Queen's Facebook page hijacked by anti-Royalists posting abuse about Camilla

Queen's Facebook page hijacked by anti-Royalists posting abuse about Camilla - Users have been flocking to the Queen's new Facebook page to post abusive messages about the Duchess of Cornwall, it has emerged.

The Queen's Facebook page - The British Monarchy - has attracted nearly 200,000 visitors since it launched on Monday.

Royalists and republicans alike have logged on to the social networking site to view images, videos and news about the British monarchy.

But moderators were forced to remove many abusive comments by anti-monarchist saboteurs who clicked the 'like' button in order to post anti-Royal messages.

The Queen's Facebook page which has already more than 150,000 fans and which has become a forum for debate about the monarchy

In particular a number of offensive messages have been posted about Camilla Parker-Bowles with a number comparing her unfavourably with Princess Diana.

'Why she has album and Princess Diana doesnt(sic)? Monarchy out to be ASHAME for this!!!(sic)," wrote Nadia Cecconi Sosa in one posting.

Another wrote to mock the Duchess' dress sense.

'Is this the maid dressing up for a Christmas staff party?' he wrote beneath an image of the Duchess meeting members of the RAF.

Their views were outweighed by positive messages, however, with hundreds of supportive comments filling the site withing hours of it's launch.

One user defended the Duchess of Cornwall saying: 'Glad that Charles has found happiness with Camilla - let's accept that they were meant for each other and draw a veil over the past.'

The page provides more than 191,700 users with information about royal events, visits and ceremonies, all searchable on a UK map.

The page features the Court Circular - the authoritative record of the previous day's official royal engagements.

Unlike some of the younger Royals – who have been caught out when their private moments were revealed online – the official page for the British Monarchy will strictly concern itself with official news and engagements.

The Duchess of Cornwall, pictured here at the RAF Leeming nursery last week, has been targeted on the Royal Facebook page

Facebook users, who send virtual ‘pokes’ to attract each other’s attention, will be able to receive frequent updates on the Royal Family’s activities by ‘liking’ the new account.

The official page will feature images, videos, news and speeches as well as an application which enables subjects to search for Royal events in their area through the Court Circular, the official record of the Royal Family’s engagements that has been produced daily since 1803.

‘The Queen has approved the decision – she knows all about Facebook,’ says an aide. ­

‘Facebook is the final frontier of the Royal Family’s foray into digital technology.

‘It’s basically the Royal Household’s way of broadening its appeal and communicating to members of the public. The Queen knows all her grandchildren use Facebook and it would be remiss of the Household not to be keeping up-to-date with the web.’

The decision to sign up to Facebook is the latest move by the Queen to tap into social media and networking sites.

Earlier this year the Monarchy opened an account on the photo-sharing website Flickr, which to date hosts more than 1,400 pictures, including images of the Queen visiting HMS Ark Royal on Friday, Royal investitures and Queen Mary’s exquisite dolls’ house at Windsor Castle.

Last year a Royal Twitter account known as @BritishMonarchy was launched. It now has almost 70,000 followers and has posted more than 4,500 ‘tweets’.

The Household has also had a YouTube channel since October 2007.

Videos on The Royal Channel have been viewed more than eight million times since then, and it boasts 32,000 subscribers.

The Queen is perhaps Britain's most famous internet user. She has embraced technology and is said to email her grandchildren.

But Philip is thought to be the real fan of computers and the internet, using them regularly.

The launch of the Facebook page shows how the British Monarchy is keen to take advantage of new developments.

Prince William has already been officially featured on social networking sites.

Updates about his tour of New Zealand in January were posted on to Facebook and Bebo by the New Zealand government.

The Royal Family is not expected to find themselves with thousands of new 'friends' on the site as a new page and not a personal profile has been created.

So fans wishing to follow the Monarchy can instead indicate they 'like' the entry and will receive updates about new pictures and videos through their news feed.

The page will also feature information about Royal events and ceremonies, searchable on a UK map, and its creation is a collaboration between Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and the Royal Collection. ( dailymail.co.uk )