Meghan Markle has suffered a heavy blow to her battle to avoid giving evidence in a court case brought against her by her half-sister.
Samantha, the elder daughter of Thomas Markle, the Duchess of Sussex's father, is seeking $75,000 (£57,000) in damages over claims made by Meghan and Harry in their interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and the couple's biography Finding Freedom.
She has accused Meghan of telling "false and malicious lies" regarding a "rags-to-royalty story".
Samantha has also challenged the Duchess of Sussex's claim that she "grew up as an only child".
Samantha Markle is suing Meghan in a defamation case
Netflix
A Florida judge has now denied Meghan’s application to halt the discovery process pending a motion to have the case dismissed.
It means that both the Duchess and Prince Harry will be forced to give filmed depositions, under oath, if the case moves ahead.
The Duchess of Sussex's lawyer Michael Kump has applied for the case to be dismissed and had also asked for the discovery process to be delayed, pending the outcome of the dismissal application.
In her ruling, Judge Honeywell wrote: "Defendant Markle does not show that unusual circumstances justify the requested stay, or that prejudice or an undue burden will result if the Court does not impose a stay. "
"Although a preliminary peek at the motion to dismiss suggests that some of the claims against her may be ripe for dismissal, the review does not reveal, at this time, a clear indication that the Court will dismiss the action in its entirety.
"Thus, defendant Markle does not satisfy the high standard required to stay discovery pending the resolution of a dispositive motion."
It comes as the Sussexes' career plans for the remainder of 2023 were revealed following an explosive start to the year.
The release of Prince Harry's autobiography Spare in January saw the Duke of Sussex undertake multiple TV interviews to promote the book.
Meghan Markle is reportedly working on new projects for 2023
Dominic Lipinski
Meghan Markle was noticeably absent from the prince's sit down TV chats in the US and the UK.
According to a source, Meghan and Harry will focus on fictional, scripted content in their next projects.
The source told the Telegraph: "There will be more of a heavy focus on fictional, scripted content.
"It will be rom coms, feel good and light-hearted programmes."
