Even Leave voters were appalled at the reaction the unofficial Leave campaign has had on the decision of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to step back from senior royal duties.
RT if you're terribly sad to see the demise of Meghan Markle's husband, Harry. Pussy-whipped?
— Leave.EU (@LeaveEUOfficial) January 9, 2020
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned the world yesterday with their announcement that they would “step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent”.
The couple said they plan to spend more time in the USA and Canada, to bring their son up to have an “appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born”, but also to “focus on the next chapter” including charitable work.
There has been a wide range of public reactions to the decision, while Buckingham Palace is said to be “disappointed”.
But Leave.EU has interpreted the couple’s decision as evidence of Harry being “pussy-whipped”.
What an awful picture to display, bad taste and hurtful. I'm ashamed to have campaigned on your behalf in 2016.
— Stu (@rechmech) January 9, 2020
The now-defunct campaign tweeted an image of a woman wielding a whip with a heeled foot planted on the back on a man on all fours, each with Harry and Meghan’s head superimposed.
“RT if you’re terribly sad to see the demise of Meghan Markle’s husband, Harry. Pussy-whipped?” was the accompanying message.
Twitter users – including Leave voters – did not all retweet approvingly.
Twitter user @graham_snelson said: “Leave.EU continues to sink to new levels of guff
I voted leave, and I'm absolutely disgusted by this, gives leave voters a bad name
— connor argyle (@connorargyle3) January 9, 2020
“As a leave voter, can I just say, you’re a flipping embarrassment.”
Twitter user ‘DrBill’ said: “Even by Leave.EU’s standards this is pretty poor stuff. Ignorance and prejudice dressed up as ‘harmless banter’ to freak out the liberals. I guess this kind of stuff appeals to their demographic.”
Replying, Twitter user Connor Argyle said: “I voted leave, and I’m absolutely disgusted by this, gives leave voters a bad name.”
The Brexiteer campaign group is not the only place that Markle is receiving pointed and specific blame for the joint decision.
https://t.co/v901M71T5e continues to sink to new levels of guff
— su?qu??G (@grinbins) January 9, 2020
As a leave voter, can I just say, you're a flipping embarrassment https://t.co/KAk4BCn1Re
Reacting to the news, Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan tweeted: “What Meghan wants.. Meghan gets.”
He elaborated on this by saying in a separate tweet: “People say I’m too critical of Meghan Markle – but she ditched her family, ditched her Dad, ditched most of her old friends, split Harry from William & has now split him from the Royal Family.
I rest my case.”
The ongoing focus on Markle, who has African American ancestry, has sparked accusations of racism and misogyny from critics who point out that Kate Middleton does not receive the same level of press scrutiny.