and Harry at the red carpet of The Intrepid Museum's Salute to Freedom Gala. Image Source: NY Post
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were recently spotted on the red carpet of The Intrepid Museum's Salute to Freedom Gala, their first red carpet appearance after the two decided to step down as royal members of the royal family. Meghan, who looked lovely in a red Carolina Herrera gown, turned around and gently said, "I'm always proud of him," when asked by a reporter if she was proud of her husband. Five service people, veterans, and military families "suffering from the invisible wounds of war" received honors from the Duke.
