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A social media user is accusing Instagram of taking his handle so that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex could launch their own account
Kensington Palace announced this week that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had launched their own Instagram account @sussexroyal. Just one day after launching, the account gained over one million followers, breaking Instagram records .
However, driving instructor Kevin Keiley, whose username used to be @sussexroyal, claims the social media platform changed his handle without his permission, to enable the royal couple to launch theirs.
"I got a jokey text from my son which said 'Ha ha, I see your handle has gone then'," Keiley told to Radio 1 Newsbeat about the moment he became aware of the change of username.
"I thought, 'What's that all about?' He said 'Look on Instagram' so I looked on Instagram and suddenly my handle wasn't @sussexroyal anymore it was @_sussexroyal_
Show all 9 1 /9Royal couples with their newborns Royal couples with their newborns On 11 July 2013, Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed their first-born child, Prince George Alexander Louis, weighing 8lbs 6oz. Just like Charles and Diana, the couple introduced the baby to the world outside the Lindo Wing the next day. Prince George was swaddled in a white G.H. Hurt & Son soft wool baby shawl, continuing the royal family's 70-year tradition. For her first photo as a new mother, Katie wore a blue polka dot dress by Jenny Packham with a pair of nude wedges.
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Royal couples with their newborns The world gained a new Princess after the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her second child, Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, on 2 May 2015 at the Lindo Wing, weighing 8lbs 3oz. The baby royal made her public debut just 10 hours after her birth in the same shawl that was worn by Prince George. The newborn also wore a knitted a cap designed by Spanish brand Irulea. For her second appearance at the Lindo Wing after giving birth, Kate chose a pastel yellow and white floral print dress by British designer Jenny Packham, who also created her first post-pregnancy dress for her appearance following Prince George’s birth two years prior.
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Royal couples with their newborns On 23 April 2018, Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed royal baby number three, Prince Louis Arthur Charles. The newborn weighed 8lbs oz making him the heaviest Cambridge baby. As the weather in London was cold and windy the next day, the new prince was introduced to the world wearing a knit cap by Spanish brand Irulea like his sister, Charlotte, and the same G.H. Hurt & Son baby shawl. Kate opted for another Jenny Packham dress, this time in red and white - a look many speculated was a tribute to Diana's ensemble in 1984 following the birth of Prince Harry. Earlier that day, Prince George and Princess Charlotte met their new sibling for the first time. George was still wearing his Thomas’s Battersea school uniform, while Princess Charlotte wore a blue dress, cardigan, and black Mary Janes.
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Royal couples with their newborns On 8 August 1988, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew welcomed their new baby daughter Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary at the Portland Hospital. The Duchess of York, who wore a navy floral print midi dress for the family's first outing, swaddled the baby in a white blanket.
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Royal couples with their newborns Two years later, Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew had another child, Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena. Born on 23 March 1990, Eugenie was introduced to the world covered by a cosy white blanket to shield her from the frosty temperatures. Sarah opted for a baby-pink, black and white pencil skirt suit with oversized buttons.
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Royal couples with their newborns On 21 June 1982, Princess Diana and Prince Charles welcomed their first-born son, William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor. Diana gave birth at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, London at 9:03pm. The next day, Diana and Charles introduced William, who was swaddled in a white lace shawl designed by from G. H. Hurt & Son, to the world. Diana wore a polka dot green midi dress that featured a bow neckline detail and sensible red flats.
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Royal couples with their newborns Prince Harry - Henry Charles Albert David - was also born at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital on 15 September 1984. The newborn was presented to the world in a blanket designed by the same company, G. H. Hurt & Son, the following day. Princess Diana wore a red and white ensemble, including a dress with a long scarlet jacket by Jan van Velden and contrasting collar. The newborn was visited by his older brother, William, who wore red shorts and white embroidered shirt.
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Royal couples with their newborns Princess Anne was the first member of the royal family to give birth at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital, with the birth of her son Peter Phillips in 1977, weighing 7lbs 9oz. The child made his appearance to the world in the arms of a nurse, who emerged from the wing with a group of her colleagues behind the princess before the royals were driven home.
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Royal couples with their newborns In 1982, Princess Anne gave birth to her second child, Zara Phillips, at the Lindo Wing, weighing 8lbs 1oz. This time, the royal carried the newborn baby to the car herself.
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"It had been taken."
Keiley says he used the handle to reflect his devotion to Reading FC and his home county of Sussex.
While he didn’t post often on the account, Keiley did use it to like and follow other people’s posts.
However, the social media user claims no one from the royal family or Instagram contacted him to acquire permission to make the username change.
Instagram has since released a statement, claiming that Keiley's username was swapped to “avoid digital squatting” – the creation of accounts with the aim of preventing others from using them or for the purpose of selling them on.
Keiley told the radio programme he hasn't been on Instagram since learning of the username change and that he is "annoyed" that a representative from the social media platform didn't contact him.
"I'm a bit loath to use Instagram until I have a chat with them personally,” he adds.
Keiley also has the username @sussexroyal on Twitter .
"I can tell you that Twitter's gone mental. I used to have four followers and in 24 hours I've gone up to about 198," he states.
"What I'm trying to do is keep tweeting therefore they can't take it if it's active. I don't know what the royals are planning down the line."
Keiley also says people have started to troll him on Twitter since news of the username clash came to light.
"I didn't ask for this. I've had the account for years - it's not very pleasant," he said.
"We just put up with it don't we? I'm sure famous people put up with it millions of times a day."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Instagram follower count currently stands at 3.4 million.
Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events On Wednesday, the account posted a photograph of Prince Harry visiting the YMCA in South Ealing, London.
The Independent has contacted Instagram for comment.
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