Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s popularity is declining, despite the couple’s continuous philanthropic efforts and honesty when speaking about the challenges of Royal family life.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are some of the least-liked Royals according to a YouGov poll taken in the third quarter of 2024. Harry’s popularity is 27 percent, seven down from 34 June. Meghan is faring worse with 23 percent recorded on the website. Her score was eight points higher in July. It’s hardly shocking, given how much media coverage paints her as a kind of black widow who preyed on a moment of weakness when she met Harry.
YouGov tracks popularity every day, basing their “nationally representative popularity percentage scores” on “millions of responses from the British public.” It claims an “accurate and precise” methodology backed by the Pew Research Center, which said YouGov outperforms other polling companies.
The data is solid, but the reasons for the ebbs and flows are harder to nail down. Comparison may be the thief of joy, but we do it to get the full picture. So, at the top of the ranking as of Oct. 2024 is Queen Elizabeth II at 77%. Following the late queen, and thereby standing as the #1 most popular living Royal, is Kate Middleton at 73%. Active members of the Royal family, who have stayed loyal to the institution in public and continue to participate in events on behalf of Kensington Palace, make up the rest of the top 10.
Do Prince Harry and Meghan Markle deserve their plummeting popularity?
With some deduction and scanning of headlines, it’s fair to say Meghan and Harry’s vocal nature and criticism of what Royal life entails may have landed them in trouble with a British public concerned with respectability and carrying on.
They’ve been attending events separately throughout the fall, carving out more individual identities following their Royal exit and moving to the U.S. Since that initial leap of faith, they’ve often been painted the villains in press coverage, especially compared to William and Kate’s generally positive reception. Sources who claim to be ‘close to the family’ tend to be responsible for some of the more dastardly accusations, like them being power-hungry.
The couple’s refusal to participate in a life they deemed harmful to their mental health could be partially responsible for their low popularity. Conversely, sympathy seems to play a part. The number one spot is held by Elizabeth II, who died less than two years before the 2024 Q3 polling, and the second belongs to Kate, who finished chemotherapy treatment in Sep. 2024.
We could speculate that cultural norms about gritting your teeth and getting on with it, as well as the public’s seemingly in-built desire to watch famous people suffer to earn respect are crucial factors in the results.
To put it simply, Harry and Meghan are the perceived black sheep. Whether that’s their lived reality and the actual dynamic they now have with Prince William and his cohorts or not, that’s the way it looks. As long as people continue to have parasocial relationships with celebrities, there will be power rankings decrying who’s hot and who’s not. It seems the couple is focused on business ventures and charity work instead of contests, although we imagine continued lashings take a toll.
Published: Oct 9, 2024 07:26 am