Prince William's condemnation of racist abuse against English players following the Euro 2020 final has raised questions about his silence concerning Meghan Markle's struggles with racism in the press, and according to her, even within the Royal family.
The Duke of Cambridge tweeted that he was "sickened" by the slew of racist remarks prompted by England's loss to Italy in the final match, writing: "It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour."
"It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable," William concluded.
While some applauded the royal for speaking out, the comments section of William's tweet was soon flooded with calls of "hypocrite" and demands to know why the father-of-three had remained silent about the racism against his biracial sister-in-law.
"When do you PLAN ON DOING THIS FOR MEGHAN MARKLE???" one tweet read.
"Whilst I appreciate Prince William speaking out about racist comments towards football players, where was this support when Meghan Markle was being bullied, even contemplating ending her life due to the comments?" said another, referring to Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which she revealed she had suffered suicidal thoughts due to the pressures of Royal life.
Elsewhere in the now-infamous television special, Meghan claimed a member of the Royal family had raised concerns about the potential colour of her son Archie's skin - although she wouldn't name the person involved.
"Speaking out against the racism towards England football players, great. Now can you speak out against the racism and bigotry exorcised by the media towards your sister in law and nephew. I dare you," a third Twitter user wrote.
"So wait, you're sickened by racism against England footballers but you're NOT sickened by the same racism your sister-in-law faces?" asked a fourth.
Other tweets used the hashtag #PrinceWilliamIsAHypocrite, and dubbed William's "cowardice" not fit for a future king.
In his mental health documentary series with Oprah Winfrey, The Me You Can't See, Prince Harry elaborated on the racism suffered by his wife as early as eight days into their public relationship with headlines such as 'Harry's girl, almost Straight Outta Compton'.
"[They said] her exotic DNA would be thickening the royal blood," he told Winfrey.
Harry said he "thought his family would help," but insisted: "Every single ask, request, warning, just got met with total silence or total neglect. We spent four years trying to make it work."
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