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LONDON, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, won
a court battle on Wednesday to keep the names of five of her
friends private for the time being as part of her legal action
against a British tabloid which she accuses of invading her
privacy.
Meghan, wife of Queen Elizabeth's grandson Prince Harry, is
suing Associated Newspapers over articles in the Mail on Sunday
that included parts of a handwritten letter she had sent to her
estranged father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018.
As part of its defence, the paper argues that it published
the letter in Feb. 2019 after five of Meghan's friends gave
anonymous interviews to the U.S. magazine People.
The duchess argues that she did not authorise her friends to
speak to People and that the Mail on Sunday only wanted to name
them to exploit the legal dispute for commercial reasons. She
says naming them would pose a threat to their "emotional and
mental wellbeing".
Judge Mark Warby ruled at London's High Court that their
names could not be published for the moment, but that this could
change.
"I have concluded that for the time being at least the Court
should grant the claimant the orders she seeks, the effect of
which will be to confer protection on the sources’ identities,"
he said.
The anonymity issue is one of a number of preliminary
matters with the full trial not expected until next year. Warby
said the case had already taken 10 months and was still "some
way from trial", saying it needed to move forward at a greater
pace.
"The duchess felt it was necessary to take this step to try
and protect her friends - as any of us would - and we're glad
this was clear," said a source close to Meghan, speaking on
condition of anonymity.
"We are happy that the judge has agreed to protect these
five individuals."
Meghan and Harry are now living in Los Angeles with their
baby son Archie having stepped down from their royal roles at
the end of March.
Increasingly hostile relations between the royal couple and
some British newspapers they accused of intrusive, inaccurate
and sometimes racist coverage was one of the reasons why the
couple left Britain for the United States.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Sarah Young and
Alexandra Hudson)