Meghan Markle has been fiercely defended over a rising influx of ‘foul’ online abuse – particularly since her appearance in Jamaica.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped out at the Jamaican film premiere for Bob Marley: One Love on January 23.

Since her appearance, Meghan has been widely targeted by online trolls – seemingly much more than usual.

Journalist Liz Jones recently took to her Daily Mail column to defend the 42-year-old, stating that the online abuse is “unlike any I have come across online”.

Ms Jones wrote: “Over the last few days, reading the foul online missives about Meghan in response to her and Harry’s trip to a film premiere in Jamaica, I am now convinced Meghan was telling the truth when she said she felt unable to go on.”

The journalist claimed that she was very happy to “welcome Meghan into the Royal Family” when they first announced their relationship in November 2016.

However, Ms Jones admitted to “washing her hands” of Meghan in 2022 when she saw her perform “that extravagant curtsey” in the couple’s explosive Netflix docuseries.

But she said she felt “enraged” after seeing the viscious words written about her following the Sussexes’ recent trip to Jamaica.

She wrote: “If Meghan is reading even a fraction of the online abuse aimed at her, I wonder how she is able to function at all. You might say, well, don’t read it, but these barbs have a way of finding their target, seeping under a door.”

Despite most of the trolloing being untrue, Ms Jones claimed that “over time will make you begin to doubt yourself.”

She added: “Yes, Meghan has made mistakes and not everyone likes her. But the level of abuse is unlike any I have come across online, even compared to the vitriol aimed at vivisectionists or paedophiles. The barrage is unrelenting. This could destroy her.”

Referring to Meghan’s previous comment about not being okay when she was a senior royal, Ms Jones said that Meghan “was right” to say that, adding: “The rise of the anonymous, entirely unfettered and unregulated troll is much more dangerous than any speeding paparazzi. It really has to stop.”

As well as the abuse, fans have also been defending Meghan online, with one writing on X: “I want to thank the British Royal Family and the British Media for showing the world definitively that Meghan Markle could have been protected, but that they actively chose not to protect her when she was pregnant and had suicidal ideation.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced that they were stepping back as senior working royals in January 2020, with their final engagement taking place two months later. The couple now live in the US with their two children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two.