Meghan Markle's Legal Bid To Protect 5 Friends' Identities Granted: 'For The Time Being'

Meghan Markle has successfully protected her five friends amid her legal battle against Daily Mail after the judge agreed that their names should not be exposed "for the time being."

The Duchess of Sussex's court battle against Daily Mail is still on trial after the former sued the latter for publishing parts of her letter addressed to her dad. The tabloid wanted to release the names of her friends who made an interview with People that prompted her dad to share her letter with Daily Mail. However, Markle disagreed with the idea and the judge favored her.

On Wednesday, High Court Judge Mark Warby agreed with Markle "for the time being." However, he stressed that the ruling was an "interim decision" and could change if one or more of her friends would give evidence at a future trial.

“I have concluded that, for the time being at least, the court should grant the claimant the order that she seeks,” Judge Warby said as quoted by People.

"The weight to be given to the relevant factors may well change as the case progresses."

A source representing the duchess was pleased with the decision. Markle's team was glad that the duchess' move to protect her friends was clear to everyone.

"The Duchess felt it was necessary to take this step to try and protect her friends—as any of us would—and we’re glad this was clear. We are happy that the Judge has agreed to protect these five individuals," a source told People.

In July, Markle released a statement to protect the identities of her friends saying it was unnecessary and claimed that the outlet only wanted to do it for "clickbait and commercial gain."

“The publisher of the Mail on Sunday is the one on trial. It is this publisher that acted unlawfully and is attempting to evade accountability; to create a circus and distract from the point of this case—that the Mail on Sunday unlawfully published my private letter,” Markle stated.

“Both the Mail on Sunday and the court system have their names on a confidential schedule, but for the Mail on Sunday to expose them in the public domain for no reason other than clickbait and commercial gain is vicious and poses a threat to their emotional and mental wellbeing.”

Meanwhile, Markle lost the first stage of her legal battle. The duchess agreed to pay almost $90,000 in legal fees because of it.