Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's popularity rating drops AGAIN to lowest ever levels

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s approval ratings have fallen again to their lowest-ever levels following Prince Philip’s funeral, according to a new poll.

The couple’s popularity previously plummeted in the wake of their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they made accusations of racism within the Royal Family. 

And they have not regained favour with the British public since, with Prince Harry’s popularity falling another three points following the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 17, a YouGov survey found. 

Pregnant Meghan, who remained in the US rather than attend the funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on the advice of her doctor, has also seen her popularity fall by five points in the last six weeks, figures show.  

Meanwhile, both Prince Edward and Prince Charles have enjoyed a sharp rise in popularity since March 12. 

And, in an unwavering sign of support following the death of her husband, the Queen saw a sharp boost in public support from 80 per cent to 85 per cent, cementing her position as Britain’s most popular royal.

Prince William and Kate Middleton also remain very popular, according to the latest poll, with about three quarters of Britons giving them favourable reviews.

Prince Andrew remains by far the least popular royal, with 79 per cent of Britons holding a negative view, and just ten per cent seeing him in a positive light, according to the poll.  

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s popularity ratings have fallen again to their lowest-ever levels following Prince Philip’s funeral, according to a new poll. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview

The couple’s popularity previously plummeted in the wake of their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which they made accusations of racism within the Royal Family. Pictured: Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral on April 17 

The couple have not regained favour with the British public since their Oprah Winfrey interview, with Prince Harry’s popularity falling another three points following the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 17, a YouGov survey found

Meanwhile, both Prince Edward and Prince Charles have experienced a growth in popularity since March 12

Approaching two in five people (37 per cent) say Prince Charles should become King when she retires, while a similar number (34 per cent) would like to see the throne go to grandson William

According to the data, of more than 1,700 Britons between April 21 and 22, public opinion of Prince Harry has remained largely negative despite his return home for the funeral of his grandfather earlier this month. 

The latest figures show 43 per cent of Britons now have a positive opinion of Prince Harry, while 49 per cent regard him negatively. 

This gives the once popular prince a net score of -6 in terms of popularity – a drop of three points from March 12. 

The most popular royals, according to a new YouGov poll 

These are the most popular royals (rated very positive or positive) according to a YouGov poll of 1,730 Britons between April 21 and 22:

The Queen: 85 per cent (net: +78)

Prince William: 80 per cent (net: +68)

Kate Middleton: 78 per cent (net: +67)

Princess Anne: 70 per cent (net: +58)

Prince Charles: 58 per cent (net: +25)

Prince Edward: 54 per cent (net: +35)

Prince Harry: 43 per cent (net: -6) 

Camilla Parker Bowles: 43 per cent (net: +1)

Meghan Markle: 29 per cent (net: -32)

Prince Andrew: 10 per cent (net: -69)

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Meghan’s popularity scores have also fallen slightly following a sharp decline in March.

Currently, less than a third (29 per cent) of Britons have a positive opinion of the Duchess of Sussex, while more than half (61 per cent) view her negatively.

This means she has a net popularity rating of -32, down from -27 six weeks ago. 

However, other members of the royal family have seen their popularity ratings soar following the funeral of Prince Philip. 

Prince Edward, the youngest child of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, had the largest boost in positive opinion, rising from 41 per cent of Britons in March to 54 per cent last week. 

Negative opinion fell from 26 per cent to 19 per cent.

Prince Charles has also experienced a significant change in public regard, with his net popularity rating rising to +25 compared with +7 on March 12. 

This is a return to grace for the Prince of Wales, whose positive ratings dropped eight points to 49 per cent between March 2 and March 22, when Harry and Meghan spoke about their fallout with the Royal Family in an interview with Oprah. 

Princess Anne, the Queen and Prince Philip’s second child, also saw her ratings improve, with seven in ten (70 per cent) Britons now saying they like her, up from 64 per cent. 

Some 85 per cent of the public now have a positive opinion of the Queen, up from 80 per cent. 

Only 9 per cent of Britons have a negative view of the Queen, down from 14 per cent.

It is likely this upwards trend is in part due to public sympathy in the wake of Prince Philip’s death on April 9, although it could also partly represent a reversion to normal opinion as memories of the Oprah interview fade.

Despite the Queen being well beyond the age when most people retire, two thirds of Britons (64 per cent) want her to remain in her job for the rest of her life. 

