Citizens of the United Kingdom would like less public funding for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, just like Prince Andrew. In a recent opinion poll, it appeared that British people would like some members of the royal family to receive less of their money than their other fellow royals.
A YouGov poll asked 1,642 adult Britons about the members of the royal family they think should not be funded by taxpayers and should use their own money to pay for their expenses. The results showed 67 percent agreed that Prince Andrews should not receive funds from the public. Only 13 percent of those who were surveyed agree to give funds to the Duke of Yorks while 19 percent are undecided.
Royal author Phil Dampier said it is understandable that the public's confidence in Prince Andrew's took a deep dive after he revealed his connection with the late billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. Dampier said Queen Elizabeth II's third child has a massive task to talk to revive what is left on his reputation.
Prince Andrew has been facing backlash after he spoke to BBC's Newsnight over his relationship with Epstein. In the interview, the Duke of York said he hadn't spoken to Epstein since 2010. He also denied allegations he had sex with a woman who claimed she was trafficked by Epstein when she was 17.
What is surprising, however, is the second place position of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the polls result. About 44 percent of those who were asked believed that the public should stop giving funds to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Thirty-eight percent said Harry and Meghan should be funded, and 17 percent are undecided.
Dampier said the popularity of the Sussex couple has suffered immensely due to their recent actions. The Sussexes were earlier slammed for taking a private jet for holidays with Baby Archie while they've been very vocal about the issues of global warming.
"The public doesn't like being lectured on climate change by a couple who take private jets or being told they can't see Archie's christening when they've paid for Frogmore Cottage to be renovated," the royal expert told The Sun.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth II's popularity remained untainted. She received a 71 percent among the royal who should receive state funding. Following the 93-year-old monarch are Prince William and Kate Middleton, with 60 percent and on the third spot are Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla.
In another YouGov poll about the royal family between November 2018 and November 2019, the Queen also took the top spot with 72 percent approval from the 6,600 British respondents. In the second place, however, is Prince Harry with 68 percent and Prince William in third place.
