Meghan Markle has made a strikingly personal admission during her latest appearance in Australia, telling a room of students that she believes she has been “the most trolled person in the entire world” after enduring a decade of relentless online abuse.

Speaking at Swinburne University of Technology on the third day of her visit, the Duchess of Sussex opened up in unusually candid terms while addressing young people involved with mental health organisation Batyr.

“For now, 10 years, every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked,” Meghan said. “And I was the most trolled person in the entire world.”

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Meghan spoke to a group of students

Her comments, delivered in a calm but deeply reflective tone, appeared to resonate with the audience, many of whom are navigating their own relationships with social media. Meghan emphasised that her experience has shaped the way she listens to others facing similar challenges.

“I can speak to that really personally, which is why I like to listen, because it rings true for me in a very real way,” she explained.

Despite the intensity of the scrutiny, the duchess struck a note of resilience, adding simply: “Now, I’m still here.”

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Meghan at Swinburne University of Technology in Hawthorn on day three of the royal trip

Framing her experience within a broader critique of the digital landscape, Meghan suggested that the systems underpinning social media are unlikely to change any time soon.

“That industry, that billion-dollar industry, that is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks – that’s not going to change,” she said. “So you have to be stronger than that.”

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Meghan opened up to the students about being trolled

Standing alongside her, Prince Harry reinforced the couple’s long-standing campaign around online safety, turning his attention to Australia’s controversial move to restrict social media use for under-16s.

“Australia took the lead,” he said. “Your government was the first country in the world to bring about a ban… from a responsibility and leadership standpoint – epic.”

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Prince Harry also gave his opinion

While acknowledging that the policy may divide opinion, Harry was clear in his view that the situation should never have escalated to that point.

“It should have never, ever got to a ban,” he continued. “Because the companies themselves have to be accountable, and there’s no way that young people should be punished by being banned from something that should be safe to use.”