Five retired British police officers admitted to sending racist text messages about Meghan Markle after an internal police inquiry.
The men, all in their 60s, were arrested after a BBC investigation last year.
Robert Lewis, Peter Booth, Anthony Elsom, Alan Hall and Trevor Lewton pleaded guilty at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court to sending grossly offensive racist messages by public communication.
All are former members of London’s Metropolitan Police department and spent time with the force’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection branch, which guards politicians and diplomats.
MEGHAN MARKLE TAKING A HUGE RISK DISTANCING HERSELF FROM PRINCE HARRY IN CAREER REBRAND: EXPERT
Five former British officers have pleaded guilty to sending racially offensive text messages about Meghan Markle and the royal family. (Samir Hussein)
The force said none of the suspects were officers when they sent the messages between 2020 and 2022.
A sixth former officer, Michael Chadwell, denied one count of the same charge and is due to stand trial Nov. 6. The others are scheduled to be sentenced the same day.
A sixth former officer pleaded not guilty and will stand trial Nov. 6. (AP)
Messages sent by the group of men in a closed WhatsApp group mentioned Markle and her husband Prince Harry, according to charges. Additionally, comments were made about Prince William, Princess Kate Middleton and the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
A representative for Markle did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
This isn’t the first time Markle has handled a seemingly racist incident in the United Kingdom.
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for a special in 2021 in which they revealed their struggles with royal life. (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)
After stepping away from their senior royal roles in 2020, Markle and Harry revealed there had been “concerns and conversations about how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born” during a televised tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Later, Prince Harry denied the couple had accused the royal family of racism during an interview with ITV, saying, “The British press said that, right? Did Meghan ever mention ‘they’re racists’?”
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sit with their son Archie during their 2019 tour in Cape Town, South Africa. (Samir Hussein)
“She said there were troubling comments about Archie’s skin color. Wouldn’t you describe that as essentially racist?” the interviewer responded.
Harry claimed the incident didn’t qualify as racism.
“The difference between racism and unconscious bias … the two things are different,” the Duke of Sussex explained.
“Once it’s been acknowledged or pointed out to you as an individual, otherwise an institution, that you have unconscious bias, you, therefore, have an opportunity to learn and grow from that. … Otherwise, unconscious bias then moves into the category of racism.”
Prince Harry and Markle married in 2018. The couple has since welcomed two children — Archie and Lilibet.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left their roles with the royal family in 2020. (Getty Images)
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
