London (AFP)
British justice examines from Tuesday the request of Meghan Markle to win her case against the publisher of the tabloid Daily Mail, which she pursues for invasion of privacy, without going through a trial.
The 39-year-old American actress and wife of Prince Harry accuses Associated Newspapers - which publishes the Mail Online, the Daily Mail and its Sunday version Mail on Sunday - of invading her privacy by publishing extracts of 'a handwritten letter to his father Thomas Markle in August 2018.
A trial was originally scheduled to take place in January 2021 in the case, but lawyers for the Duchess of Sussex had obtained a postponement until the fall of 2021, before the High Court in London in October.
In addition to a "confidential reason" invoked by representatives of Meghan Markle, Judge Mark Warby, in charge of the case, had indicated that the postponement was justified by a legal process initiated by the complainant.
It is this request for "summary judgment" - which, in Anglo-Saxon law, allows the case to be resolved without a trial - that the High Court will examine on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Hearings will be held virtually due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, which forced England to reconfigure for the third time in early January.
- War on the media -
Inflicting a setback on Meghan Markle, justice had authorized in September the Mail on Sunday to support its defense on "Finding Freedom" (Towards freedom), a recent biography of Meghan and her husband Prince Harry, returning to her estrangement from the British monarchy.
The Duchess had announced her intention to appeal.
Lawyers for Associated Newspapers had claimed that Meghan had "cooperated with the authors" of this book which refers to the letter for the distribution of which they are being prosecuted, which she denies.
Prince Harry, 36, sixth in order of succession to the British crown, has repeatedly denounced media pressure on his couple and made it the main reason for his announced retirement from the royal family in January 2020 and effective since early April.
Installed since in California, the couple is at open war against the press.
Harry, whose mother Diana died pursued by paparazzi in Paris in 1997, has taken separate legal action against another British tabloid, the Daily Mirror, for alleged phone hacks.
According to British media, he is also suing Associated Newspapers for an article published in October by the Mail on Sunday, claiming he had no contact with the Royal Marines since his removal from the monarchy, which had forced him to renounce his honorary military titles.
Since their installation in California, also justified by their desire for financial independence, Meghan Markle and her husband have concluded several contracts with content platforms, including the streaming giant Netflix and the audio platform Spotify.
Critics have criticized the couple for seeking to take advantage of this royal family membership and fame while refusing to take on the formal and representational aspects of the function.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have put forward their desire to work for humanitarian causes, in particular through a new foundation, Archewell, name inspired by that of their son Archie, born in May 2019.
© 2021 AFP