Harry and Meghan's popularity nosedived after Megxit while Queen was praised for Covid-19 response, poll shows
After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle quit the monarchy in a dramatic Megxit earlier this year, their popularity declined considerably across the United Kingdom, a poll found.
According to a YouGov-led survey, the Duke of Sussex had a positive rating of 71 percent in October last year. However, after he announced his intentions to quit royal life and move away from England with his wife and infant son, Archie, the popularity of Princess Diana's youngest son dropped drastically. The percentage dropped to just 55 percent after the official declaration of Megxit. Meghan also took the hit, with her approval rating sliding from 55 percent to 38 percent in the same period, reports Express.
The poll in question was conducted from October 3 to 4 this year with a total of 1,626 people participating in it. The participants were asked whether they had a "positive or negative opinion" about specific members of the royal family. It was found through the survey that Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of England, remains the highest-ranking royal with an 83 percent approval rating. Apparently, the Queen's handling of the coronavirus pandemic was immensely praised by her subjects, earning her a dramatic improvement in the ratings, the poll found.
The poll also discovered that favorability for Kate Middleton and Prince William had also reached an all-time high. The Duchess of Cambridge followed his grandmother closely with a 79 percent approval rating and William’s wife, Kate, took the third position with a 76 percent favourability. William and Harry's father and the future king of England, Prince Charles, and his wife, Camilla Parker Bowles followed with 59 percent and 44 percent respectively. It is assumed that Cambridge’s influence on the royal family over the next decade will prevail over the Sussexes, and even over Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The poll came soon after royal commentators deduced that the allegation that Meghan and Harry overshadowed Princess Eugenie's 2018 wedding with their pregnancy announcement may have been true and it might not have been a "coincidence." Speaking on Channel 5 documentary 'Beatrice and Eugenie: Pampered Princesses', royal experts stated that there were concerns that the Sussexes might “overshadow” Eugenie’s big day, prior to the high-profile event.
Vanity Fair Royal Editor Katie Nicholl said: "That day was somewhat overshadowed when, just a day later, Harry and Meghan publicly announced that they were expecting their first child. It's understood that they shared that news with close family friends at the wedding itself. Understandably that was upsetting for Princess Eugenie." Royal author Tom Quinn added: "Although Meghan and Eugenie get on perfectly well, they are not good friends. I just don't believe it was a coincidence."
Eugenie had to wait for Harry to get married before her wedding could take place due to the old hierarchal rules that the royal family swears by. Nicholl said: "Because of the order of hierarchy, she actually had to wait for Prince Harry to marry Meghan before she could marry Jack, even though they'd been engaged for a long time." Quinn told Channel 5: "There was a certain amount of upset about that. Upset about being told, 'you've got to wait, the British public won't be able to be even remotely enthusiastic about this wedding'."