Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are to be questioned as part of a US defamation case brought by her half-sister over "false and malicious" statements.
Samantha Markle is suing Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, for “defamation and injurious falsehood” following the couple’s high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
In a filing submitted in March last year, Samantha Markle claimed “demonstrably false and malicious statements” were made by Meghan to a “worldwide audience”.
The duchess previously filed a motion to stop depositions in the case from taking place, but this was dismissed by Florida judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell on Tuesday.
A deposition is a formal statement of evidence in the US that typically happens out of court and is taken by an authorised officer of the court.
“Defendant Markle does not show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay, or that prejudice or an undue burden will result if the court does not impose a stay,” said the documents, obtained by the PA news agency.
“Defendant Markle does not satisfy the high standard required to stay discovery pending the resolution of a dispositive motion.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years - in pictures
-
Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty -
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty -
The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP -
The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty -
Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty -
Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty -
Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty -
The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty -
Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty -
Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty
In their joint interview with US talk show host Winfrey, Prince Harry and Meghan spoke about their families and made a series of allegations about the British royal family.
Samantha Markle’s original complaint stated that the comments made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex during the interview reached “roughly 50 million people in 17 countries”.
In the filing, she alleged she was defamed by Meghan, when she “falsely and maliciously” said she was “an only child”.
“Plaintiff – who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is confined to a wheelchair – brings this action for defamation based on demonstrably false and malicious statements made by her half-sister to a worldwide audience, including roughly 50 million people in 17 countries who watched the Oprah Winfrey interview with the defendant, Meghan Markle, and her husband, Prince Harry of England,” the filing said.
The filing also said Meghan used “the powerful resources of the royal family’s public relations operation” to disseminate and spread “lies worldwide” about Samantha Markle and their father, Thomas Markle.
“Defendant orchestrated the campaign to defame and destroy her sister’s and her father’s reputation and credibility in order to preserve and promote the false ‘rags-to-royalty’ narrative,” the filing said.
“[It was] a premeditated campaign to destroy their reputation and credibility so they could not interfere with or contradict the false narrative and fairy tale life story concocted by the defendant.”
The planned depositions follow the couple's Netflix series and the publication of Prince Harry’s memoir last month.
