LONDON (Reuters) – The popularity of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan has plummeted in Britain and has never been less after his explosive interview with US chat host Oprah Winfrey, according to a survey on Friday. .
During the interview broadcast last Sunday, Meghan said that her pleas for help while she felt suicidal were ignored and that an unidentified family member asked how dark her son Archie’s skin could be.
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, Harry, also regretted her family’s reaction to the couple’s decision to step away from official obligations.
The interview that told everything plunged the 1,000-year-old monarchy into its greatest crisis this century and, according to a survey by YouGov, the position of the two royalty members also suffered a major blow in the aftermath.
He found that 48% percent 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 was negative and a 15-point drop the previous week.
Meanwhile, only three out of 10 people had a positive opinion of Meghan, while 58% had a negative opinion.
As with other surveys conducted since the interview, there was a generational divide, with most 18- to 24-year-olds liking Harry and Meghan and people over 65 having negative feelings towards them.
The only other member of the family to see his popularity drop was Harry’s father, heir to the throne, Prince Charles. The survey said that 42% now have a negative opinion of him, compared to 49% with a positive opinion.
That compared to the 94-year-old queen, whom 80% liked, and Harry’s older brother and his wife Kate, who were popular with three-quarters of respondents.
A separate survey, conducted in part before the interview was broadcast in Britain, found that support for the monarchy as a whole remained largely unchanged, with 63% supporting the institution and 25% wanting an elected head of state.
But there were some worrying figures for the royal family. Among the younger age group, support for an elected head of state was greater than for the monarchy at 42% to 37%, although YouGov said this was within the margin of error.
Reporting by Michael Holden, edition by Elizabeth Piper