Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walking while holding hands

A new lawsuit has been made against Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, by her sister, Samantha Markle, for defamation that the latter claims led to her fearing for her life. The complaint was filed on November 11, 2024, and states that Samantha has faced death threats because of a statement made about her in the 2022 Netflix documentary series “Harry and Meghan.” While Samantha is entitled to a lawsuit, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was given the wrong title in the court filing, which is embarrassing, to say the least.

In “Harry and Meghan,” the Duchess stated that her sister was spreading false news about her, which caused people to attack her online. “You are making people want to kill me. It’s not just a tabloid,” Meghan said in the Netflix documentary. “It’s not just some story. You are making me scared.” In Samantha’s lawsuit, which was filed in a Florida court, it is claimed that the Duchess’ sister was “forced to move residences, retract from public outings (such as going to the grocery store, or even earning a living, as she is no longer able to work as a social worker), and faced realistic death threats from individuals who have ‘sworn’ allegiance to Meghan in this ‘fight’ between the two sisters” (via Newsweek). However, the validity of her claim may be questioned since Prince Harry was referred to as the Prince of Wales, which is actually Prince William’s title.

 

What does this mistake mean for Samantha Markle’s lawsuit?

Meghan Markle smiling and waving on red carpet

In Samantha Markle’s lawsuit, it is stated that Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, suggested that her sister is racist and was spreading lies about her. Samantha claims she is not racist and “never was part of any group which put out disinformation, never trolled Meghan, was never part of any hate group, never used the N-word on tweets, never monetarized any hate tweets against Meghan, or did anything to make anyone want to kill Meghan or have Meghan made nervous because of any such activity” (via Newsweek). However, it is hard to take the lawsuit seriously when Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was referred to as the Prince of Wales in the court filing.
The lawsuit states that because Meghan married into royalty, Samantha was forced to become a public figure and endure harassment from people fond of the Duchess. While this may be a good point, this part of the lawsuit is where the embarrassing mistake came into play. “It is safe to say that prior to Meghan’s engagement to Harry, Prince of Wales, the world at large never heard of Samantha Markle,” the lawsuit incorrectly stated. This mistake reportedly occurred 9 times throughout the court document and was most likely made by Samantha’s lawyers, who previously named Megan Markle in the lawsuit rather than her official title, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. While this new error is a bit humiliating, it may not affect the lawsuit. In any case, it seems Meghan might just have as much drama in her family as Prince Harry does.