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A US politician has sparked outrage after super-imposing an image of the Cheddar Man over the top of Prince Harry's fiance Meghan Markle .

Paul Nehlen is running hoping to enter Congress for the Republican Party, and tweeted the 'racist' image on his Twitter feed.

He wrote: "Honey, does this tie make my face look pale?" alongside the picture of Prince Harry alongside Meghan, whose face was removed.

The image, which Mirror Online has chosen not to show, appears to have encouraged racist tweets by other users who superimposed apes onto Meghan, who is mixed race.

It was revealed this week how the Cheddar Man - Britain's oldest complete skeleton, dating back 9,000 years - would actually have had black skin .

Mr Nehlen, who describes himself as a "constitutional conservative" who supports Donald Trump, has caused an outcry online and has been condemned.

(Image: EPA)

Meghan's co-star Patrick J Adams, who plays her on-screen lover in Suits, replied to the wannabe Congressman's tweet: "You're a sad and sick man with no sense of shame or class.

"Get a life. And don't go anywhere near MM - she's got more power, strength, honor and compassion in her fingernail than you'll ever know in this lifetime. Way above your weight class."

His sentiments were echoed by others online. Becky Dell wrote to Nehlen: "What is wrong with you? People are people, skin colour has nothing to do with it."

Others have accused Nehlen of being a racist, and say they have reported the tweet to Twitter on the grounds of hate speech. One Twitter user replied simply: "You're garbage."

Nehlen is running to replace US speaker Paul Ryan in his Wisconsin Congressional district.

(Image: CQ-Roll Call Group)

A facial reconstruction of Cheddar Man was completed on remains found in Gough's Cave in Somerset, with DNA specialists from the Natural History Museum and University College London suggesting he had black skin and blue eyes.

The ground-breaking study means experts now believe that white skin colour evolved much later, and that early ancestors living in Britain would have had darker skin complexion than previously thought.

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Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in December last year, and since then there has been a torrent of racist abuse directed towards her online.

The couple are due to be married at St George's Chapel in Windsor in May this year.

A spokesman for Kensington Palace declined to comment.