The royal family are beginning to see their popularity bounce back after a round of public criticism in recent months, sparked by the release of Prince Harry’s memoir and his Netflix docuseries with Meghan Markle.
Nearly all of the senior royals have seen an increase in their net positivity rating among the British public, including Harry and Meghan, according to polling conducted by YouGov between March 18 and 20, published on Wednesday.
Kate Middleton, Prince William, Queen Camilla and Harry have all seen their popularity increase by 5 percentage points since January after the release of the Netflix series and the memoir Savewhile King Charles’ has increased by 4 points and Meghan Markle’s by 3.
Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II’s only daughter, remains the most popular living royal among Brits with a +57 net positive percentage rating, followed closely by Kate at +55 and William at +54.
Though Harry and Meghan have seen their popularity increase, they are still viewed negatively by a large majority of the country.
Harry is viewed positively by 25 percent of the survey respondents compared with 64 percent who view him negatively, giving him a net positive percentage rating of -39.
Similarly, Meghan is viewed positively by 22 percent of respondents, and negatively by 65 percent, giving her a net positive percentage rating of -43.
Two royal family members who came under severe criticism in Harry’s memoir were Charles and Camilla. However, the king has seen his net positivity increase from +33 percent in the aftermath of the book’s release to +37 in the latest round of polling.
Camilla’s net positivity has nearly reached her pre-Save figure of +12. In January, after the book’s publication, this figure slumped to +6 but as of March has risen to +11 percent.
Overall, YouGov’s figures show that the monarchy is viewed more positively by Brits in March than it was in January.
In January, after Save it publication, the institution of the monarchy received a general net positivity percentage rating of +17. This number has now risen to +27.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek’s royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
The royal family are beginning to see their popularity bounce back after a round of public criticism in recent months, sparked by the release of Prince Harry’s memoir and his Netflix docuseries with Meghan Markle.
