It was an explosive day in court on Wednesday that resulted in the Duchess apologising for “misleading” the Court of Appeal over whether she had authorised aides to brief the authors of the biography. 

The Duchess said she “had not remembered” exchanges in which she was told about a two-hour meeting between Mr Knauf and the book’s authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. 

The Court of Appeal also heard the Duchess deliberately called her estranged father Thomas Markle “Daddy” in a handwritten letter, believing it would “pull at the heartstrings” if it was leaked. 

Click here to read for yourself Meghan’s correspondence with Palace aide Mr Knauf over the letter to her father and biography. 

Elliot Wilson analyses how the calculatedness of the briefings are now unravelling a carefully-curated persona.

Living the ‘American Dream’

Despite the embarrassment of having to apologise to the British courts, the Duke and Duchess hit the red carpet last night. 

Prince Harry told a New York gala honouring veterans that he was living the “American Dream” after a recent ride in a car shaped like a hot dog. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the 2021 Salute to Freedom gala in New York, held on the eve of Veterans Day in the US and Armistice Day in the UK, and praised the “value” of service members and their families. 

The Duchess wore a gown by Carolina Herrera for her first red carpet appearance in 18 months. 

Bethan Holt analyses how the revelations left Meghan with really only one fashion choice: bold, brave and defiant.

Queen is ‘all right’

Back home, the Prince of Wales revealed that the Queen is “all right”, after he was asked by a man in a crowd: “How is your mother?”

Her Majesty, 95, has been complying with medical advice over the past three weeks after undergoing preliminary tests and spending a night in hospital on Oct 20. 

Prince Charles was meeting young entrepreneurs helped by his youth charity the Prince’s Trust at a NatWest branch in south London. 

Watch a video of his exchange with the man among the well wishers where the Prince gave him a reassuring pat on the arm.

Comment and analysis

Around the world: UN whistleblower’s China claims

A British-Irish human rights lawyer has been fired by the UN after accusing the international body of handing China the names of Uyghur dissidents. Emma Reilly, 42, who worked for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, had vocally complained for years that her employer was seriously endangering the dissidents’ family members in their native country. Read more on her claims. It comes as China’s Communist Party delivered a win to leader Xi Jinping by rewriting history to enshrine his place in party lore – a move that supports his ambitions to potentially rule for life. Also, Sophia Yan and Duarte Dias go inside China’s electric car capital, where rush hour is near silent.

Thursday interview

Cecily Brown: ‘Nudes aren’t only for the male gaze’