Marie Osmond slams Meghan Markle's father

The Duchess of Sussex's father could testify against her in her legal battle with the Mail On Sunday after High Court documents revealed he forms part of the paper's defence, and singer Marie Osmand responded to the news when she appeared on the US talk show The Talk.

"I think this is a really good example of why she may have alienated him," said Osmond. "That's ridiculous! It's just very telling to me who he is," she added.

The paper and its parent company Associated Newspapers are accused of unlawfully publishing a letter from Meghan to Thomas Markle, but will argue it was justified because there is a "huge and legitimate" public interest in the "personal relationships" of members of the royal family.

Legal documents seen by the PA news agency reveal the Mail On Sunday will rely on evidence from Mr Markle, including that he "had a weighty right to tell his version of what had happened between himself and his daughter including the contents of the letter".

It means should the case go to trial, both Meghan and her father could be called to testify against one another, and the paper's sister publication the Daily Mail reported Mr Markle would be prepared to face her in court.

The document also argues members of the royal family "generate and rely on publicity about themselves and their lives in order to maintain the privileged positions they hold and to promote themselves".

Law firm Schillings, representing the duchess, filed the High Court claim against the paper in October, alleging misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.

But in its legal defence, the paper claims the duchess "did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy that the contents of the letter were private and would remain so".

The paper also argues the publication of the letter was in response to a "one-sided" article in People Magazine in February 2019 featuring an interview with five unnamed "close friends" of the duchess which referenced the letter, meaning its existence was in the public domain.