People want to talk double standards

Prince Andrew Trends Online After Meghan Markle Gets Accused Of Bullying

Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry have been under intense scrutiny ahead of their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. But matters escalated on Tuesday when The Times broke a story on "bullying" accusations made against Meghan in 2018 by assistants at Kensington Palace. Amidst it all, Prince Andrew's name has today been a top trend on social media in connection to Meghan — here's a breakdown of the discussion.

Social media users want to talk about Prince Andrew amid the current media firestorm that's targeting Meghan Markle.

On Wednesday, the Duke of York was a top trend on Twitter in the aftermath of the story that Duchess Meghan was accused in 2018 of "bullying" two personal assistants while she worked at Kensington Palace.

Meghan accused of bullying... but Prince Andrew trending?

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex denied the allegations, calling them part of a "calculated smear campaign." They also highlighted the convenient timing of the report, which came just days ahead of Meghan and Harry's sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Nonetheless, the British media has been running with the report, now adding it onto the narrative that the Duke and Duchess have supposedly sparked a furor by airing their March 7 interview while Prince Philip is in the hospital.

Prince Andrew's place in all of this? On Twitter, users have been so bothered by the latest round of scrutiny focused on Meghan that mentions of Prince Andrew—and his lenient treatment by the British press—are trending today. "Prince Andrew is a nonce, that isn't affecting Prince Philip's health?" one user wrote, for example, earning thousands of likes.

Social media wants to talk Prince Andrew, double standards

Many are also calling out the "character assassination" of the Duchess while Prince Andrew is living his life unobstructed after the fallout surrounding allegations of sexual abuse and established connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Defenders have argued that Meghan, as a biracial woman, receives particularly harsh treatment with racist and sexist overtones in the media. And users recognized those themes once again today, observing a panel discussion led by Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain where five white men dissected whether Meghan has the right to call herself a victim or if she's in fact a bully herself.

These were among the thousands of tweets engaged today in comparing the British media's treatment of Prince Andrew, a wealthy white man with powerful connections, to its coverage of Meghan Markle. Piers Morgan, meanwhile, also penned a Daily Mail column calling Prince Harry and Meghan "hypocrites" who shouldn't be sharing a message of "women-empowering victimhood garbage."

"The Duchess is saddened"

Meghan Markle Responds To "Attack On Her Character" By Former Royal Aide

Buckingham Palace will investigate bullying allegations

Buckingham Palace today also confirmed it will investigate the claims against Meghan and Prince Harry, who were described as "outrageous bullies" who "drove out" two royal PAs in 2018, an act for which a complaint was reportedly filed by an adviser. Meanwhile, all has remained relatively quiet on the Prince Andrew front since the Duke stepped down from his royal positions last year and has yet to face any criminal investigation.

This was how the Duke and Duchess responded through their spokesperson to the report in The Times: "Let's just call this what it is — a calculated smear campaign based on misleading and harmful misinformation. We are disappointed to see this defamatory portrayal of The Duchess of Sussex given credibility by a media outlet.

"It's no coincidence that distorted several-year-old accusations aimed at undermining The Duchess are being briefed to the British media shortly before she and The Duke are due to speak openly and honestly about their experience of recent years."