Meghan Markle's lawsuit could turn against her favor once again. A legal expert said that the Duchess of Sussex's filed request to not reveal the identity of the five friends, who spoke to the media to defend her, could be denied.
Mark Stephens, an attorney for Howard Kennedy in the U.K., believes that this request will be rejected by the court, per Newsweek. The legal expert said that the identities of Meghan Markle's friends are the subject of media coverages, so they are openly talked about and not private.
According to Stephens, magazines like Hello has named her closest friends only recently. Meghan's "inner circle" are often identified in the press, so who her friends are is no longer a confidential matter. Allegedly, this means that any privacy details about them should no longer applicable in court.
Meghan filed in court asking the judge to keep her friends' names a secret because they have the right to privacy. The Duchess of Sussex, allegedly, filed the request after she learned that Mail on Sunday was planning to name who they are.
Prince Harry's wife said that her friends are not the ones on trial and so is she. The five friends, however, may be made witnesses to her case against the tabloid press for data breach and breach of privacy. The tabloid claimed that they have no plans of naming the women but also filed paperwork in court for the judge to reconsider this confidentiality.
Meghan's friends spoke to People anonymously in February 2019 to defend the Duchess of Sussex from the negative publicities surrounding her addition to the royal family. Meghan said that she did not plan this interview and she didn't ask her friends to defend her when Kensington Palace prevented her from speaking out and correcting the false reports about her.
The Duchess of Sussex was pregnant at that time and was, reportedly, struggling with her mental health because of the bad publicity. The friends apparently grew worried for her emotional state because they never saw her this way before.
The Sun, who also faces a separate lawsuit lodged by Meghan and Prince Harry, alleged that the five friends who spoke to People include her former best friend, Jessica Mulroney, her Pilates buddy, a pal from college, and two of her former co-star on Suits. In Meghan Markle's lawsuit they are only identified as A, B, C, D and E.
Previously, the judge already ruled against Meghan in eliminating parts of her lawsuit because these are not relevant to her case. Reports said that this case will begin proceedings in early 2021.
