Meghan Markle released a self-righteous victory statement yesterday after winning her court case, but the fallout is far from over. There are increasing concerns among the public, press and politicians that this court decision could set a dangerous precedent and result in powerful people, like Meghan, using the legal system to silence negative press and media.

Well, if the former actress was hoping that news outlets would now be cowed into giving her endlessly positive stories, she is sadly mistaken. In fact, this case could result in her inevitable downfall.

Multiple news organizations and even politicians and Prime Minister Boris Johnson are investigating what legal avenues might be available to legally ramifications of this recent court decision favoring Meghan. 

A report from No. 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the U.K. Prime Minister, noted: “We will study the implications of the judgements carefully.

“You’ve heard the Prime Minister say before that the free press is one of the cornerstones of any democracy.

“And this government recognizes the vital role that newspapers and the media play in holding people to account and shining a light on the issues which matter to communities.”

One cabinet member expressed severe concern about how Meghan has abused the system and the “case had gone far beyond what Parliament intended when including a right to a private life in the Human Rights Act- and given too little weight to the right to freedom of expression, which is also incorporated in law.”

A source said, “The judges have created a privacy law which Parliament never voted for. MPs never agreed a privacy law because they knew it would be used by the rich and famous to cover up their misdeeds.

“The balance between privacy and free speech is clearly wrong. If this is what the law says then it needs to change. It feels like we have had judge-invented law. It draws on laws passed by Parliament but it is not what Parliament ever intended and we should correct that.”

There have also been several rather scathing indictments of the decision and how it could potentially give the rich and privileged even more power to bury negative stories.

Juliet Samuel for The Telegraph wrote, “The case, which according to lawyers in the field wasn’t even borderline, is just the latest example of the way that free speech is being boiled alive in this country by unelected, unaccountable bodies. Without any new laws passing at all, judges have been steadily eroding freedom of speech simply by prioritising one article over another in the Human Rights Act. And the Markle case is nothing compared to what is going to hit the statute book in the coming months when the Government passes a sweeping new law ostensibly intended to promote ‘online safety’.”

Lawyer Matthew Dando also weighed in for The Express: “This is a troubling judgment which has very concerning consequences for freedom of expression. By preventing key evidence being heard regarding the preparation of the duchess’s letter and its intended audience, the Court of Appeal has presumptively elevated the duchess’s privacy rights over matters of public interest. This decision heightens concerns that privacy laws permit public figures selectively to determine what can be reported about them and manipulate the media narrative. It also sets a dangerous precedent that anyone arguing against that status quo may not even be entitled properly to test the claimant’s evidence in court.”

Meghan Markle may have taken her victory lap yesterday, but the country she steamrolled on her way to the top is less than amused. When it’s all said and done, Meghan’s court case may result in this privacy protection she hid behind getting amended or removed from the British court system.

As one publication put it, her “victory” rings hallow. 

Instead of releasing her sanctimonious statement patting herself on the back and saying the win was “precedent setting” and would “reshape the tabloid industry,” with the royal monogram on full display, she should have just released a short statement like this: “I want to thank the British Court System for reviewing and deciding this case based upon the letter of the law. There will be no further comments.”

But by reminding everyone of her royal status and implying that this case could have far reaching consequences to newspapers and journalists that dare to question the Duchess of Sussex, she also pointed out how this privacy case could be used by the powerful to legally challenge those that wish to expose their misdeeds. 

Shady businesspeople, celebrities and other royals are rightly cursing Meghan Markle for making the public aware of how this law could be abused by people like a royal duchess to deflect criticism. 

She’s also placed an even larger target on her back in the media. 

Now, more than ever, the press will want to expose Meghan Markle for who she really is, a lying and manipulative narcissist who preyed on a deeply damaged and fractured man who never recovered after his mother’s death.  

This isn’t a victory, but a precursor to what will undoubtably be an epic fall from grace.