The statement continued: "There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper. Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations - something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.
"It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave. She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour."
Prince Harry then wrote about his fears for the Duchess of Sussex, and that the "bullying" mirrors that which happened to his mother, the late Princess Diana.
He wrote: "Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
The Duke of Sussex finished by thanking the public: "We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it."
The claim is being filed against the Mail on Sunday over the alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018.
Meghan Markle will be represented by law firm Schillings.