British police charged over racist Meghan Markle, Prince Harry texts
Six British policemen have been charged over racist messages – including references to the Sussexes – as Netflix dropped a dramatic trailer for Prince Harry’s new series.
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Six retired British policemen have been charged with criminal offences over “grossly offensive racist messages,” sent in a WhatsApp group between 2018 and 2022 – some of which were said to be about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
A statement from Britain’s Metropolitan Police said that the men, who are all aged in their sixties, and who had all at one time worked guarding parliament and Downing Street, were arrested following an investigation fuelled by a 2022 report by the BBC’s Newsnight program.
According to the BBC’s report, the offensive messages, which were sent after those charged had left the police force, referred to various subjects including the UK government’s contentious plans to send asylum seekers to Rwanda and devastating flooding in Pakistan.
The BBC also stated that: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also featured in several images alongside racist language.”
The content of the messages has not been made public.
Prince Harry and Ms Markle have previously been the subject of racist messages between British police officers.
In 2022, two officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Forensic Services department were sacked after WhatsApp messages with a former colleague were investigated, revealing several of a racist nature, including one sent at the time of the Sussexes’ 2018 wedding.
The message contained a photograph of a “golliwog” toy, captioned: “A sneak preview at Meghan’s wedding dress.”
Both Prince Harry and Ms Markle have been outspoken on the alleged racism the Duchess of Sussex has faced in Britain since her relationship with her now-husband first became public in 2016.
During the couple’s now infamous 2021 sit-down with Oprah Winfrey, they highlighted the issue of racism from within the royal family itself when they alleged that an unnamed member had made racially insensitive comments about the skin colour of their future children.
Prince William denied the family was racist but Prince Harry later said this was an example of their “unconscious bias”.
In a separate interview with Winfrey for the docuseries The Me You Can’t See, Prince Harry said he regretted not speaking out more against the racism faced by his wife earlier.
“My biggest regret is not making more of a stance earlier on in the relationship with my wife in calling out the racism when I did,” he said.
“History was repeating itself. My mother [Princess Diana] was chased to her death while she was in a relationship with someone that wasn’t white and now look what’s happened. You want to talk about history repeating itself? They’re not going to stop until [Meghan] dies.”
In the statement by the Metropolitan Police, Commander James Harman, said: “As soon as we were made aware of these allegations we acted to launch an investigation. I am pleased that following the determined work of officers we have been able to secure these charges.”
HARRY’S SLICK NETFLIX TRAILER RELEASED
It comes as Prince Harry released a Hollywood-style new trailer for his Heart of Invictus documentary on Netflix ahead of the Games’ September kick off.
Netflix tweeted a trailer for Prince Harry's latest limited series, which features the Duke of Sussex on stage at the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014.
“It is here at Invictus Games that you realise – whatever you carry was the springboard that propelled you to the next level. The Games doesn’t focus on what causes the injury but the recovery and how to be part of a community again.”
Prince Harry is shown meeting competitors as his voice is heard in voiceover saying, “Everyone is going to struggle at some point.”
Netflix said the documentary – which follows veterans as they prepare for the Invictus Games – will be released on August 30, 2023.
It is being released as part of the Sussexes’ reputed $A160 million deal with the streaming giant, which recently shelled out $A6 million for the film rights to a romantic novel that the Sussexes will help produce.
The purchase of the film rights for Carley Fortune’s The Meet Me At The Lake comes after a difficult period in the couple’s media career, which saw them lose their reported $A35 million deal with Spotify after one series of Ms Markle’s podcast, Archetypes (a Spotify executive subsequently called the couple “f***ing grifters”).
Prince Harry, who has been in Asia for a charity and polo tour with close friend and Argentinian polo star Nacho Figueras, will attend the event in Dusseldorf, which runs from September 9-16.
In a video message recorded in his California mansion before his Asia tour – but which emerged online last week – Prince Harry declared, “It’ll be the best games ever.”
He also paid tribute to athletes for taking the next step on their “healing journey”, and insisted that the event, which he called a “home for respect”, is part of his own.
“I hope you are excited and probably a bit nervous. I’m both. But I can’t wait to see all of you and have the whole community together once again. It’s been too long,” he said.
“You’re all on different parts of your healing journey – we all are, we always will be.
“Good luck for the remaining few weeks, have fun, look forward to it. Being nervous is a good thing. We have 21 nations this year and can’t wait to have every continent represented. Except Antarctica – but still working on that,” he continued.
“Thank you for your service, for your commitment, your determination in getting to this point. We are going to have a lot of fun and yeah, look forward to it. We’re ready to host you. It’s going to be the best games ever, the best games yet.”
Prince Harry will likely be in Dusseldorf for the entirety of the games. Ms Markle is expected to attend some of it, including Prince Harry’s speech at the closing ceremony.
Originally published as British police charged over racist Meghan Markle, Prince Harry texts
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