Meghan Markle’s half-sister is suing her for allegedly lying about her upbringing in her explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Samantha Markle claims in court papers that the Duchess of Sussex defamed her during the interview last March by telling lies about her and her family.

Meghan’s lawyer has called the lawsuit “baseless and absurd,” adding that they will give it “the bare minimum of attention.”

Michael Kump, her attorney, stated: “This baseless and absurd lawsuit is simply the continuation of a disturbing pattern of behaviour. We’ll give it the bare minimum of attention because that’s all it deserves.”

Meghan’s “rags to royalty” storey, according to Samantha, who shares the same father as the former actress, is “false.”

She claims she “lied” about her background to the Royal Family, the media, and during television interviews.

Samantha charges her half-sibling with launching a “premeditated campaign to destroy” her and her father’s reputation.

The 57-year-old claims her sister attempted to undermine their credibility so that “they could not interfere with or contradict the defendant’s false narrative and fairy tale life storey.”

Meghan’s lawsuit also claims she lied to Winfrey when she claimed she “essentially raised herself from virtual poverty” and had to work low-paying jobs since she was 13 to “make ends meet.”

The lawsuit also refutes Meghan’s claims that she had no siblings, had little contact with her half brother and sister, and that her family could only afford the £3.75 salad.

She denied Meghan’s claim that she had only met her “a handful of times” and that she had “never had a relationship” with her or their father.

During her interview with Winfrey, the Duchess revealed that she hadn’t seen her half-sister in “at least 18, 19 years.”

The lawsuit, filed in Tampa, Florida, states about their relationship: “This is false. Samantha spent time with defendant on a regular basis throughout her childhood, and they even shared an apartment house for a time.

“Samantha picked up Meghan from school; took Meghan for ice cream and to the mall regularly, and spent many family holidays with the defendant.

“Meghan’s father was Meghan’s primary caregiver and Meghan and Samantha saw each other regularly.”

It goes on: “This is an attempt by Meghan to create the false impression that Meghan was essentially an only child with no contact with other family members, or as Meghan stated on Oprah, that she had ‘no siblings’.

“Meghan apparently wanted to persuade the public that her family members knew nothing about her life and were thus unqualified to refute the false narrative Meghan had fabricated about her life.”

Samantha is suing her half-sister for $75,000 (£56,500) and has requested a jury trial.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal squabbles involving the Sussexes.

They previously sued the Mail on Sunday over a letter Meghan wrote to her father, Thomas Markle.

Harry, 37, is suing the Home Office for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK.

He revealed last week that he was suing the Mail on Sunday over another article.