Five times Piers Morgan criticised Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, have received criticism from all sides after their decision to step aside from their royal duties, but their constant critic, TV host Piers Morgan, stands out.

The Good Morning Britain co-host has kept a close eye on the couple since they started dating.

Reacting to their recent decision to divide their time between North America and the UK, Morgan lambasted the duo, calling Prince Harry a “weak whiner” and Meghan a “ruthless social climber”.

Here are five times Morgan went in on Meghan and Harry:

On leaving their royal duties

In a scathing Daily Mail opinion piece, Morgan lambasted the couple for not informing Queen Elizabeth of their decision to lead independent lives before making a public announcement.

He also watered down claims that he and the British press have on numerous occasions been racist towards Meghan and have bullied her.

“I'm also enraged by the growing narrative that the only reason Meghan's been so harshly criticised by the media is because we're all a bunch of racists living in a racist country. That's just a downright lie, and a particularly nasty, disingenuous lie.”

'Social climber' Meghan ghosted Morgan

Morgan and the actress are no strangers. In fact, they were friends before the former Suits star met Prince Harry. They go as far back as 2015. In his interview with The Late, Late Show last year, Morgan accused Meghan of being a “slight social climber” who ghosted him as soon as she met her prince.

The two met for drinks during Meghan's visit in London, and that was the last Morgan heard from the duchess.

“We had two hours in the pub. She had a couple of dirty martinis. We got on brilliantly. I put her in a cab that took her to a party where she met Prince Harry. The next night they had a solo dinner and that was the last I heard from Meghan Markle. Meghan Markle ghosted me.”

Harry is a 'hypocrite'

Prince Harry landed in hot water when he flew in four private jets in less than two weeks, shortly after having launched a sustainable travel initiative called the “travalyst”.

Weighing in on this, Morgan said he did not have a problem with the couple flying to different destinations as their status as royal allows, but pointed out they must decide if they will champion sustainability, or live luxurious lives.

“They're trying to be high priest and high priestess of environmental preaching. You can't do both. Princess Diana was 100 times more famous than Meghan Markle will ever be and she flew commercial 99% of the time. You can't fly on a private jet every 10 minutes, using the bogus excuse about safety,” Morgan  said on Good Morning Britain.

'Meghan is no victim of racism'

Morgan disputed a piece by CNN senior entertainment reporter Lisa Respers France titled Coming or going, Meghan gets the blame - and that's because of her race.

In the piece, France cited how Meghan has repeatedly been at the receiving end of racist slurs by the British media since she and Harry started dating in 2015. She said the message sent was that Meghan does not belong in the British royal household.

“Meghan, a biracial, divorced American actress was far from what many envisioned as a fairytale match for a beloved member of the British royal family. While many in the UK welcomed her, the British tabloid media and a large swath of the Twitterverse were not kind.”

A former CNN host, Morgan wasted no time as he leapt to Twitter to rip his former employer over the piece.

Baby Archie's private christening 

Morgan accused  Harry and Meghan of manipulating the press for opting to hold a private ceremony for the christening of Archie. The couple, who announced that fewer than 25 people would be present at the ceremony, also announced they would share pictures on their Instagram page, as opposed to giving the media access to the ceremony.

But this did not sit well with the English TV host, who said Meghan and Harry called the press to cover their wedding to “promote their brand”, but refuses when it suits them.

“When it's their wedding, they want everybody there because it's great for brand Meghan and Harry, so you can't turn the tap on and off as and when you see fit.”