Only a fifth of the public (19 per cent) say she should step down from the throne. 

The Queen (above at Prince Philip’s funeral) saw a sharp boost in public favour from an 80 per cent positive view to 85 per cent. She remains the most popular royal

Prince William and his wife Kate (seen at Prince Philip’s funeral) also remain very popular, according to the latest poll, with about three quarters of Britons giving them favourable reviews

Prince Edward (seen middle right), the youngest child of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, had the largest boost in positive opinion, rising from 41 per cent of Britons in March to 54 per cent last week

Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince William, Peter Phillips, Prince Harry, Earl of Snowdon David Armstrong-Jones and Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence follow Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin

While Prince William is a much more popular figure than Charles, public opinion on who should succeed the Queen is split. 

Approaching two in five people (37 per cent) say Prince Charles should become King when she retires, while a similar number (34 per cent) would like to see the throne go to her eldest grandson William. 

One in six people (17 per cent) say there should be no monarch after the Queen. 

The latest poll comes as a former BBC royal correspondent today claimed the Queen will begin to step back from royal duties as she prepares for a future without Prince Philip. The couple were married for 73 years.

It has been claimed that her Majesty, 95, will see her children take on more responsibility within the Royal Family following the death of her husband, such as joining her for the official opening on Parliament.  

Speaking to the New York Times, Peter Hunt, who worked as at the BBC until 2017, said: ‘Fundamentally, the Queen will fade away gracefully.

‘Covid has helped in the sense that it has accelerated what any sensible 95-year-old woman would want to do, which is not stand on your feet all day long’.  

He added that while the Queen has returned to work following her husband’s death, she is unlikely to return to her previous busy schedule of meetings, garden parties and receptions, and may only go to Buckingham Palace two days a week.

Instead, she is likely to stay at Windsor Castle, where she has been isolating for most of the last year.  

Prince Charles will likely take on more duties, including joining his mother in the state opening on Parliament. 

Prince Andrew (left) remains by far the least popular royal, with an 79 per cent negative view, according to the poll. Pictured right: Princess Anne

It is likely this upwards trend is in part due to public sympathy in the wake of Prince Philip’s death on April 9, although it could also partly represent a reversion to normal opinion as memories of the Oprah interview fade

The monarch has overseen every one of the constitutional set pieces since taking the throne in 1952, apart from in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward respectively.

The Duke of Edinburgh only missed the event once, 12 months before he retired in 2018, when he was hospitalised.

Harry and Meghan demand world leaders share vaccines to ‘restore faith in humanity’ 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today announced themselves ‘campaign chairs’ of an A-list event called ‘VaxLive’, where they will demand world leaders including Joe Biden and Boris Johnson ‘share’ vaccines’, especially with India.

‘Vax Live’: The Concert to Reunite the World, organised by Global Canada Citizen and hosted by star Selena Gomez, will be held virtually at the beginning of May, with the Sussexes saying it will ‘restore faith in humanity’ by celebrating the hope provided by the vaccination rollout. 

Harry, 35, and Meghan, 39, will be joined by an A-List line up, with appearances from the couple’s close friend Gayle King, as well as Ben Affleck, Chrissy Teigen, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Nomzamo Mbatha, Olivia Munn and Sean Penn. 

The announcement coincides with demands for President Biden to hand over all of America’s 60 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to India as part of a global drive to help fight the world’s most devastating coronavirus outbreak.

On Monday, the US announced that 60 million doses of the so-far unapproved vaccine will be made available to send abroad, once the doses are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Downing Street today rejected a similar move today, with Boris Johnson’s Official Spokesman saying ‘we don’t have surplus doses’ and the focus will remain on the rollout of jabs in the UK.  

India is facing a second wave of the deadly virus, with a million new cases in just three days. For the past two weeks, medical facilities have been running out of oxygen and ICU beds, with some patients dying as they wait outside hospitals. 

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But regardless of the rumours, the Queen today returned to work with a beaming smile in her first photographed engagement since the funeral of her beloved husband.    

No longer dressed in a black mourning outfit, the monarch was seen via videolink from Windsor Castle while welcoming dignitaries to Buckingham Palace.

Appearing on screen dressed in a pale blue floral dress, with pearls, she held a virtual audience to receive Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre, the Ambassador of Latvia, at Buckingham Palace. 

