Female MPs pen open letter in support of Meghan Markle
British female MPs “of all political persuasions” have backed Meghan Markle in an open letter addressed to the royal.
The letter was shared this afternoon on Twitter by Holly Lynch, an MP for Halifax.
Some 53 female MPs have signed the document “to stand in solidarity” with the Duchess of Sussex, 38, who is currently suing a number of the UK’s national newspapers for stories printed about her and her family.
READ MORE: Prince Harry's full statement on his family's relationship with the media
The stories represent “an invasion of...privacy”, reads the letter, and contain “outdated, colonial undertones”.
Women MPs from all political parties have put aside our differences to stand in solidarity with the Duchess of Sussex today and are sending her this open letter. pic.twitter.com/ytLHG5qPf4
— Holly Lynch MP (@HollyLynch5) October 29, 2019
The letter has quickly received a positive response from social media users, garnering hundreds of retweets and likes at time of writing.
Users are calling the letter an example of women standing together and supporting one another.
How lovely to see women standing up/together with each other. We need to build each other up, support each other and stand together! Is women are strong 💪
— Nat. (@nat_mum_2) October 29, 2019
Thank you ladies 😭😭😭
Thank you for speaking out.
It was & is unacceptable, she was being bullied & slandered so publicly.
God bless you all.
Wish the Royal Family had publicly supported her, their silence gave sections of the media the green light to openly vilify her.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾— Elsie (@Elsbeetitymarie) October 29, 2019
Wonderful example of women helping women.
— 😱 👻 🎃 Lauraf68 🎃 👻 😱 (@lauraf68) October 29, 2019
It is backed by the likes of Jess Phillips, Stella Creasy and Tulip Siddiq – all respectively known for their keen support of issues affecting women.
Phillips has tackled domestic abuse and sexism in government; Creasy has defended women’s abortions rights and Siddiq has spoken about the need for pregnant women and new mothers to have proxy voting rights.
MP Holly Lynch, who originally shared the letter, has since shared how she received a personal phone-call from the Duchess of Sussex to thank her for the initiative.
“I got a phonecall. It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex,” Holly said in a video shared on Twitter by political correspondent Joe Pike.
EXCL: 'I got a phonecall. It was Buckingham Palace asking me was I available to speak to the Duchess of Sussex.'
Meghan Duchess of Sussex called @HollyLynch5 this morning to say thank you. It comes after the Halifax MP sent her a cross-party letter of solidarity from female MPs. pic.twitter.com/8ykIEEvrbG— Joe Pike (@joepike) October 30, 2019
READ MORE: Prince Harry 'crashes' Meghan's female empowerment event
Duchess Meghan’s legal action was first announced earlier this month, when Prince Harry released a statement addressing the treatment of his family by certain media outlets.
The Duchess of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers – the publishers of the Mail on Sunday, while Prince Harry is believed to be suing The Sun and The Daily Mirror over allegations of phone hacking in a separate lawsuit.