According to The Sun, Meghan Markle had kept her secret Instagram account up until last month, only shutting it down after comments from internet trolls made the royal feel "unsafe".
A royal insider allegedly told the publication that Markle had been using the fake account to follow her close friends, however, Meghan due to all the negative backlash she received, decided to close the account at Christmas to "protect her mental health".
According to The Sun, a pregnant Markle was left feeling "isolated" following an influx of reports stating staff were dubbing the former actress "Duchess Difficult" and that she had left her sister-in-law in tears days before the royal wedding.
A friend of Markle's revealed to the publication the impact this negative press has had on the Duchess, "Did this upset her? Of course it did."
The alleged source continued, “Since she shut down her public Instagram, she’d had a fake account to follow her friends. There was some really vile stuff written by social media trolls and obviously, she also saw the headlines about her.
“It really got to her and, in the end, she had to shut down that account just before Christmas, too, to protect her mental health. She felt very isolated and alone.”
According to the publication, a pregnant Meghan grew so concerned over the comments that she feared for her safety.
The alleged friend added, “She doesn’t feel safe enough to go out on her own without protection."