Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's favourability ratings have dropped to record lows as their Oprah Winfrey interview continues to have fallout and the pair are criticised for their responses to global events.
A new poll of 1667 Brits released this month by YouGov found that 59 percent had a negative view of Prince Harry - up from 49 percent in April - compared to just 34 percent with a positive view, down 9 percent. Meghan is even more disliked, with 65 percent having a negative view - up 4 percent - and just 26 percent with a positive one, down 3 percent.
It's the worst result for the couple, who fled the United Kingdom in early 2020 for independence and privacy but have since participated in a number of interviews where they have made accusations of the royal family as well as signing several entertainment deals.
"Since the last iteration of YouGov's royal favourability trackers, Harry and Meghan have faced continued fallout from their interview with Oprah Winfrey, as well as poor responses to their statements surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the withdrawal from Afghanistan," an article on the pollster's website says.
A statement posted in August on their Archewell website about the Afghanistan takeover, COVID-19 and the earthquake in Haiti has been described as a "woke salad".
"When any person or community suffers, a piece of each of us does so with them, whether we realize it or not," part of the message says. "And though we are not meant to live in a state of suffering, we, as a people, are being conditioned to accept it. It’s easy to find ourselves feeling powerless, but we can put our values into action - together."
While some felt a statement from Harry about Afghanistan was appropriate considering his military service there, others questioned why Meghan needed to sign it.
"Overnight, Markle goes from actress with no platform to duchess with enormous reach. Has she changed? No. Is she more qualified? No. Is she a world leader? No," one person said.
Since the last YouGov poll, it's also been announced Prince Harry will release a memoir next year, something which is said to have "blindsided" senior royals. Concerns the book may overshadow the Queen's Platinum Jubilee has reportedly led to discussions about whether the American-based couple should be excluded from the celebrations.
A survey released in July by YouGov found 38 percent believe it's "very inappropriate" for the Duke to publish a memoir, while a further 15 percent said it was "fairly inappropriate".
The Queen continues to be the most popular royal, followed by Prince William, and Kate Middleton. The least popular is the embattled Prince Andrew, with just 6 percent of people thinking positively of him in light of his connections to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and accusations about his own behaviour.
