Meghan, who now resides in California with Prince Harry and their two children, is set to celebrate her 44th birthday just one week before the court date.

Samantha first filed her libel lawsuit against the former actress in late 2022 - two years after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior working royals.

At the time, one of Meghan's lawyers said they would "give it [the case] the minimum attention necessary, which is all it deserves."

Speaking after the release of the couple's docuseries, Harry & Meghan, Samantha's lawyers claimed that a number of comments by the Duchess and an interviewee on the Netflix programme - when viewed together - amounted to a campaign to unfairly undermine Samantha.

The legal team of Meghan, who is unlikely to attend the hearing in person, said that many of the comments Samantha complained about are not actually about her and do not reference her.

It has now emerged that Meghan is set to face a second bombshell as her half-brother will release a tell-all book about Meghan and her childhood - although the actual release date remains unknown.

In an interview with the Mirror, Thomas, 58, said: "When my book is finished, ooh it'll be swooped up real quick cause it's getting there. I'm working on it. It's coming out. It's gonna be good."

In what will surely come as a further worry to Meghan, Thomas added: "I really want to spin off the book, then when the book gets read, the documentary will follow."