The duchess’ older half-sister, Samantha Markle, is suing her sister for defamation after the royal made “false and malicious statements” about her.
As a result, the duchess filed to have the case dismissed on June 17, however the judge denied the duchess’ request four days later because Samantha had filed an amended complaint.
This week however the former ‘Suits’ actress filed a new motion for dismissal, arguing against the claims made in the “meritless defamation case” and insisting Samantha had deleted numerous specific factual allegations and exhibits from her original complaint,” claiming that the facts would “completely undermine” her estranged half-sibling’s case.
Documents obtained by Us Weekly magazine added: “Most obviously, her original complaint attached a 2018 email from Meghan to the then-Communications Secretary of Kensington Palace, Jason Knauf, that Plaintiff alleged was the basis for the allegedly defamatory statements in ‘Finding Freedom’.
“However, the email on its face disproved Plaintiff’s claim that Meghan was somehow responsible for the authors’ allegedly defamatory statements in ‘Finding Freedom’.
“Indeed, in her desperation to save her case, Plaintiff quite literally fabricated one of the statements, as evidenced by the missing interview transcript.”
Samantha had previously claimed Meghan was not honest about her past relationships with her family when she told Oprah Winfrey she had never been close to her half-sister or half-brother Thomas Markle Jr. when she was growing up.
The duchess said at the time: “I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have had siblings.
“[She] changed her last name back to Markle in her early 50s … only when I started dating Harry. So, I think that says enough.”
Samantha insisted Meghan had lied so she and her father, Thomas Markle “could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairytale life story [she] concocted.”
But Meghan doesn’t feel the nature of their familial relationships should form the basis of a lawsuit.
Her documents stated: “We do not empanel juries to rule on whether two people are ‘close,’ or whether one genuinely feels that they ‘grew up as an only child.
“Courts are not equipped to adjudicate the legitimacy of a person’s feelings about their childhood and relationships. Nor should they be. … This dispute has no place in this Court or any other.”
Meghan also requested to be awarded her attorney’s fees.
