Meghan Markle To Receive Symbolic $1, Another Unspecified Sum After Winning Privacy Case

Meghan Markle won a ruling in February that Associated Newspapers had breached her privacy

Meghan Markle will receive a symbolic £1 ($1.36) and an unspecified amount in damages after winning her legal battle against the publisher of Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail.

The Duchess of Sussex, 40, was awarded £1 for her privacy claim. The U.K. newspaper will also be paying an unspecified sum for the separate case of infringing her copyright by publishing parts of the five-page private letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle Sr., People reported. The outlet noted that the unspecified sum will be donated to charity.

In March, the court ruled that the publisher of Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday should pay the duchess 90% of the estimated million legal expenses for the 18-month-long court battle. The publisher filed an appeal in an attempt to overturn the judge's decision that it had invaded the duchess' privacy. However, on Dec. 2, the Court of Appeal in London upheld Judge Mark Warby's decision.

Aside from the sum and symbolic £1, the publisher issued a public apology to Markle.

"The Duchess of Sussex wins her legal case for copyright infringement against Associated Newspapers for articles published in The Mail on Sunday and posted on Mail Online," Sunday's front page notice read, according to People.

"Following a hearing on 19-20 January 2021, and a further hearing on 5 May 2021, the Court has given judgment for The Duchess of Sussex on her claim for copyright infringement. The Court found that Associated Newspapers infringed her copyright by publishing extracts of her handwritten letter to her father in The Mail on Sunday and in Mail Online. Financial remedies have been agreed," the remainder of the public apology read on page 3.

Meanwhile, Markle clarified that her fight against the publisher was less about money and more about standing for her right against the tabloid industry.

"This is a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what's right," she said in a statement issued Dec. 2. "While this win is precedent setting, what matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create."