Meghan Markle now faces trial after her sister Samantha claimed she was defamed in explosive Oprah interview
MEGHAN Markle is now facing trial after her older half-sister claimed she was defamed in the duchess’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.
A date has now been set for the sister showdown with US-based Samantha, 59, demanding $75,000 (£61,200) in damages.
Samantha revealed in 2021 that she was suing her sibling for “defamation and injurious falsehoods”.
This includes Meghan claiming she had grown up as an only child, with the duchess claiming she “doesn’t really know” Samantha.
The case had been thrown out in March but an amended complaint was filed a month later.
And last week a judge set a trial date for November 2024 – with “in-person” meetings scheduled beforehand.
However, as it is a civil case, Meghan does not have to appear if it goes to trial.
Meghan’s sister alleged the Duchess “falsely and maliciously” said that she was “an only child” during her and Prince Harry’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Her claim states that Meghan made “demonstrably false and malicious statements” to an audience of “roughly 50 million people in 17 countries”
The claim adds that the Duchess “disseminated false and malicious lies” and “orchestrated the campaign to defame and destroy her sister’s and her father’s reputation”.
This was allegedly done to subject Samantha to “humiliation, shame and hatred on a worldwide scale” and “promote the false ‘rags-to-royalty’ narrative” of the controversial couple.
The lawsuit reads: “Once Meghan started to have success as an actress, she no longer had time for her older sister, Samantha, and by 2016, the two had stopped visiting, though there were no bad feelings between them, as far as Samantha knew.
“’Unfortunately, once Meghan met and began dating Prince Harry Meghan became hostile to Samantha, as well as her half-brother and her father, and Meghan’s relationship with Samantha became estranged”.
At the time of the Oprah interview, Samantha claimed Meghan “totally ignored and omitted” the truth.
She said: “I don’t know how she can say I don’t know her and she was an only child.
“We’ve got photographs over a lifespan of us together. So how can she not know me?”
Meghan also claimed that Samantha had only changed her surname back to Markle after Meghan began dating Harry, suggesting she wanted to capitalise on the interest in the family.
Samantha refuted Meghan’s claim and insisted that she had changed her name in 1997 showing Inside Edition her college diploma that shows: “Samantha M. Markle”.
Samantha said: “I was a Markle before she was.
“I thought that was kind of weird that she would say I only changed my name back when she met Harry. Markle has always been my name.”