Meghan Markle's loving and caring relationship with her father was poisoned by the UK tabloids, say her lawyers

• Meghan Markle has blamed the UK tabloid media for ruining her relationship with father Thomas Markle, according to her lawyers.
• The Duchess of Sussex's lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday is over the publication of a handwritten letter she sent her father in 2019.
• In new legal documents sent to the court, Markle supposedly had a "long-standing history of caring for her [his] health" and made "voluntary financial contributions to her father" from 2014 to 2018.
• Markle, estranged from her father since 2018, claims he received "significant payments" for providing quotes to newspapers.

Meghan Markle has blamed the "intrusive" UK tabloid media for ruining her relationship with father Thomas Markle, her lawyers have said.

The Duchess of Sussex "had a very close father/daughter relationship throughout her childhood and remained close until he was targeted three years ago by intrusive UK tabloid media," according to new legal documents submitted by Markle's lawyers as part of her ongoing lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday.

The 38-year-old sued the British newspaper earlier this year over the publication of a handwritten letter she sent to her father in 2019.

According to court documents seen by the BBC, the publicizing of the private letter caused Markle to suffer "tremendous emotional distress and damage to her mental health."

The statement also revealed that Markle had a "long-standing history of caring for her [his] health" and that she began making "voluntary financial contributions to her father" in 2014 while she was still acting in the TV series "Suits," the Guardian reported.

The Duchess of Sussex stopped sending money to her father in May 2018 — the same month she also got married to Prince Harry — after her relationship with him broke down.

Markle, who hasn't spoken to her father since then, claims he also received "significant payments" for providing quotes to newspapers.

It's rare for the royal family to pursue legal action against the media. The duchess is suing for breach of privacy and copyright infringement. The Mail on Sunday won the first round of the lawsuit on May 1, the BBC reported.

The couple is privately funding the case, and any damages won will be donated to an anti-bullying charity, Insider reported.

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