The world of the Sussex pair, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry has been anything but a smooth sail. Ever since the jet of their love story took flight, the close-knit relationships in their personal periphery have often come crumbling down. This holds particularly true for the Prince, though it is not far from the truth for the Duchess either. This is also probably why the relationship between Markle and her half-sister, Samantha Markle, has been quite the bed of rock, leaning on legal confrontations more than familial ones. 

Even though the legal conflict did persist for some time, it appears that Markle has ultimately prevailed despite the enduring hurdles.

Meghan Markle garners victory in legal battle against half-sister

PEOPLE reported that US District Attorney Judge Charlene Honeywell has “dismissed” the legal dispute that Samantha Markle had brought forth against the Duchess. The legal confrontation was allegedly reasoned for the defamatory comments Markle supposedly used against her sister in Markle’s unauthorized biography, Finding Freedom, in several interviews, including Oprah Winfrey’s. The reasons for dismissal and Markle’s consequent victory are due to her half-sister’s inability to produce statements to support her claim.

 In the filings obtained by PEOPLE, Honeywell believed the grounds of allegations against Markle to lean more on disagreement rather than “statements of fact”. Samantha Markle, the author, who had been seeking $75,000 from the Duchess, will not be able to refile the case due to the grounds of its dismissal. Previously, in 2023 as well, Honeywell ruled for Markle, who believed that suing the Duchess for defamation over claims made in the book or interview would not be possible.

This is not the first time that the legal fire has been out in public between the siblings. Samantha Markle has lost twice earlier as well.

Samantha Markle’s earlier defeats to Meghan Markle

Back in 2021, when the Sussex couple did the Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan Markle made claims of not having seen her half-sister for “18-19 years”. She further cued that her half-sister had only changed her surname to ‘Markle’ once the Duchess was married to the Prince. Furthermore, the biography by Omid Scobie also played a crucial role in fueling the fire with a particular chapter named, A Problem Like Samantha.

Samantha Markle, who believes that these statements were damaging to her image, chose this to be her final attempt after two consecutive losses. The judge reportedly ruled in favor of the Duchess for two reasons. Firstly, because she could not be “held liable for statements in a book she didn’t publish”. Secondly, the interview part was also not too strong for libel claims since it is a defended stance. 

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