Samantha Markle is gearing up to sue her sister Meghan Markle, a news report has claimed.
The Duchess of Sussex’s half-sibling, 57, has accused Meghan of making false briefings about her.
And according to the Sunday People, Samantha has consulted lawyers over the matter.
She previously wrote The Diary of Princess Pushy’s Sister, her own account of her relationship with her sister.
Meghan Markle news
Samantha indicates she is preparing to launch lawsuits against Meghan on both sides of the Atlantic.
The tabloid reports she will meet with her legal team on Monday about whether she can sue Meghan for “defamation, libel and slander”.
Read more: Prince Harry and Meghan under fire for Remembrance Day tribute
Additionally, she will also look into taking legal action over “breach of privacy”.
Samantha told the Sunday People: “I’m speaking to one lawyer in England and one in the US as there are different statutory windows and different issues.”
Why is Samantha Markle mentioning legal action now?
The newspaper report indicates Samantha was “left in shock” following Meghan’s court apology earlier this week.
The Duchess, 40, claims she “forgot” she asked a senior aide to speak to the writers of the Finding Freedom biography.
Emails revealed by former communications secretary Jason Knauf indicated Meghan had sent him details about Samantha and brother Thomas Jr for the book’s writers.
Anything to keep this family quiet was my sister’s motto.
Samantha disputes a number of claims attributed to Meghan. These include suggestions she lost custody of her three children and that she changed her surname back to Markle after Meghan met Prince Harry.
Samantha said: “Jason Knauf is subpoenable and the messages to [him] are evidence she was libelling and slandering me. Anything to keep this family quiet was my sister’s motto. It’s horrible.”
‘An excuse to keep everybody away from the wedding’
Furthermore, Samantha claims her sister intended to keep her family away from her March 2018 nuptials.
She added: “[Meghan] wanted to make us look estranged and separated to discredit us as that was an excuse to keep everybody away from the wedding.”
Read more: Thomas Markle claims Prince Harry ‘was maybe dropped on his head as a baby’ in fresh Meghan rant
Samantha has previously predicted to the press that the Sussexes could split up without counselling.
She said earlier this year: “I see it ending in divorce unless they get extensive counselling…
“…and can agree to work on being honest and work on apologies to everyone they’ve damaged in the course of this.”
She added: “None of this has been honest and the damage to the Royals has been massive. Maybe he’s [Harry] already questioning it.”
Could Meghan face further legal action?
Elsewhere, a legal expert has suggested the Duchess’ apology could ensure she does not face contempt proceedings.
Legal Director for Gateley Legal Rory Lynch said: “Technically, lying in a witness statement is contempt of courts, and can lead to contempt proceedings and even imprisonment.
“It is a gift for the opposing lawyers, and you can expect them to push hard on the matter.”
He also added that the apology should “save her from contempt proceedings”.
However, Mr Lynch said that it may “not stop a ruling against her from the Court of Appeal, which would resurrect the case from the ashes”.
ED! has approached Meghan’s representative for comment.
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