Duke and Duchess of Sussex abandon social media over online ‘hate’

The couple have not used their official Instagram account since March 2020

Harry and Meghan abandoned social media after suffering online abuse. Reuters

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly abandoned social media after becoming disillusioned with the “hate” they encountered online.

Harry and Meghan, who stepped down as British royals early last year, have not used their Instagram account for months, despite having amassed an audience of more than 10 million followers.

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They say they are "very unlikely" to return to the site in a personal capacity and have no plans to use other online platforms for their Archewell Foundation charity, the Sunday Times reported.

The @SussexRoyal Instagram account was updated last on March 30, 2020 with a post urging people to stay safe during early stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

The duchess has previously spoken out about the “almost unsurvivable” experience of online abuse.

"I'm told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female," she told the Teenager Therapy podcast in October.

“Now, eight months of that I wasn’t even visible – I was on maternity leave or with a baby.”

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A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal)

The couple stepped down from their royal duties in January 2020 after moving to southern California with their son, Archie.

In September, they signed a production deal for TV programming with Netflix, and an agreement to host and produce podcasts for Spotify.