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They have already revealed intimate details of their lives in their Netflix special and in Prince Harry’s memoir.
But now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will have to undergo their most revealing questioning yet as part of a lawsuit brought by Meghan’s sister.
A judge has refused to grant Samantha Markle’s request to stop the taking of statements, meaning Meghan and Harry will be questioned by their lawyers.
Within the next few months they will have to discuss issues like whether the late Queen Elizabeth was a racist.
Meghan’s half-sister, Samantha Markle, is suing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for $75,000 in damages for claims they made in their Oprah interview.
According to Samantha, the allegations subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hate on a global scale.”
But in a victory for the duchess, a judge has warned that the case could be “ready to be dismissed” before any statements are made.
Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell said that after a “preliminary look” at Meghan’s request to dismiss the case, there may be grounds to dismiss it.
Samantha and Meghan have had a rocky relationship for years that erupted into the public eye after Meghan’s engagement to Harry was announced in 2017. Pictured together in 2008
She is seeking $75,000 in damages for the Sussexes’ claims in her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey and her 2020 biography Finding Freedom.
According to Samantha, the allegations subjected her to “humiliation, shame and hate on a global scale.”
Meghan’s lawyers have refused to answer 38 questions from Samantha’s lawyers filed in the Florida federal court lawsuit because they want Judge Honeywell to rule on their motion to dismiss first.
They also asked the judge to stop the discovery process, but she refused to do so.
In her ruling, Judge Honeywell wrote: “Defendant Markle fails to show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay, or that undue hardship or prejudice would result if the Court fails to impose a stay.
“Although a preliminary look at the motion to dismiss suggests that some of the claims against you may be ripe for dismissal, the review does not reveal, at this time, a clear indication that the Court will dismiss the action in its entirety.
“Therefore, Defendant Markle does not meet the high standard required to withhold discovery pending resolution of a dispositive motion.”
The ruling means that Meghan and Harry will have to give evidence, which will have to be done before July, if the case goes ahead.
They are likely to be challenged for statements that Samantha wants an answer to, such as: “Queen Elizabeth was not a racist” and “King Charles is not a racist.”
Meghan’s lawyers have refused to answer 38 questions from Samantha’s lawyers filed in the Florida federal court lawsuit because they want Judge Honeywell to rule on their motion to dismiss first. They also asked the judge to stop the discovery process, but she refused to do so.
Samantha claimed that the Duchess “has used inappropriate obstructions to resist Ms. Markle’s discovery efforts in this case” in hopes of getting the case dismissed.
She alleged that Meghan has provided “zero documents” after she made 38 email and text message requests, and the Duchess opposed “every single request.”
Meghan’s lawyer, through her lawyer, refused to respond to either because they were “not relevant” to the case.
They declined to answer other questions for the same reasons, calling some of them ‘vague’.
Her attorney refused even to respond to basic biographical requests for a response from Samantha.
They include that Meghan is not an only child as she claimed in the Oprah interview: she actually has a half-brother, Thomas Jr, as well as Samantha, her half-sister.
A request from Samantha reads: ‘Indicate if you have ever spoken out in defense of the Claimant after seeing the public scrutiny/hate she has received from her fans.’
Another claim that Samantha disputes is that Meghan once claimed that she used to get into her old Ford Explorer through the trunk because it was so broken down.
In the court papers, Samantha searches for “any and every document that shows he had a Ford Explorer with doors that didn’t work.”
Behind-the-scenes footage shows Prince Harry and Meghan Markle watching their Oprah interview at home on their Netflix documentary.
Samantha has been open on her disdain for Meghan. Samantha was quoted by reporters as saying ‘The Queen would be horrified’ and she called her a ‘shower**’ on Twitter
Samantha and Meghan have had a rocky relationship for years that erupted into the public eye after Meghan’s engagement to Harry was announced in 2017.
Reporters quoted Samantha as saying “The Queen would be horrified” and called her a “shower**” on Twitter.
In her memoir, titled ‘The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister’, Samantha claimed that Meghan ordered her father to disown his children from her first marriage if she wanted an invitation to her wedding.
According to the book, Meghan told Thomas Sr. to divorce her and her brother Thomas saying, ‘You don’t need them!’
Thomas Sr. refused and reportedly said: ‘I love you all equally’ to which Meghan replied: ‘Why can’t you just comply?’
Samantha also alleged that the stress of the fight was one of the factors that caused Thomas Sr. to suffer a heart attack that prevented him from attending the star-studded wedding in 2018.