Meghan Markle 's privacy trial against The Mail on Sunday has been postponed by at least nine months.- The duchess, who is suing the publication after it published contents from a private letter she wrote to her father, was due to appear in court in January 2021.
- Markle's lawyer told the court that the "primary basis" for the adjournment was sought on "a confidential ground," Birmingham Live reports.
- This comes after the court agreed that The Mail would be allowed to question the duchess over her alleged involvement in the "Finding Freedom" biography, though the duchess denies having collaborated with the authors.
The court date for Meghan Markle's privacy trial against The Mail on Sunday will be delayed by at least nine months.
The High Court in London has agreed to push back the pre-arranged date "after hearing confidential reasons from Meghan's lawyers," the Evening Standard's court correspondent Tristan Kirk wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
—Tristan Kirk (@kirkkorner) October 29, 2020
The trial was originally due to take place on January 11, 2021, according to Hello! Magazine's online royal correspondent Danielle Stacey.
The new date is yet to be officially confirmed.
Markle is suing Associated Newspapers — the parent company of The Mail — over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018 after the newspaper published excerpts of a private letter she wrote to her father.
Markle's lawyer Justin Rushbrooke QC told the court that the "primary basis" for the adjournment was sought on "a confidential ground," Birmingham Live reports. He said that he had conducted a private hearing without the press earlier on Thursday morning, the publication added.
The duchess has also been granted permission to apply for a summary judgement. The duchess' legal team will make the case in January, and if successful, the trial will not go ahead at all.
This was the legal step taken by Prince Charles, who sued the same publication in 2006 after the The Mail on Sunday published excerpts from his journal.
In September the court ruled that The Mail on Sunday's defense team would be allowed to use the duchess' biography, "Finding Freedom" by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, in court.
The Mail amended its defence to the duchess' privacy claim, saying that she "co-operated with the authors of the recently published book 'Finding Freedom' to put out their version of certain events."
"The claimant and her husband did not collaborate with the authors on the book, nor were they interviewed for it, nor did they provide photographs to the authors for the book," Rushbrooke QC said at the hearing in September.
The duchess' legal team are planning to make an appeal against the ruling on Thursday, according to Hello! Magazine. The publication reports that a cost and case management hearing will also take place on Thursday afternoon.
The Mail on Sunday declined to comment when contacted by Insider for this article.
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- Prince Harry has sent a legal warning to the same tabloid newspaper that Meghan Markle is suing
- The Mail on Sunday will be allowed to accuse Meghan Markle of secretly collaborating with her royal biographers in court
- Meghan Markle just won a court battle to protect the names of 5 friends who defended her in an anonymous interview
- Meghan Markle has agreed to pay $87,000 to the Mail on Sunday after losing the first round of her court battle against the newspaper