A friend of the Duchess of Sussex has slammed "ridiculous lies" surrounding Meghan Markle being shared on social media. Christopher Bouzy said this has "cascaded into a full-blown harassment campaign against Meghan and her family".

Mr Bouzy and his social media analysis company Bot Sentinel have been investigating online trolling of Meghan by a group of social media accounts. Mr Bouzy, who featured in the royal couple's Netflix documentary series, said: "We cannot ignore the real-world impact that this kind of sustained conspiracy harassment has. Imagine, for a moment, what it would feel like to have some of the happiest and most vulnerable moments of your life turned into ammunition for hate."

He also addressed trolling and conspiracy theories after the Duchess shared a video of her dancing while heavily pregnant with Princess Lilibet in 2021.The social media analyst told Newsweek: "Every maternity dress and every baby video becomes 'evidence' for strangers obsessively trying to prove your pregnancies were a sham. It is sickening and cruel."

FOLLOW THE EXPRESS BELOW FOR LIVE ROYAL UPDATES...