Meghan Markle’s Lawsuit Bankrupted the Paparazzi Agency That Took Private Photos of Archie

Another win for the Duchess of Sussex. One of Meghan Markle’s lawsuits has left a prominent paparazzi agency bankrupt nearly a year after they obtained private photos of her and Prince Harry’s son, Archie.

The company, Splash News & Picture Agency, officially declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy following their legal battles with Meghan, The Hollywood Reporter shared on Wednesday, March 24. According to bankruptcy documents obtained by THR, Splash News’ president, Emma Curzon, cited three reasons for the declaration—including their ongoing litigation case with the Duchess of Sussex.

“Splash’s financial problems stem from three sources,” Curzon stated in a declaration as part of the bankruptcy filing. “As a consequence of the global pandemic the availability of celebrity images has declined and budgets within media companies have been cut to reflect wider macro-economic challenges. This situation has been exacerbated by two ongoing litigation cases and the costs of defending these cases.”

As far as their legal battle with Meghan is concerned, Splash News was sued after the paparazzi agency obtained photos of her 1-year-old son Archie during a “private family outing” in a park in Canada in 2020. (Remember, before Meghan and Harry’s move to America following their royal exit, the couple lived on Vancouver Island for some time.) A settlement on the case was reportedly reached in December 2020, as a spokesperson told media outlets at the time, “[Splash News] will not take unauthorized photographs of the family of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex,” moving forward. According to THR, however, the case may still be wrapping up based on Curzon’s bankruptcy statement.

“The case involves free speech-related issues under United Kingdom law and, unfortunately, has proven to be too unbearably expensive for Splash to continue its defense,” Curzon’s statement continued. “Furthermore, if the plaintiffs were to prevail in that case it would likely result in a large attorney fee award against Splash. Notwithstanding the merits of the case the company has sought to settle this matter but has been unable to agree [on] a financial settlement within its resources.”

In February 2021, it was revealed that Markle won a separate privacy suit against The Mail on Sunday after the British newspaper obtained and published private letters between her and her father.