Are these Meghan Markle’s 5 pals that briefed story defending her after she pleads for their privacy?
MEGHAN is seeking an injunction to ban the naming of five friends in her High Court privacy row with her estranged father.
The Duchess of Sussex lodged a three-page witness statement accusing the Mail on Sunday of being vicious by threatening to identify them.
And she declares the women “are not on trial and nor am I”.
Meghan, 38, is suing the paper for publishing her handwritten letter to dad Thomas Markle, 75.
The newspaper claims her pals, referred to in court as Friends A to E, had already revealed the existence of the letter days earlier in People Magazine.
The true identity of her inner circle is contained in confidential documents submitted to the High Court last week.
They are set to be called as witnesses in the explosive case dubbed Markle vs Markle.
In the statement filed yesterday, Meghan says her friends chose to speak out “to defend me from the bullying behaviour of Britain’s tabloid media”.
She claims naming her pals breaches their privacy.
Meghan wrote: “These five women are not on trial, and nor am I.
“The publisher of the Mail on Sunday is the one on trial.
“It is this publisher that acted unlawfully and is attempting to evade accountability; to create a circus and distract from the point of this case — that the Mail on Sunday unlawfully published my private letter.
“Each of these women is a private citizen, young mother, and each has a basic right to privacy.
“Both the Mail on Sunday and the court system have their names on a confidential schedule, but for the Mail on Sunday to expose them in the public domain for no reason other than clickbait and commercial gain is vicious and poses a threat to their emotional and mental wellbeing.”
Her friends chose to defend her in People Magazine after finding her in distress, she claimed.
Meghan denies asking them to “correct things” or knowing they had been interviewed until it was published in February last year.
The Mail on Sunday says it printed the letter with Thomas’s permission after he was angry about it being misrepresented in the US mag.
A spokesman for the paper said yesterday: “To set the record straight, the Mail on Sunday had absolutely no intention of publishing the identities of the five friends this weekend.
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“But their evidence is at the heart of the case and we see no reason why their identities should be kept secret.”
Meghan and Prince Harry, 35, now live in LA after stepping back from royal duties. She angered courtiers last week by claiming in court documents she was left unprotected by the Royal Family.
The Duchess and her father, 75, are both set to give evidence on opposing sides at the trial, expected to take place at the High Court in London next year.
Are these the five pals?
HER FORMER BEST MATE
The “close confidante” could refer to former best friend Jessica Mulroney, 40.
They met on the Suits set in 2011, share a love of yoga and spent holidays together.
But they fell out when Jessica had a row with a black Instagram influencer over “white privilege”.
UNI PAL WITH A SHARED MOTTO
University pal Lindsay Jill-Roth is thought to be the “long-time friend” source in the magazine.
The TV producer, 38, met Meghan at a literature class at Northwestern University more than 15 years ago.
She asked Meghan to be maid of honour at her wedding. The pair are said to follow a shared motto: “I choose happiness.”
CO-STAR WHO SAID SHE WAS ‘STUNNING’
The “former co-star” source may be actress Abigail Spencer, 38.
She contributed to Meghan’s lifestyle blog The Tig and was a friend long before they shared the set on Suits.
Abigail, who played Dana “Scotty” Scott in the drama, said of her first meeting with Meghan: “She was just so stunning and there was just something about her.”
PILATES BUDDY FOR 15 YEARS
There are claims the “friend from LA” in the article is pilates instructor Heather Dorak, 40.
Heather has been pals with Meghan for 15 years and described her as “my best friend”.
She was at the wedding and collected Harry and Meghan from Vancouver airport when they quit the UK. She runs pilates studios in LA from Texas.
PART OF THE TELLY FAMILY ON SUITS
Actress Sarah Rafferty may be a source described as a “one-time colleague”.
She appeared in Suits with Meghan and now stars in Grey’s Anatomy. Sarah, 47, was a guest at the wedding, hailing the “special” day.
She has told of sticking with Meghan through thick and thin. Sarah said: “We were a family on Suits for ten years.”
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