Meghan Markle has faced intense scrutiny from the right-wing press because she’s “female, black and successful”, according to the leader of the SNP in Westminster.
Stephen Flynn’s comments come amid Prince Harry’s ongoing promotion for his bombshell memoir, ‘Spare’.
During his interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby on Sunday night, the Duke of Sussex claimed the Prince and Princess of Wales believed the “stereotypes” about Meghan pushed by the press about her being an “American actress, divorced, biracial”.
He also said some of his royal relatives were “getting into bed with the devil” to improve their image via the tabloid press, and attacked his family’s lack of action after Jeremy Clarkson said he “hated” Meghan in a newspaper column last month.
Flynn, speaking to Sky News’ Kay Burley, said while he did not watch the interview, he had a “little sympathy” for the royal.
He said: “The fact that his wife, Meghan Markle, has been attacked severely by the right-wing British press for three reasons as far as I can see – she’s female, she’s black and she’s successful, and they don’t like it.
“So I can understand why he [Harry] would be frustrated and want to be defensive of his partner as well.”
However, Flynn also touched on Harry’s controversial claim that he killed 25 people while serving with the British Army in Afghanistan.
This allegation comes from his book, where the Duke of Sussex writes: “They were chess pieces removed from the board. Bad people eliminated before they could kill good people.”
Flynn explained: “I find some of the comments – I’ve not seen everything, news stories seem to break almost every hour – quite disturbing, particularly in relation to the deaths, the manner of which he talks about it, and his time in the Armed Forces.
“I think it’s quite disgusting, if I’m honest.”
Colonel Richard Kemp, who served as a British Army officer until 2006 also out about this suggestion from Harry last week.
He said revealing his “kill number” could jeopardises Harry’s safety as some people might seek “revenge”.
Kemp alleged that the Duke of Sussex had misrepresented the way the Army trained its soldiers on the frontline, too.
Harry’s comments even sparked a response from the Taliban, who called for him to go before the “international court”.