With Prince Harry and Meghan Markle planning to welcome their second child, a YouGov survey shows how popular the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in comparison to their family members.
Queen Elizabeth II is the most popular royal, with 68% of Americans saying they hold a favorable view of the reigning monarch. Only 14% hold a negative view of her.
Her grandchildren, Prince William and Prince Harry are only slightly less popular, at 66% and 62%. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge and wife to Prince William, is similarly well-regarded, at 63%, although Harry’s spouse Meghan Markle is somewhat less so, at 57%.
Harry and Meghan are notably more disliked by Americans, at 23% and 29% respectively compared to 14% for Middleton and 12% for Prince William. This could be a result of their remarks on the US election last year, in which Harry called for Americans to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity.”
But the most ill-regarded member of the British royal family is Charles, Prince of Wales. About half (47%) of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Princess Diana’s ex-husband. Fewer (34%) view him favorably.
Another controversial figure is Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Americans are far more likely to hold a negative view (43%) of the duke, rather than a positive one (26%). This negative opinion may be linked to the fact that Prince Andrew reportedly had close ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who was charged with sex trafficking of a minor. In 2019, the Duke of York stepped back from his public duties following criticism about his personal relationship with Epstein.
Unlike their firstborn son Archie, Harry and Meghan’s second child may not be born in the UK. The couple decided to “step back” from their roles in the Royal Family last year and moved to California. A January 2020 YouGov poll found that 50% of Americans supported their decision to step down, while just 7% were opposed.
Related: Americans support “Megxit” but think there should be financial consequences
See full results here.
Methodology: YouGov polled 1,200 US adults. The survey was conducted on November 23, 2020 between 2:05 p.m. and 3:17 p.m. Eastern time. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted on age, gender, education level, political affiliation and ethnicity to be nationally representative of adults in the United States. The margin of error is approximately 4.4% for the overall sample.
