Meghan Markle has claimed that the Daily Mail crossed "clear ethical boundaries" by operating at the hospital room of her estranged father, after his assertions that he had not gotten his daughter's communications.
A Public Appeal and a Secret Effort
Thomas Markle appealed to Meghan to visit him in a recent newspaper interview, after undergoing serious surgery in the Philippines.
Nonetheless, a representative for Meghan stated that she had been trying to contact her father and criticised the paper's conduct.
"Considering a Daily Mail reporter has remained at her father’s side the entire time, publicizing each interaction and breaching obvious ethical boundaries, it has been extremely hard for the duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past few days," the representative said. "Thanks to reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands."
Publisher's Rebuttal
A spokesperson for the publishing group of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday rejected unethical behaviour and said that Mr. Markle was a longtime acquaintance of the reporter who interviewed him.
"After Thomas Markle was taken ill in the Philippines he reached out to the journalist and requested she travel to be with him," said the spokesperson. "As well as being a journalist, she has been friends with Mr Markle since 2018. She has been with Mr Markle in hospital every day, offering him care and support."
The spokesperson continued, "It is entirely untrue that each exchange has been broadcast, and the suggestion that ethical boundaries were breached is patently untrue and vehemently denied."
A History of Strain
The dispute follows a period of difficulty in which Meghan is understood to have been trying to contact her father. Her representatives say they had faced challenges to locate him or find a way to communicate with him privately.
Meghan has been estranged from her father since 2018, when she married Prince Harry. The father-daughter bond further deteriorated when a private letter she wrote to him, extracts of which were printed in the Mail on Sunday, which she said "actually signalled the end of our relationship, not a reconciliation."
Upcoming Legal Battle
This disagreement precedes by weeks the Duke of Sussex is due to begin a lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of illegal data collection.
In that trial, scheduled for next month, the publisher is being taken to court by Prince Harry and a group of high-profile figures. The claimants allege the newspaper group carried out illegal practices. The publisher vehemently denies all allegations.
