A new report is revealing scathing details behind the harassment Meghan, Duchess of Sussex faced with her husband Prince Harry while she lived in the U.K.
Neil Basu, a former police chief in charge of royal protection at the Metropolitan police told Britain’s Channel 4 News Tuesday that they both faced “disgusting and very real” threats from extremists.
“If you’d seen the stuff that was written, and you were receiving it… you would feel under threat all of the time,” Basu said. “People have been prosecuted for those threats.”
While it has been no secret that she faced criticism from British press, the officer went into further detail about racist attacks against her, including filtering out the use of the n-word and guns and knives emojis on the royal couple’s social media accounts when she was pregnant with thier first child.
The hateful comments were part of the reason why she and her husband stepped down from their royal duties and left the U.K. to move to the U.S., according to numerous reports.
In an exclusive interview with Oprah last year, Prince Harry admitted that the palace could have done more to fight the racial abuse. He is currently in a legal fight with the Home Office (a ministerial department, supported by 29 agencies and public bodies) about security measures for him and his family when they visit Britain.
During his tenure as police chief, Basu said the counterterrorism department’s workload against extreme right-wing terrorism rose from 6% to more than 20%. Basu, who is of mixed race, contends that the Home Office must put steps in place to fight racism.
“I’ve been the only non-White face as a chief officer for a very long time,” he said. “I don’t think the Home Office cares about this subject at all.”
Suella Braverman, U.K.’s Home Secretary told CNN that she envisages police in the country to “take a zero tolerance approach to racism within their workplace.”
“We are actively pushing for a cultural change in the police, including via a targeted review of police dismissals to ensure officers who are not fit to serve can be swiftly removed,” a Home Office spokesperson said.
