LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - A spokesperson for Meghan Markle said she had managed to send a letter to her hospitalised father despite the Daily Mail breaching "clear ethical boundaries" by reporting from his bedside.
Daily Mail Group "vehemently denied" the accusation on Wednesday, saying it was "demonstrably false".
Meghan's broadside comes weeks before her husband Prince Harry starts his privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail's publisher.
FATHER HAD LEG AMPUTATED
Thomas Markle, Meghan's father, is reported to be in hospital in the Philippines having had a leg amputated.
Meghan - who married King Charles' younger son in 2018 and whose royal title is the Duchess of Sussex - has been trying to contact him, the spokesperson said, after years of estrangement.
"Given that a Daily Mail reporter has remained at her father's bedside throughout, broadcasting each interaction and breaching clear ethical boundaries, it has been exceedingly difficult for the Duchess to contact her father privately, despite her efforts over the past several days," said a spokesperson for the duchess.
"With the support of reliable and trusted contacts, her correspondence is now safely in his hands."
A spokesperson for DMG Media said the newspaper's reporter Caroline Graham had been friends with Thomas Markle since 2018, and when he was taken ill, he had asked her to travel to be with him.
"She has been with Mr Markle in hospital every day, providing him with care and support," the spokesperson said, adding that details of his whereabouts were shared with the Duchess's spokesperson as soon as he consented.
"It is entirely untrue that each interaction has been broadcast, and the suggestion that Caroline has breached ethical boundaries is demonstrably false and vehemently denied."
COMPLAINTS OF PRESS INTRUSION
Harry and Meghan have brought numerous cases against media organisations since 2019, as part of what Harry calls a mission for truth and accountability after decades of press intrusion into his life.
In his latest court case, Harry and six others including singer Elton John, are suing Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering dating back 30 years.
The trial will start early next year.
Meghan and her father have been estranged since the run-up to her wedding. Days before the event, Thomas Markle said he would not attend due to ill health after he admitted posing for paparazzi pictures.
Harry and Meghan live in California with their two children. The pair stopped working as members of the British royal family in 2020. British media said Thomas Markle moved from Mexico to the Philippines earlier this year.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Michael Holden, Editing by Paul Sandle, Alexandra Hudson)
