How Meghan Markle's US Popularity Compares to Royals

Newsweek

18 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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Meghan Markle's popularity in the United States has had highs and lows in the five years since she moved back to America from Britain.
Currently, she has a positive net favorability score, but it has not always been that way after backlash in the aftermath of Prince Harry's book Spare and their Netflix show Harry & Meghan.
Markle still has not recovered the level of popularity she enjoyed before the couple's 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, but she is broadly on positive terms with the U.S. public.
Meghan Markle's Popularity Before Oprah
U.S. polling on the popularity of the royals is rare compared to Britain, but not non-existent. YouGov has conducted a number of surveys over the years, including in November 2020.
Markle was liked by 57 percent and disliked by 30 percent, giving her a net approval rating of plus 27. This compared to Prince Harry at +40, Princess Kate at +49, Prince William at +54 and King Charles III at -13.
The couple's rift with the monarchy had not yet fully exploded into the public domain and they had only recently signed their Netflix deal that September.
There had, though, been public backlash after Markle called for the "change we all need and deserve" on behalf of former first lady Michelle Obama's "When All Women Vote" initiative in the run-up to the presidential election that toppled President Donald Trump that month.
In January 2020, YouGov asked Americans whether they supported or opposed Harry and Meghan stepping back from the monarchy. Exactly half supported the move, 7 percent opposed it and 43 percent answered "don't know."
On March 5, 2021, as teasers from Oprah's interview began to drop, YouGov asked whether people were mostly sympathetic to the royals or the Sussexes.
At that point, 29 percent backed the Sussexes and 13 percent backed Queen Elizabeth II and the royals, while most said either "both," "neither," "don't know" or "not applicable."
Meghan Markle at The Paley Center for Media fall gala at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, on December 4, 2024.
Meghan Markle at The Paley Center for Media fall gala at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons hotel, in Beverly Hills, California, on December 4, 2024.
Leon Bennett/FilmMagic
Meghan's Popularity After Oprah
On March 8, 2021, YouGov conducted a snap poll immediately after its broadcast that showed 68 percent of Americans had sympathy for Harry and Meghan compared to 27 percent who had either not very much or none.
This compared to 28 percent who had sympathy for the royals and 68 percent who had either not very much or none.
In other words, Americans initially appeared to take Harry and Meghan's side in the immediate aftermath of the interview.
By, May 2022, however, YouGov ran further polling that showed a slump in Meghan's net favorability ratings. Meghan was liked by 45 percent of Americans and disliked by 36 percent, giving her a net approval rating of +9.
A drop of 18 points compared to November 2020 may seem sharp, but she remained in positive numbers and the slump was significantly less severe than in Britain, where she dropped deep into negative territory.
Meanwhile, Harry dropped to plus 18, a 22-point slide, Kate slipped to plus 36, William to plus 31 and Charles crept up to minus 7. Queen Camilla was at minus 13.
Meghan's Popularity Around Spare and Netflix
Redfield & Wilton conducted further polling on behalf of Newsweek on December 5, 2022, days out from the release of the couple's Harry & Meghan biopic and three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
At that time, 43 percent of Americans liked Meghan and she was disliked by 20 percent, meaning a net approval rating of plus 23.
Harry was at plus 38, Kate plus 43 and William plus 40, while Charles was at plus 12 and Camilla minus 2.
However, the couple crashed in the aftermath of Prince Harry's memoir Spare and Netflix in the eyes of the U.S. public.
Further polling by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek on January 16 showed Meghan dropped 36 points, after she was liked by 26 percent of Americans and disliked by 39 percent, giving her a net approval rating of -13.
Harry dropped 45 points to minus 7, while Kate slipped to plus 26, William to plus 21, Charles to plus 8 and Camilla to minus 8.
Meghan's Popularity in 2025
YouGov's most recent polling of Americans came in April, when 41 percent liked Meghan and 26 percent disliked her, giving a net rating of plus 15.
Meanwhile, Harry was at plus 35, Kate was at plus 43, William was at plus 53, Charles was at plus 21 and Camilla was at minus seven.
In summary, Meghan has consistently polled behind William, Kate and Harry and in front of Camilla. She has mostly polled ahead of King Charles except in the most recent poll, in which he did unusually well.
While she may not command figures as strong as her brother-in-law and sister-in-law, she has substantially bounced back from her lowest point in the aftermath of Spare.
She has not, though, regained the high ratings she enjoyed before Oprah, in November 2020.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
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