meghan markle kate middleton

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walk to Christmas service with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Image Source: Getty/Samir Hussein

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton: Targets of shocking online abuse

The online abuse and harassment escalated to the point where a leading London-based publication started a social media campaign to stop the hate.

meghan markle kate middleton

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walk to Christmas service with Prince William and Kate Middleton. Image Source: Getty/Samir Hussein

Hello Magazine noticed an increase in abusive comments on their Twitter threads. They aren’t the only ones, as Kensington Palace confirmed that they have a dedicated team to monitor comments on social media.

They created the #HelloToKindness campaign in an attempt to change the direction online discourse is taking at the moment. The publication also claims that a source from Kensington Palace said regarding the matter:

“Over the course of last year, with hundreds of thousands of comments, there were two or three that were violent threats. You can delete and report and block people, and the police have options around particular people. It’s something you have to manage because there’s no other way to control it.”

In an attempt to curb the hate, the Palace turned to Instagram in for assistance and tools to help officials tackle the abusive comments.

Hello’s Royal correspondent, Emily Nash, said that the campaign was borne “after noticing a big increase in abusive, sexists, racist and threatening comments […] regarding the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex.”

She added that “trolls” don’t only go after the duchesses, but after their fans as well. Any given comment thread then quickly turns into a “hate-filled thread.” Nash explained:

“It’s not acceptable to constantly pit women against each other. It’s not acceptable to post abusive, sexist, racist or threatening comments on our platforms or anyone else’s. And it’s not acceptable to attack other users just because they disagree with you.”

Hello received positive feedback for their campaign, with several other royal experts and correspondents tweeting out in support. Omid Scobie from Harper’s Bazaar left “clapping” emojis, while the editor of Majesty said: “Powerful stuff. Well said.”

Kate Middleton doesn’t have any private social media accounts, and Meghan Markle closed her Twitter, Instagram Facebook accounts before she married Prince Harry.

The four royals – Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William and Kate Middleton – share their updates via the official Kensington Palace Twitter account.