The Duchess of Sussex has said, in court papers, that she allowed a third party to pass personal information to the authors of Finding Freedom.
The Duchess said she allowed a friend to speak to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand because she was concerned that her father’s claims that she had cut him off and not communicated with him could be repeated. She wanted to express her version and so gave permission for communication with the authors. The information included the revelation of a letter which she sent to him.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing the Mail on Sunday for publishing parts of that letter, claiming her privacy was violated.
The court papers also reveal that the Duchess spoke to ”two senior members of the Royal Family” about how to approach the issue of her father’s interaction with the media before the letter was written. The letter was also shown to her then communications secretary, Jason Knauf, who provided ”feedback” before the letter was sent.
The Duchess is suing for breach of privacy, copyright and GDPR. In September 2020, the court agreed that the Mail on Sunday could include Finding Freedom in their defence. In October 2020, the January trial was put back until autumn 2021 at the request of the Duchess of Sussex on confidential grounds.
