Like many well known celebrities, Duchess Meghan and Duchess Catherine always look as though they lead the most glamorous of lives. But beneath the surface, there’s something much more sinister happening.
In an explosive report by respected royal correspondent Emily Nash, it has been revealed that Duchesses Catherine and Meghan are at the hand of violent threats posted on social media, with Kensington Palace staff spending hours each week moderating sexist and racist comments aimed towards the two.
The duchesses are facing intense online criticism that has gone too far, according to a new report. (Image: Getty)
A source told Hello! that while the Palace has always monitored comments, it can be “hugely time consuming”.
“They can block certain words, but some of it is quite serious. Over the course of last year, with hundreds of thousands of comments, there were two or three that were violent threats,” the source revealed.
“It’s something you have to manage because there’s no other way to control it.”
The outlook has been so bad, in fact, that the publication itself has started a new campaign titled #HelloToKindness, aimed to champion online positivity.
WATCH: Duchess Meghan and Duchess Catherine arrive together at Princess Eugenie’s wedding. Story continues after video…
While neither the Duchess of Cambridge or the Duchess of Sussex have their own private social media accounts, many of their engagements and milestone celebrations are documented by Kensington Palace via official royal accounts.
And while thousands of comments have been posted by fans on the official accounts for many years, in recent months, things have become more sinister.
In fact, the Palace have turned to social networking platform Instagram to equip themselves with the best tools possible to manage the abusive comments.
The source explained: “It follows a Kate vs Meghan narrative and some of the worst stuff is between Kate fans and Meghan fans.”
“Arguments about who looks more appropriate, for example, that turn into personal attacks on other users. It’s creating a supercharged atmosphere and everyone can join in, but what are the consequences of this?”
Palace staff are being forced to delete abusive comments directed towards the royals on social media. (Image: Getty)
Hello! is promoting the positive campaign to their readers after they themselves noticed an increase in the abusive comments on their own social media platforms.
Posts referencing Meghan’s surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards in December last year sparked so many comments that Hello!‘s moderators had to delete them.
“Our moderators had to disable comments on an Instagram post and delete more than 500, because the debate became so abusive,” Emily Nash wrote.
“It’s not acceptable to constantly pit women against each other. It’s not acceptable to post racist, sexist or threatening abuse on our platforms. And it’s not acceptable to attack other users just because they disagree with you.”
Meghan and Catherine have each other’s backs through it all, it seems. (Image: Getty)
Duchesses Meghan and Catherine have not spoken publicly about the abuse, however there’s no doubt the two would have a close bond being subjected to such fierce criticism.
On Christmas Day, the pair stepped out together at Sandringham with their husbands William and Harry.
Despite mounting rumours of the family feud, the four young royals showed a united front as they happily walked together smiling at onlookers and receiving flowers.
A video captured by a fan also showed a moment of solidarity between Meghan and Kate, as the pregnant royal tenderly touched her sister-in-law’s back.
WATCH: Duchess Meghan and Duchess Catherine put on united front in Sandringham on Christmas Day:
