Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry’s heartbreaking, emotional plea with Meghan’s father Thomas Markle has been revealed as part of court documents pertaining to their legal action against several British tabloids.
The Duke and Duchess will face The Mail on Sunday this week in court, where they have filed claims accusing the paper of dishonest and imbalanced reporting, especially in articles surrounding Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas.
As her legal team filed their legal response, some of Meghan’s evidence has come to light, including the text messages which provided an entirely new perspective to the debacle surrounding her father.
As per The Guardian, the texts were sent to Thomas shortly before Meghan and Harry’s wedding – which Thomas pulled out of attending after being admitted to hospital for health issues.
The Prince’s pleading text messages to Thomas in the days leading up to the wedding have left fans shocked as Harry asks his future father-in-law: “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.”
As previously reported, Thomas had dealt with the media frequently in the lead up to the wedding, even going to far as to stage paparazzi photos. As per Harry’s messages, it seems the 75-year-old was prepared to speak further to media.
The Prince continued: “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. So please call me so I can explain. Meg and I are not angry, we just need to speak to u. Thanks.”
Harry also pointed out that “speaking to the press WILL backfire, trust me Tom. Only we can help u, as we have been trying from day 1.”
Harry’s pleading messages with his father-in-law have been laid out in court documents.
(Getty)Following these texts, court documents allege that Thomas ignored Harry and instead spoke to TMZ, where he told them he had suffered a heart attack.
It is understood Meghan only found out about her father’s hospitalisation mere days before the wedding, with her own emotional texts to her father revealed in the documents.
“I’ve been reaching out to you all weekend but you’re not taking any of our calls or replying to any texts,” the soon-to-be Duchess wrote.
“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?”
Meghan then offered Thomas security protection as he remained in hospital, despite her not knowing where exactly he was located.
“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?” She wrote.
Meghan plead with her father in the days before her wedding.
(Getty)Thomas allegedy declined the offer of a security detail from his daughter and future husband, but the royal couple sent them anyway.
“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,” she wrote.
“Please please call as soon as you can… all of this is incredibly concerning but your health is most important.”
The last phone contact Meghan received from her father was allegedly a missed call in the early hours of the morning of her wedding – May 19, 2018.
After that, she claims only letter correspondence was shared between them.
WATCH: Thomas Markle speaks out on Good Morning Britain. Story continues…
As previously reported, said letter correspondence, which was subsequently published by the Mail, seems to have been a catalyst for the entire court case.
Meghan is suing the newspaper for alleged invasion of privacy, breach of copyright and misuse of personal data.
Claiming that the paper had sought to “attack and intimidate her”, the Duchess has since had to go into deeper detail in the court documents in order to prove that the reporting did not tell the whole story.
The Mail has argued that as a member of the royal family, Meghan’s expectation of privacy was unreasonable and that there was no agreement with Thomas that the letter she sent him should remain private.
The Duke and Duchess have tackled British tabloids head on as they step back as senior royal family members.
(Getty)The court documents also come after Harry and Meghan issued an explosive letter via representatives this week to several British tabloids, cutting all collaboration with them.
The tabloids include The Sun, The Mirror, The Mail, and Express.
The pair outlined that there would be “no engagement” with any of them unless it was via their lawyers.
“It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print—even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason,” the letter stated.
“There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society,” they added.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know – as well as complete strangers – have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.”
The pair reiterated: “It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie.”
As the pair now embark on their new chapter outside of their roles as senior royals, it’s expected that they will be approaching things a little differently.
Their newly named foundation, Archewell, has certainly set the basis for that – the pair spoke exclusively to The Telegraph about their plans for an educational platform and a wellness website, which would be included in its inventory.
