Prince Harry's popularity with the British people dropped to 47 percent in a recent poll about the royal family. The Duke of Sussex's negative ratings reportedly had an uptick during the lockdown.
Prior to giving up his royal roles, Prince Harry had an approval rating of 80 percent. But according to YouGov, his popularity, as well as his wife Meghan Markle's popularity, significantly changed after their move to the United States, which coincide with the pandemic.
Reports cited that it hurt Prince Harry's favorability when he spoke of political issues like Black Lives Matter and hate speech in his various video conference calls. The Britons also apparently frowned upon the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's lucrative Netflix deal as they try to establish a financially independent life outside of the royal family.
But Prince Harry and Meghan are still quite popular among the younger British population or those between the ages of 18 to 24. Their ratings in this age bracket are between 20 to 28. Their ratings among the over 65, however, fall between -45 and -66.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth's popularity with her British subjects soared during the lockdown at 71 percent. At least eight in 10 adults think highly of the monarch.
Her Majesty did two public addresses at the height of the pandemic, which reassured the people of surviving this crisis. While she isolated and protected against the virus, the Queen relied on her grandchildren, Prince William and Kate Middleton, and children, Prince Charles and Camilla, to carry out royal events.
Prince William and Kate also received high ratings and sustained their popularity as the Britons tackled life in the pandemic. Prince Charles, on the other hand, had a slight drop in favorability. Some 59 percent have a positive opinion of the heir to the throne while 35 percent gave the Prince of Wales a negative rating. But, his wife's favorability slightly increased to end up with 44 percent.
However, 41 percent of the British people think Prince William should take the throne next compared to just 37 percent for Prince Charles. Some 67 percent think that the monarchy must continue while only 21 percent favor an election for the head of state.
It comes as a campaign from the anti-monarchy group, Republic, urged the Queen to let the people pick who should rule next between Prince Charles and Prince William. Graham Smith, the CEO of the Republic, believes that the majority would want to have a voice in this matter instead of just watching the crown passed on to the heir.
Meanwhile, Battle of Brothers author Robert Lacey said the Prince Harry would still leave the royal family whether he married Meghan or not. The historian said that the Duke of Sussex's frustration over being the spare will still come out eventually because he does not want to be "his brother's perpetual backup."
