Meghan Markle wins defamation lawsuit against half-sister Samantha

Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wife, has won a defamation lawsuit filed by her half-sister Samantha Markle.

Former US actress Samantha, 58, sued the Duchess of Sussex in federal court in Florida for allegedly making "clearly false and malicious statements" about her to a global audience during Prince Harry's March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, and alleged statements to reporters in 2020.

But a Florida judge dismissed the lawsuit Thursday, saying Meghan Markle's comments were merely an opinion and "cannot be proven to be false."

U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell wrote: "As a rational listener understands, the defendant only expresses her opinion about her childhood and her relationship with her siblings... Consequently, the court found that the defendant's statements could not be objectively verified and were not subject to empirical proof. The plaintiff cannot reasonably refute the defendant's opinion related to her childhood."

The incident is just the latest example of the fallout from Meghan Markle and her husband Prince Harry's bitter separation from the British royal family, which the couple accused of failing to support them in the face of intrusive and racist treatment from the country's media.

Samantha Markle filed her lawsuit in March 2022, alleging that Meghan tarnished her image by providing information to biographers titled "Finding Freedom," and by discussing their relationship with Winfrey live.

According to Judge Honeywell's order, reported by The Daily Beast, Finding Freedom alleged that Samantha Markle barely knew her half-sister was growing up, was "never close to her," and had been "well paid" for an unfamiliar popular news story.

Speaking to Winfrey about Samantha, Meghan said: "When you talk about infidelity, betrayal comes from someone you have a relationship with. But I grew up as an only child, everyone who grew up around me knew that, and I wished I had siblings. I would have loved to have brothers and sisters."

When asked if Meghan and Samantha had a "close" relationship, the Duchess of Sussex replied: "No."

Samantha disputed the statement, claiming that she and her sister had a "wonderful relationship" during childhood.