LONDON (AP) — Five retired British police officers on Thursday admitted sending offensive and racist social media messages about Prince Harry's wife, the Duchess of Sussex, and others. The charges say messages posted in a closed WhatsApp group referred to Harry and wife Meghan, as well as Prince William and his wife, Kate, and the late Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband, Prince Philip. Robert Lewis, Peter Booth, Anthony Elsom, Alan Hall and Trevor Lewton pleaded guilty at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court to sending by public communication grossly offensive racist messages. The biracial American actress Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, the queen's grandson, at Windsor Castle in 2018. In early 2020, they stepped away from royal duties and left the U.K., citing what they said were the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.

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Persons: Prince Harry's, Duchess of Sussex, Harry, Meghan, Prince William, Kate, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Sajid Javid, Robert Lewis, Peter Booth, Anthony Elsom, Alan Hall, Trevor Lewton, Michael Chadwell, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry Organizations: BBC, London’s Westminster, London’s Metropolitan Police, Windsor Castle Locations: London’s, American, Windsor