Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s popularity has sunk to an all-time low, according to two polls released ahead of the couple’s much-anticipated return to the U.K. this weekend for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Polling by YouGov has found just one in three people (32 per cent) view the prince in a positive light, compared to more than half (58 per cent) of people who view him negatively.
Markle has also seen a drop in favourability, with just 23 per cent of the public holding a positive view of the Duchess of Sussex, while almost two in three view her negatively.
Meanwhile, a poll for The Telegraph conducted by J.L. Partners in the U.K. has found that just 27 per cent of British adults think positively of the Duke of Sussex and even fewer — 22 per cent — view the Duchess in a positive light.
The surveys were released as the couple and their children prepare to fly from their home in California to London, marking the first time Markle will face The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in person since her Oprah Winfrey tell-all interview in 2020.
In that interview, Markle detailed a fight she had with Kate Middleton, and also revealed racism she faced from other, unnamed members of the family.
It is also the first time the couple will join other members of the British Royal Family since they stepped away from their public duties in March 2020 and left for North America.
According to The Telegraph, of the 2,010 adults surveyed for the J.L. Partners poll, people who were asked to sum up Harry “in a word” most frequently used the descriptions “stupid,” “idiot,” “spoilt” and “ginger,” while they used “manipulative,” “American” and “actress” to describe the Duchess.
It was only Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who was found to be less popular than the Sussexes, J.L. Partners found. The disgraced royal, who was stripped of his titles and patronages earlier this year after American Virginia Guiffre accused him of sexually abusing her when she was 17 while she travelled with financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found to have a meagre five per cent approval rating.
Respondents most frequently used the word “pedophile” to describe Andrew, while the words “disgrace,” “pervert” and “liar” also came to mind.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II proved to be the most popular of the royals, according to both surveys. J.L. Partners found the monarch to have a 75 per cent approval rating, while the YouGov survey found more than 80 per cent of Britons held a positive view.
Following the Queen, YouGov found the second most popular royal is Prince William, followed by his wife Kate Middleton.
Their survey also found that 34 per cent of those polled think that Prince Charles should be the next king, while 37 per cent think Prince William should be the next to take the throne. Polling results also showed that the British have more confidence in William as the next king — 77 per cent think William will do a good job as king, where only 57 per cent think the same of Charles.
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