In an unprecedented move, Kensington Palace and Clarence House have issued social media community guidelines in an effort to protect the royal family from online abuse.
In a statement released on Monday, the palace says, “We ask that anyone engaging with our social media channels shows courtesy, kindness and respect for all other members of our social media communities.”
The guidelines, which were posted on the official Twitter accounts for The Royal Family, Clarence House and Kensington Palace, explains the guidelines have been set to “create a safe environment.”
The Palace says comments must not “contain spam, be defamatory of any person, deceive others, be obscene, offensive, threatening, abusive, hateful, inflammatory or promote sexually explicit material or violence.”
They must also not promote “discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.”
If social media users are found to be breaching any of these guidelines the Palace says they reserve the right to hide or delete comments made on their social media channels, as well as block users who do not follow these guidelines.
“We also reserve the right to send any comments we deem appropriate to law enforcement authorities for investigation as we feel necessary or is required by law,” the statement concludes.
The online abuse from trolls has largely been directed at Duchesses Kate and Meghan. (Image: Getty)
The guidelines come after months of online abuse across the royal family’s multiple social media accounts, with much of it directed at Duchesses Meghan and Catherine with some people claiming Meghan is “faking” her pregnancy and calling Kate “boring”.
At the same time, her strained relationship with her father Thomas Markle has been playing out across the media, and while the Duchess of Sussex has maintained a dignified silence throughout the months of personal attacks from both her father and half-sister, a group of close friends spoke exclusively to People in early February, rubbishing all claims Meghan had ‘ghosted’ her father.
And in an open letter to Hello! Prince Andrew’s former wife, Sarah Ferguson, has also spoken out against the idea of putting women against each other, amid the months of speculation and rumours that Meghan and Kate are at loggerheads with each other.
“Women, in particular, are constantly pitted against and compared with each other in a way that reminds me of how people tried to portray Diana and me all the time as rivals, which is something neither of us ever felt,” she penned.
“People feel licensed to say things online that they would never dream of saying to someone’s face, and that encourages other to pile in.
