The Duchess of Sussex will receive just £1 in damages from The Mail on Sunday following her win in the long-running copyright case against the publication.
In August 2018, Meghan Markle sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which owns The Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, over five articles that reproduced parts of a “personal and private” letter she had written to her father, Thomas Markle.
Meghan won her case earlier this year when a High Court judge ruled in her favour without a full trial.
At the time, Meghan said she had been the face of “deception, intimidation, and calculated attacks” and criticised a “tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create”.
Now, it’s been revealed that the Duchess’ payout from the publication will amount to just £1. Media lawyer Mark Stephens told the Guardian that, generally, in cases like this “you would expect [a payout of] £75,000 to £125,000”.
However, the Mail on Sunday will also pay an unspecified amount of money for the separate copyright case for publishing large parts of Meghan’s letter.
A spokesperson for Meghan told the Guardian that the amount was substantial and would be donated to charity.
The payout revelation follows an apology made by the publication on its front page on Boxing Day.
A statement along the bottom of the Mail on Sunday read: “The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online – SEE PAGE 3”
On page three, under the heading “The Duchess of Sussex”, it added: “Following a hearing on 19-20 January, 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May, 2021, the Court has given judgment for the Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement.
“The Court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and on Mail Online.
“Financial remedies have been agreed.”
The Independent has contacted a spokesperson for the Duchess of Sussex for comment.
