Prince Harry Pleaded With Thomas Markle Via Text Before Wedding, Court Papers Show

Text messages sent between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and her father Thomas Markle before their wedding reveal that the pair discouraged him from talking to the press. The messages were referred to in court documents issued ahead of the first hearing - due to take place by video link on Friday - in Meghan's privacy claim against Associated Newspapers, publisher of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, over publication of a handwritten letter she sent to her father, which she says was selectively edited by the paper to portray her 'negatively'.

She is suing for alleged invasion of privacy, breach of copyright and misuse of personal data. (Associated Newspapers argues that there was no agreement with her father that the letter should remain private and that, as a member of the royal family, she did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.)

In texts sent on May 14, 2018 - the day before the wedding - after calls to Thomas went unanswered, Harry wrote, ‘Tom, Harry again! Really need to speak to u. U do not need to apologize, we understand the circumstances but “going public” will only make the situation worse. If u love Meg and want to make it right please call me as there are two other options which don't involve u having to speak to the media, who incidentally created this whole situation.’

He continued, ‘So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks. Oh any speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1.’

The documents state that Thomas did not reply, and instead issued a statement through TMZ saying that he had suffered a heart attack, and that this is how Meghan discovered her father was in hospital.

'I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts,' Meghan later messaged. 'Very concerned about your health and safety and have taken every measure to protect you but not sure what more we can do if you don’t respond … Do you need help? Can we send the security team down again? I’m very sorry to hear you’re in the hospital but need you to please get in touch with us … What hospital are you at?'

Thomas{ =nofollow}refused the offer of security guards to protect him from press intrusion, and according to the court documents, Meghan text him again. ‘Harry and I made a decision earlier today and are dispatching the same security guys you turned away this weekend to be a presence on the ground to make sure you’re safe … they will be there at your disposal as soon as you need them. Please please call as soon as you can .. all of this is incredibly concerning but your health is most important.’

Meghan said in the court filing that the last contact she had received from her father was a missed call at 4.57am on the morning of the wedding (May 19 2018) - and, except through letter correspondence, they had not been in contact since.

The paperwork was submitted to the high court on Friday. Yesterday, Meghan and Harry - who stepped down from their senior royal duties last month - wrote a letter to the UK's biggest tabloids, saying they will ‘no longer offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion’.

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