The Sun's royal photographer says Meghan Markle needs to 'lighten up'

Meghan Markle has been urged to “lighten up” and end her “phoney war” with the media.

Over the past couple of months, the spotlight has been on the backlash against the 37-year-old Duchess of Sussex.

So much so that royal aides at Kensington Palace are reportedly spending hours each week monitoring their social media accounts to moderate the sexist and racist comments aimed at Meghan, her sister-in-law Kate, and their fans.

Five of Meghan’s closest friends also spoke out against “the global bullying” they are seeing against the duchess in a series of interviews with People magazine.

Her estranged father Thomas Markle then released excerpts from a personal letter in which Meghan begged him to stop victimising her in public.

And earlier this week, actor George Clooney defended his close friend, saying the duchess is being “pursued and vilified and chased” in the same way that Princess Diana was.

But Arthur Edwards, The Sun‘s royal photographer, who has snapped the Royal Family for over 40 years, hit back at his claim.

In a comment piece for the newspaper, he said: “The truth is that Meghan is not remotely being hunted by photographers and enjoys extraordinary freedoms.

“The paparazzi do not stalk her like they did the Princess of Wales — although they were often tipped off about where Diana would be.”

He added that the only paparazzi photos taken of Harry and Meghan were when they first started dating and since then “she has been closely monitored by the Palace Press team.”

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Addressing the reports that Kensington Palace are monitoring their social media platforms to moderate abusive comments, Mr Edwards suggests that they simply ignore it or delete their accounts.

He said: “The biggest invasion of her privacy was triggered by Meghan herself, after she gave consent to friends to talk to People magazine in America last week about the awful relationship she has with her dad.”

Mr Edwards thinks the couple should look at Charles and Camilla, who have endured “hostile press coverage” and have “worked harder and harder to win people over.”