The apology was included in Associated Newspapers appeal against a High Court ruling that it had encroached the Duchess of Sussex’s privacy by publishing parts of a letter she wrote to her father.
In its appeal, the UK newspaper group that publishes the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail and MailOnline, noted that she wrote the letter knowing it would most likely be leaked despite claiming otherwise.
Using testimony from her former communications adviser Jason Knauf, the publisher seeks to overturn the lower court’s ruling that the publication was “manifestly excessive and… unlawful.”
The publishers in their appeal case at the Court of Appeal in London, the publishers said Knauf provided information to the authors of a biography, “Finding Freedom.”
Meghan and Harry, who had quit royal life last year and moved to the United States, blaming their decision on media intrusion, previously claimed they had no direct involvement in the book.
However, in a witness statement, Knauf had said the best-selling book was “discussed on a routine basis” and “directly with the duchess multiple times in person and over email”.
He further revealed that she also gave him briefing points about her life to share with the authors, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.
Knauf, in his statement, told the court that Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry, was also emailed, and Harry had told him to make sure there was plausible deniability. Harry is said to have told the aide to provide “the right context and background” this he said would “help get some truths out there”, he is said to have told the aide.
In a witness statement made public on Wednesday, Meghan Markle apologised for misleading the court on if she had provided Knauf details to pass to the authors of the biography.
“I accept that Mr Knauf did provide some information to the authors for the book and that he did so with my knowledge, for a meeting that he planned for with the authors in his capacity as communications secretary,” she said.
“The extent of the information he shared is unknown to me.
“When I approved the passage… I did not have the benefit of seeing these emails, and I apologise to the court for the fact that I had not remembered these exchanges at the time.
“I had absolutely no wish or intention to mislead the defendant or the court.”
While a decision on the privacy ruling appeal is expected later, British newspapers have given prominence to the former television actress saying sorry.
The Sun carried a front-page cartoon of Meghan’s head superimposed on a Little Miss character headlined “Little Miss Forgetful.”
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