William and Kate lose face with public after Harry’s hatchet job
Spare’s tawdry revelations see the Waleses’ reputation suffer as few of the Royal family remain unscathed
THE popularity of the Prince and Princess of Wales has fallen following the publication of Prince Harry’s memoirs, it emerged yesterday.
A poll revealed that Spare has hurt Prince William’s rating more than Prince Harry’s, having exposed a fragile sibling relationship characterised by physical fights, simmering resentment and jealousy.
Since the book was published on Jan 10, Prince William’s popularity has plunged eight percentage points, while Harry’s dropped seven points, according to Ipsos Mori.
No one appears to have emerged well from the publication, with the Princess of Wales also dropping seven points and the Duchess of Sussex five. Prince Harry reserved much of his wrath for his brother, under whose shadow he has felt trapped throughout his life.
He accused the heir to the throne of pushing him to the floor and causing physical injuries during a fight at Kensington Palace, of lunging at him after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and of taking him to task over everything from his choice of wife to his beard.
However, the book has had little impact on the reputation of the institution overall, with 53 per cent saying they feel favourable towards the Royal family and 51 per cent to the King.
There was no change in the proportion of people with a favourable view of the Queen Consort – at 38 per cent – but negative attitudes rose from 25 per cent to 30 per cent, perhaps owing to claims that she leaked stories to the press and sacrificed Prince Harry “on the altar erected by her PR”. The remaining respondents said they had no opinion or did not know.
The Prince and Princess of Wales remain two of the most popular royals, with ratings of 61 per cent and 60 per cent respectively. Almost 70 per cent think the Prince will be a good king.
The popularity of both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has continued to fall despite a brief bounce last September. Now, just under a quarter say they have a favourable opinion of Prince Harry, compared with almost 70 per cent in 2018 and 30 per cent in December last year.
Meghan’s ratings have dropped five percentage points to 19 per cent. More than half say they have an unfavourable opinion of the couple – 53 per cent for Harry, compared with about 10 per cent in 2018, and 55 per cent for Meghan.
In the US, now home to the Sussexes,
‘While the stories have challenged public opinion towards individuals, monarchy itself endures… for now’
the Princess enjoys the highest ratings, suggesting that rows over bridesmaid dresses, allegations of “stereotyping” Meghan as a “divorced biracial American actress” and tense exchanges about sharing lip gloss and having “baby brain” failed to sway opinion.
The Princess is on 47 per cent, with Harry on 41 per cent, William on 40 per cent and Meghan on 35 per cent.
However, there, too, both Prince Harry (-11 percentage points) and Prince William (-13 points) have been hit by the book’s publication.
Among the King’s siblings, the Princess Royal ties with the Waleses with 60 per cent revealing positive attitudes towards her, down from 64 per cent in December, while about 42 per cent feel favourably towards Prince Edward and 10 per cent towards Prince Andrew.
Kelly Beaver, chief executive of Ipsos in the UK and Ireland, said: “Both Prince Harry and his brother seem to have suffered in British public opinion following the release of the Duke’s memoir and the claims within it – and there is some evidence other members of the Royal family are feeling the fallout too. It also re-emphasises the need for the monarchy to show it can be relevant for younger generations.
“While the stories may have challenged the public’s views towards the individuals involved, the monarchy itself endures – for now.”