A report in The Guardian in January said the palace had sought advice from Instagram on dealing with the hateful comments, which are said to have included physical threats. The new guidelines state that where appropriate abusive comments will be forwarded to the police for investigation.[#image: /photos/5d5449b9a24eee000838d127]
Some of the worst comments have been attributed to rival camps of the two Duchesses' respective fans, who have been known to engage in verbal spats in the comments section on the Kensington Palace Instagram feed, which has 7.1million followers.Read more: The Duchess Of Cambridge Wears Missoni For Celebrations On The Emerald Isle
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Vogue: "Our social media accounts have grown considerably over the last few years and now attract thousands of comments every week." While the vast majority are "positive", the spokesperson said, "sadly, the growth also means that our accounts now attract some comments that are highly inappropriate or threatening – most often towards other commentators.[#image: /photos/5d5449b965deb50008c9c0b6]
"We entirely respect criticism, but obviously threats and harassment are not appropriate – these guidelines are being published to set out transparently what is and is not acceptable."
The spokesperson added that the palace has had moderation tools in place for some time, and that the guidelines are simply "the next step".
The enormous surge in the royals' social media following is largely down to the popularity of the two Duchesses, in particular Meghan, who brought some Hollywood star power to the palace when she married Harry at Windsor Castle in May last year, watched by the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, and George and Amal Clooney.
Before meeting Harry, then actress Meghan was a lifestyle blogger with a substantial social media following of her own, but she closed her personal accounts when her relationship with the royal became serious.
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