Kate Middleton targeted with racist abuse and threats over row with Meghan

Kate Middleton has been trolled with racial abuse and threatening language after Meghan Markle spoke to Oprah about their rift.   

The Duchess of Cambridge has become the target of personal slurs on Twitter after the blockbuster interview in which Meghan told how they had clashed before her wedding to Prince Harry.

Meghan disputed claims that she made Kate cry at a bridesmaid’s dress fitting for her sister-in-law’s daughter Princess Charlotte in 2018.

The Duchess of Sussex, appearing on the Oprah Winfrey special with Prince Harry, said that it was her who was reduced to tears and this was ‘the beginning of real character assassination’, with Buckingham Palace doing nothing to set the record straight.

Meghan, 39, told Oprah that Kate later ‘owned it’ and had ‘apologised’ to her, giving her some flowers and a note.

While Kate’s version of events has not been made public, a barrage of online abuse has since been directed at her on Twitter, including abusive comments referring to her skin colour.  

The trolling appears to emanate from fans of Meghan outraged that Kate is said to have made her cry, although there is a suspicion that some of it comes from ‘bots’ set up to exploit divisions in British society.

Some Twitter users defended Kate after spotting the abuse.

Kay wrote: ‘Why blame Kate for everything that Meghan has gone through? It’s not Kate’s fault. Disgusting.’

However, some of the profiles are thought to be fake accounts aiming to manipulate divisions in the British royal family.

Philip Grindell, CEO and founder of Defuse Global, a threat and risk management consultancy, told Metro.co.uk: ‘There is a dedicated policing unit whose job it is to monitor this type of material and the Duchess of Cambridge will never see any of it.

‘Some of it may come from accounts which are Chinese-orientated, contain fake images and only have a few followers.

‘Where the accounts appear to be genuine it would be interesting to see what action Twitter takes, as it quite clearly has racial overtones.’

One account telling Kate to ‘count your days’ and also containing a racial slur appears to be genuine, originating in the US and being set up in 2012 with than 2,000 followers. The post has been reported to Twitter.

Another user called Kate a ‘basic white b****’ and described her as ‘boring’.

Further offensive posts accused her of ‘lying’ about the pre-wedding row and she was branded ‘ugly’ by other trolls.

The ‘count your days’ threat was also made from a possible fake account alongside several emojis of a gun.

Mr Grindell said: ‘That’s clearly threatening.

‘The problem is whether Twitter decides the language used is genuinely threatening or a matter of context or opinion.

‘It will be interesting to see what action they take.’

The abuse follows an outcry about the racial targeting of footballers on social media, with platforms called upon to do more to stop the abuse.

Twitter has a ‘hateful conduct policy’ that includes combating racism and a ‘zero tolerance’ stance on violent threats.

Metro.co.uk has approached the channel for comment.

Kate’s friends reportedly believe she has been ‘thrown under a bus’ by Meghan’s comments to the US chat show queen.

However, the 39-year-old mother-of-three is also said by Daily Mail journalist Richard Kay to be a resilient character.

The online abuse started after Meghan was asked by Oprah on the two-hour special if she had made Kate cry.

Meghan replied: ‘The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising.

‘And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’

Despite the pair apparently resolving the matter, Megan told Oprah the incident was a turning point in her and Harry’s split from the Palace.

She said: ‘The narrative about, you know, making Kate cry I think was the beginning of a real character assassination. And they knew it wasn’t true.

‘And I thought, well, if they’re not going to kill things like that, then what are we going to do?’

Buckingham Palace has responded to the interview with a statement released on behalf ot the Queen, which reads: ‘The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan. 

‘The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

‘Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.’

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.