Meghan Markle's Half-Sister Named Prince Harry in Her Defamation Lawsuit

Samantha Markle, Meghan Markle's half-sister, is taking the Duchess — and Duke — of Sussex to court. New legal documents state that Samantha has named Prince Harry, claiming that he and Meghan lied during their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. Samantha claims that Meghan was being untruthful when she said that she grew up in "virtual poverty" and that certain statements about their father were exaggerated.

"I grew up as an only child, which everyone who grew up around me knows, and I wished I had siblings," Meghan told Oprah. "I would have loved to have had siblings."

She went on to say that she hadn't seen her half-sister in "at least 18, 19 years" and "[she] changed her last name back to Markle in her early 50s .... only when I started dating Harry. So, I think that says enough."

Samantha's latest court filing has Harry is listed as an "Interested Person" in the case. In her case, Samantha claims that the Oprah interview affected sales of her book, Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister. She also claims to have endured emotional and mental distress and had trouble finding work after Meghan and Harry's interview. Samantha also stated that their father helped pay for Meghan's "elite and expensive private schools" as well as her education at Northwestern University.

For his part, Meghan's father Thomas also mentioned that there were issues between various members of the family, which led to him not attending the 2018 royal wedding. Later, in 2021, he told Good Morning Britain, "She's pretty much ghosted all of her family, on her mother's side and my side. So, she really had no one to reach out to. She would've had us if she'd kept us. We all make mistakes."

Michael Kump, Meghan's attourney, addressed the claims in March 2022, telling TMZ in a statement, "This baseless and absurd lawsuit is just a continuation of a pattern of disturbing behavior. We will give it the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves."