King Charles has suffered a huge blow to his popularity according to a new poll, and the monarch’s rating is thought to be connected to the return of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s surprise return to the UK has proved controversial and a drop in the King’s positivity rating, according to a YouGov poll, is attributed by some commentators to his handling of the couple.
A senior palace aide was asked if the King and his team were confident his approach to family matters was the right one, in terms of public attitudes towards the institution of the monarchy. They replied: “Yes. That is why he takes the actions he does – and has done.”
Within weeks of returning to the UK in August, Harry and Meghan were involved in a public dispute about their status, when a letter was sent to Government stakeholders and others, authorised by the King, clarifying the Sussexes remain “private citizens”. Team Sussex said at the time they were given around an hour’s notice of the release of the Lord Chamberlain’s letter, did not have time to clarify any of the points and Harry and Meghan were said to prefer the phrase “public figures” rather than “private citizens”.
The recent YouGov survey of 2,116 people found nearly 58% of those questioned had a positive opinion of Charles, down 4% since a similar survey in the summer and the lowest level since he ascended to the throne. The data has prompted speculation about whether Charles is suffering a backlash over Harry’s return, with one royal commentator suggesting that the King had a role to play in the Sussexes’ move.
Royal journalist Tom Sykes said: “The public are not fooled. They know Charles is behind the return of Harry. They do not buy the line that he didn’t know, that the King was as surprised as anyone to find his younger son setting up home in the Cotswolds.”
Sykes added: “They the public drew the obvious conclusion: that the King has wanted Harry home all along and done nothing to prevent it, even at terrific cost to a legacy already trashed by Andrew (Mountbatten Windsor).”
Although Sykes has attributed Charles’ declining popularity to Harry and Meghan’s move, the YouGov findings do not clarify whether the couple’s return had a direct impact on the public opinion of the monarch. In the poll Harry received a positive rating of just 29%, down four points from July, before his move.
The poll showed that 68% of the British public viewed Meghan negatively, an increase of three points since July. Her net favourability was her lowest result recorded by the popularity tracker.
The Express have contacted the palace for comment.