LONDON (Reuters) – The popularity of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan has plummeted in Britain and has never been lower after their explosive interview with US chat show Oprah Winfrey, according to a poll on Friday.
During the interview aired last Sunday, Meghan said they ignored her requests for help while she was committing suicide and that an unnamed family member had asked how dark her son Archie’s skin could be.
Meanwhile, Harry, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, also lamented her family’s reaction to the couple’s decision to retire from official duties.
The global interview has plunged the monarchy 1,000 years ago into its biggest crisis of this century, and according to a YouGov poll, the position of the two royals has also been very successful after its aftermath.
It was found that 48% of the 1,664 respondents had a negative attitude towards Harry compared to 45% with a positive outlook, the first time their net favorability rating had been negative and a 15-point drop from the week previous.
Meanwhile, only three out of ten people had a positive view of Meghan, while 58% had a negative opinion.
As with other surveys conducted since the interview, there was a division between generations, with a majority of 18- to 24-year-olds liking Harry and Meghan and those over 65 having negative feelings about them.
The only other member of the family who saw his popularity fall was Harry’s father, heir to the throne, Prince Charles. The survey said 42% now had a negative view of him, compared to 49% with a positive opinion.
This compared to the 94-year-old queen, who liked it 80%, and Harry’s older brother and his wife Kate, popular among three-quarters of respondents.
A separate survey, carried out partially before the interview was broadcast in Britain, showed that support for the monarchy in general did not change much, with 63% supporting the institution and 25% wanting a head of state. ‘been elected.
But there were some worrying figures for the royal family. Among the younger age group, support for an elected head of state was 42% to 37% higher than that of the monarchy, although YouGov said this was within the margin of error.
Report by Michael Holden, edited by Elizabeth Piper