Meghan Markle admits indicating 'Finding Freedom' authors about her narrative via third party

In the latest documents filed in her legal battle against British tabloids, Meghan Markle admitted expressing her version of events to "Finding Freedom" authors via a third party as she was concerned about her father's false narrative getting repeated in the media.

Meghan Markle, who is suing the Associated Newspapers Limited for publishing extracts of a private letter she sent to her estranged father Thomas Markle after her wedding to Prince Harry in May 2018, was reportedly worried that the incorrect narrative that she has "abandoned him" would continue in the media. Therefore, she told her version of events to a third party who she knew had already been approached by "Finding Freedom" authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, reports Daily Mail.

In response to the defendant's claim that the Duchess of Sussex collaborated with Scobie and Durand to push out her narrative, Meghan's lawyer's said: "She indicated to a person whom she knew had already been approached by the authors that the true position as above (which that person and several others who knew the Claimant already knew) could be communicated to the authors to prevent any further misrepresentation."

However, the former American actress clarified she was not aware of which information has been shared and to what extent. The court document filed by her lawyers read: "She does not know to what extent or in what terms this one item of information concerning her communications with her father was shared with the authors." The legal team also says that Meghan is not aware if the Kensington Palace Communications team liaised with the authors of "Finding Freedom" on her behalf.

The team also responded to the claims that the 39-year-old had help from Kensington Palace's then communications secretary Jason Knauf in the letter she wrote to her estranged father. The lawyers admitted in their reply that the duchess shared a draft of her notes with her husband Prince Harry as well as Knauf, but clarified that it was only for "support" as "this was a deeply painful process that they lived through with her."

"In the course of a discussion between them, Mr Knauf provided feedback on that draft but no actual wording, as this was a personal letter from daughter to father. The comments Mr Knauf provided were in the form of 'general ideas' as opposed to actual wording," the document stated.

The latest documents filing comes weeks after a High Court judge accepted Meghan's request to postpone the date of the full trial in the case to autumn 2021. The trial was due to start on January 11, 2021. Meghan was also granted permission to apply for a "summary judgement," under which a judge would rule on the case on the basis of documents instead of a full trial.