Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sue British tabloid that published private letter

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are taking a British tabloid to court.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced a lawsuit Tuesday against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, over the publication of a private letter Markle wrote to her father.

"The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question," Harry says in a statement. "In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year."

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More generally, Harry also put the British tabloid press on blast in his statement for what he called a "knowingly false and malicious" propaganda campaign against Markle, adding, "I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been."

Harry and Markle are privately funding this lawsuit, which alleges misuse of private information, infringement of copyright, and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018, and they say any damages they may receive would go to an anti-bullying charity.

"I've seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person," Harry also says in his statement. "I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."