She also received Her Excellency Sara Affoue Amani, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire, during the virtual meeting.   

Though it is the first time the Queen has been photographed working since the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, on April 17, it is not the first time she has been back to work since his death.

The Queen stoically returned to royal duties just four days after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh on April 9.

On that occasion she attended retirement ceremony for the former Lord Chamberlain Earl Peel on Tuesday. 

Then, in her second official engagement since Prince Philip’s death, she welcomed her new Lord Chamberlain to his post.

Notably, in her most recent appearance today the Queen was pictured no longer in a black mourning outfit.

She was dressed in a pale blue floral dress which featured large purple, white and yellow flowers, with a three-string pearl necklace and a diamond brooch as accessories. 

Earlier, a royal expert claimed Prince Charles wants to slim the monarchy down in order to save money.

Royal biographer Angela Levin said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who currently live in an £11million mansion in California with their son Archie – could be ‘cut’ from The Firm, with a shrunk down version just including Charles, Camilla, William, Kate Middleton, princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte as senior royals.

Others could be encouraged to take on paid work to help support themselves – and may lose their titles and patronages. 

Ms Levin told talkRADIO: ‘Prince Charles has wanted for a very long time to cut the monarchy down to save costs and to make people be worth the money that they got from the taxpayer.

‘I imagine that might be when Harry and Meghan are ditched from being members of the Royal family. 

‘I think the outer edge, which the Queen has wanted to keep together for a very long time for sentimental reasons, which at her age she didn’t really particularly want change which I think is understandable.

The Queen has returned to work as she today conducted her first engagements since Prince Philip’s funeral

She appeared on screen with a beaming smile during a virtual audience to receive Her Excellency Ivita Burmistre, the Ambassador of Latvia, at Buckingham Palace

She also received Her Excellency Sara Affoue Amani, the Ambassador of Cote d’Ivoire, at Buckingham Palace

‘But he wants to change and I think he will do that.’ 

Rumours of Harry and Meghan facing the chop come as the couple’s biography Finding Freedom is set to be re-released this summer, once more raking over royal rifts and addressing the couple’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview. 

The first edition, by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, was published on August 11 last year and painted a flattering picture of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from when they met in 2016 to their departure from the Firm in early 2020.

It is now being updated with new chapters, covering their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey last month, the allegations that Meghan, 39, bullied royal staff – which she denies – and the death of Prince Philip.

The new version, which is also expected to discuss their multi-million pound deals with Netflix and Spotify, their new life in California and the Queen’s decision to strip them of their royal patronages including Harry’s military roles, will go on sale on August 5. 

 Despite the Queen (seen with Prince Philip in June 2020) being well beyond the age when most people retire, two thirds of Britons (64 per cent) want her to remain in her job for the rest of her life

Kate’s country casuals! Duchess dons her trusty khaki jacket and £475 boots she’s had for 17 YEARS as she clambers on to a tractor and pets lambs on farm visit with Prince William

The Duchess of Cambridge donned her trusty khaki jacket and £475 boots she’s had for 17 years as she clambered aboard a tractor and petted a lamb during a farm visit with Prince William today. 

Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, who spent much of lockdown living in their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, three, travelled up to Darlington to visit Manor Farm today. 

The Duchess cut a casual figure on the visit today, opting to wear a £190 shooting jacket from Danish company Seeland with several of her favourite pieces, including a £195 cosy jumper from sustainable brand Troy London and a pair of boots she has owned since before she joined the royal family.  

The couple were given a tour of the fifth-generation family-run mixed cattle, sheep and arable farm near Darlington, and were seen visiting the cattle, calving and lambing sheds with owners Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman.  

The visit comes amid reports that Prince William will struggle to ever forgive sister-in-law Meghan Markle, 39, after she sat down with Oprah Winfrey to attack his beloved wife and then accuse his flesh and blood of racism and uncaring behaviour towards someone with mental health issues. 

Sources told MailOnline’s Dan Wootton that Prince William ‘cannot countenance the way the Duchess of Sussex has treated his wife’, saying: ‘Despite her growing confidence in public, Kate is a deeply sensitive woman who likes to stay behind-the-scenes as much as possible to support her family and the country. William thinks the way she has been treated is unfair.’

