Finding Freedom: Meghan could be quizzed in court about new biography
The Duchess of Sussex faces being quizzed in court over intimate details revealed in a new tell-all biography after the authors admitted that she was a source.
Finding Freedom, a 350-word tome laying bare the innermost thoughts of both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is expected to be thrust to the heart of a High Court privacy case brought by Meghan against the Mail on Sunday.
The Sussexes have tried to distance themselves from the book, while co-authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand have repeatedly insisted they were not interviewed and did not contribute, despite a startling level of detail charting the couple’s feelings.
However, buried in an “author’s note” at the back of the book, is the intriguing admission: “We have spoken with close friends of Harry and Meghan, royal aides and palace staff (past and present), the charities and organizations they have built long-lasting relationships with and, when appropriate, the couple themselves.”
The Mail on Sunday's legal team are understood to be looking closely at the book to determine whether it is evidence that the Duchess has allowed friends to speak to the media on her behalf, which is central to their case.
The Duchess could be called to the stand as part of the case.
Mark Stephens, a leading media lawyer and partner at Howard Kennedy solicitors, said: “Essentially, that’s a confession that this is as near as damn it to an authorised biography.”
He said the Duchess would likely be questioned about whether she gave the green light to friends and colleagues to contribute to the book in order to curate her own reputation.
“You can’t expect to get into a reputational boxing ring without risking a few punches landing on you,” Mr Stephens added.
The Duchess is suing the Mail on Sunday for breach of privacy after it published part of a letter she had written to her father.
Her insistence that she did not authorise five of her friends to speak to People magazine in interviews which revealed the existence of the letter is central to the case.
But Mr Scobie may have inadvertently already compromised her position after telling Good Morning America that she had intended for the contents of the letter to be made public.
Speaking to the US network in February 2019, he revealed that the Duchess “knew in her heart of hearts that this was going to be released to the papers,” adding: “Many of those things in that letter were written with the public in mind. She very much wanted to set the record straight.”
Finding Freedom, published on Tuesday, provides a highly personal account of Harry and Meghan’s relationship, charting every detail from the moment they met until their departure from royal life to America.
Designed to prove the couple's own version of events, it details personal conversations, private meetings and everything from the Queen’s “maroon and cream Aubusson carpet” to their son Archie’s height percentile and the Duchess of Cambridge’s perceived “indifference” to meeting her.
