The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have urged American voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” in the US election, in a video which triggered accusations that it breached UK protocol demanding political neutrality from members of the royal family. Speaking in a Time 100 video message, Meghan called the presidential race the “most important election of our lifetime”, as the couple appealed to Americans to use their right to vote. Harry tells viewers: “This election I am not able to vote in the US. But many of you may not know that I haven’t been able to vote in the UK my entire life. As we approach this November, it’s vital that we reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity.”The couple did not endorse a candidate. However, their comments have been interpreted by some as backing Joe Biden over Donald Trump. Meghan, before she married into the royal family, was an outspoken critic of Trump, once describing him as “misogynistic” and “divisive”. Trump, who is campaigning for re-election, has often been criticised for using inflammatory language. In August, Facebook removed one of his posts for the first time for violating its policy against spreading misinformation about coronavirus. Twitter began labelling Trump’s tweets with fact checks in May. Buckingham Palace distanced itself from Harry’s comments. A palace spokesperson said: “We would not comment. The duke is not a working member of the royal family and any comments he makes are in a personal capacity.” But one palace insider said Harry had “crossed the line”, according to a report in the Times. Harry remains sixth in line to the throne despite stepping down as a senior working royal, and members of the royal family traditionally do not vote or become involved in elections or political matters. The Queen, as a constitutional head of state, is politically neutral. Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, said: “You can understand Meghan getting involved as an American citizen, although she is now a member of the British royal family. But I think people will struggle a lot more with Prince Harry because as a prince of the blood it’s not seen as the done thing to talk about politics, be it British or American.