Royal Family refuses to condemn Jeremy Clarkson over 'hateful' Meghan Markle column
Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on a "hateful" column by Jeremy Clarkson, in which he said he fantasises about Meghan Markle being paraded naked through the streets while crowds throw "excrement" at her.
In a column for the Sun, the former Top Gear host says he lies in bed "grinding his teeth", consumed by thoughts of the Duchess of Sussex, who he says he hates on a "cellular level".
He has received widespread condemnation over the piece, which was published on Friday, with his own daughter accusing him of "misogynistic bullying".
More than 60 MPs have since written to the editor of The Sun, condemning the column "in the strongest terms" and demanding the newspaper take action, claiming his "hateful" piece contributed to an "unacceptable climate of hatred and violence".
Clarkson responded to the outcry in a Twitter post on Monday, in what has widely been viewed as a "non-apology".
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He tweeted: "Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future."
The column has also become the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (Ipso) most complained-about article, with 17,500 complaints, and has since been taken off the website upon Clarkson's request.
Watch: Jeremy Clarkson article about Meghan attracts record complaints to press regulator
So far there has been no official, public statement on behalf of King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, despite the target of Clarkson's attack being a member of the Royal Family.
Camilla is known for her campaign work to prevent violence against women, and it was only last month that she warned of a "global pandemic of violence against women" at a palace event.
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Yahoo News UK understands that the palace is, however, angry at some of the media coverage of a lunch attended by both Camilla and Clarkson last week.
The event, last Friday, was attended by numerous high-profile individuals such as Dame Judi Dench, Claudia Winkleman and Piers Morgan, who left his role hosting Good Morning Britain in March 2021 after repeatedly criticising Meghan.
It was held at Michelin-starred restaurant Murano in Mayfair and hosted by the former head of royal grocer Fortnum & Mason, Ewan Venters.
The palace is understood to feel that any attempt to link Camilla and Clarkson's comments because they attended the same lunch together are highly misleading.
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It is also understood Camilla remains committed to highlighting and combatting violence against women and girls and that she resolutely condemns such abuse.
The day after the lunch, Netflix released the final three episodes of Harry & Meghan, a tell-all documentary series about the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes' life together and their strains with the Royal Family.
In it, the Duchess of Sussex said she was “not allowed” to get help after experiencing suicidal thoughts amid concerns for the institution’s image.
She also described feeling suicidal after her treatment by the British media.
