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UK media treatment of Meghan Markle goes viral – is it time we call it as it is?

A collection of press cuttings demonstrating the disgraceful treatment of Meghan Markle in the British media have been doing the rounds on social media after the Duchess of Sussex revealed she was pregnant with a second child.

A black and white photo featuring the actress cradling her bump alongside her husband, Harry, was released this weekend but provoked a surprisingly furious reaction on certain front pages.

The Daily Star ran the headline, “Publicity-shy woman tells 7.69bn people: ‘I’m pregnant'”, while covering the Sussexes faces with black bars on its front page.

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan also tweeted: “Harry & Meghan have announced they’re pregnant and released this cheesy photo of themselves to ensure the media gives the story about their private life more prominence – in their latest courageous effort to stop the same media focusing on their private life.”

Prince Andrew was trending on Twitter in the aftermath of the press reaction as people moved to compare his comparatively kind treatment in the press with that of Meghan and Harry’s.

But as a photo shared by Jamel Carly shows, that isn’t even the half of it.

From being called out for simply eating avocados to receiving criticism for putting her hands in her pockets she has been ruthlessly targeted over a number of years by the mainstream media.

And people wonder why they decided to leave the country.

Related: As a non-Royalist, why do I find myself increasingly defending its family members against so-called patriots?

Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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