Prince William, 38, and Kate Middleton, 39, who spent much of lockdown living in their Norfolk home of Anmer Hall with their children Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and Prince Louis, three, travelled up to Darlington to visit Manor Farm today

The mother-of-three appeared in high spirits as she stroked a lamb alongside farms daughter Clover Chapman, 9, during a visit to Manor Farm 

The Duchess of Cambridge donned her trusty khaki jacket and £475 boots she’s had for 17 years as she clambered aboard a tractor and petted a lamb during the farm visit with Prince William

The Duchess showed off her country-chic style during the visit today, opting to wear a £190 shooting jacket from Seeland.

The piece online is described as having ‘a feminine cut’ and ‘designed in the traditional English game-shooting style.’

Meanwhile Kate opted to rewear her favourite pair of boots, which she was first seen sporting at the Game Fair at Blenheim Palace in August 2004.  

The boots made another appearance exactly a year later as Kate attended the Gatcombe Festival of Eventing in Gloucestershire. 

As the Duchess found her feet in the royal family, the boots have remained a staple for the mother-of-three 

The couple were given a tour of the fifth-generation family-run mixed cattle, sheep and arable farm near Darlington, and were seen visiting the cattle, calving and lambing sheds with owners Clare Wise and Stewart Chapman

A farmyard throne! The Duke and Duchess later sat down on a hay bale as they chatted with owners Clare and Stewart Chapman

Earlier today, Clare and Stewart spoke to Kate and William about their particular focus on protecting the health and welfare of their livestock, as well as some of the tools used at the farm including grass monitoring, land rotation and feed sampling to improve productivity and ensure that they are able to give back to the environment and increase their sustainability.

The royals then joined a discussion with local farmers who are supported by The National Farmers Union about their experiences of the last year, including the mental health impact of COVID-19 for farmers and the challenges of balancing home-schooling with farm work. 

Ahead of the COP26 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow later this year, the group also spoke about the work that is being carried out across the industry to improve environmental impact and help deliver the UK’s commitment to ‘net zero’ carbon emissions. 

The Duchess showed off her country-chic style during the visit today, opting to wear a £190 shooting jacket from Seeland (pictured left and right) 

The Duke and Duchess beamed as they were given a tour of the cattle sheds by farmer Stewart Chapman and his wife Claire Wise  (pictured)

The mother-of-three appeared in high spirits and could be seen chatting animatedly to farmer Claire while on a tour of the cattle sheds today 

The mother-of-three opted to rewear a cosy white jumper from Troy London with a white pie-collar Sezane blouse for the visit earlier today 

After visiting the farm, The Duke and Duchess then visited the Cheesy Waffles Project, which supports children, young people and adults with additional needs aged 7 to 35 from across County Durham.

The charity works to provide its members with the skills and independence they need to transition to a happy and healthy adulthood.

The Cheesy Waffles Project (CWP) receives support from The Key, a youth charity which works collaboratively with organisations across the North East of England to inspire belief in young people and empower them to achieve their full potential. 

The Key (previously called Keyfund) was one of twenty-six charities chosen by The Duke and Duchess in 2011 to benefit from donations made to their Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund.  

The Duchess beamed as she spoke with Clover, who is just two years older than Kate’s son Prince George, during the visit to the farm in Durham today  

Kate and nine-year-old farmer’s daughter Clover then walked a lamb together, watched by her parents and Prince William (pictured left and right) 

While the Duchess appeared happy to be hands on with the sheep, Prince William stood a little further back from the animals during the visit 

The mother-of-three showed off her relaxed nature as she crouched down to chat with farmers daughter Clover and stroked the baby lamb 

Kate appeared relaxed as she spoke with farmers daughter Clover during the visit to the farm in Durham earlier today 

The couple heard about how The Key’s youth-led development programme, The Key Framework, is helping to support thousands of young people to build skills and discover their capabilities by encouraging groups of young people to plan, pitch and carry out their own project ideas.

During their visit, Kate and Prince William met a group taking part in a project currently going through The Key Framework, and heard how they have found the process of working to deliver a wellbeing and mindfulness project.  

The Duke and Duchess also heard more about the other initiatives that are delivered by the CWP to help its members develop independent skills, before joining young people taking part in a number of outdoor activities including golf-putting and natural artwork. 

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This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

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