Meghan Markle's 'shameful' Trump snub slammed by Piers Morgan

Piers Morgan has lashed out at Meghan Markle's "shameful" snub of Donald Trump during his state visit.

Despite being on maternity leave, the journalist slammed the Duchess of Sussex for not attending the state banquet or any of the D-Day commemorations during the President's three-day visit to the UK last week.

As a new royal, Morgan described her no-show as "unacceptable".

"I'm sorry, but bunking off at home is simply not an option for ANY senior member of the royal family," he wrote in his column for the MailOnline.

"By doing so, she was not just giving the metaphorical bird to Trump, as she would have most definitely wanted to do, she was giving it to his host the Queen, her country who he is representing and the country whom she now represents."

He also accused the new mum of putting her own personal beliefs above the commemorations for the D-Day veterans, and for breaking her maternity leave just days later to attend the Trooping the Colour celebrations.

"By staying at home, then turning up all bright and cheerful the moment Trump left, she displayed a woefully selfish disregard for royal duty."

This is not the first time the broadcaster has criticised Markle.

Last year The Good Morning Britain host took aim at the then-pregnant royal, accusing her of "acting her way to the top" and "ghosting" him after she met Prince Harry.

"I've had my own experience with her, which was not great to be honest. I knew her for about a year and a half," Morgan, 53, said. "I got on really well with her and then bang, she met someone more important and immediately ghosted."

He previously recalled how - before Markle joined the British royal family - became Morgan's pal during an interview on "Loose Women" last year.

He recalled: "After I followed her on Twitter, she DM'ed me and said, 'I'm a massive fan of yours, this is great, do you want to see future episodes (of Suits)?' She then started sending me future episodes. I then linked in with one of the other guys from the show, who came on 'Good Morning Britain', and for about a year-and-a-half we were exchanging emails and messages.

"Then Meghan came to Wimbledon to watch her friend Serena Williams play and she messages me and says, 'Do you fancy a drink?' I say, 'Come to my local pub' and there we are for 90 minutes just me and Meghan, we were great buddies.

"Next thing I know, silence, off the radar."

"So my experience wasn't great, I've got to be honest with you. And everything I've seen since does slightly smack of an actress, a Hollywood actress, seizing her chance and acting her way to the top."