Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s approval ratings in the US took a tumble after South Park aired a parody of the royal couple.
In the controversial recent episode of the adult animated series, the Duke and Duchess are mocked with a series of jokes that some viewers described as “brutal”.
Markle herself was said to be “upset” by the show’s content, which centres on a satire of the pair’s recent public comments about invasions of their privacy.
However, a representative for Harry and Markle denied reports that they were considering a lawsuit against South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, calling the speculation “nonsense”.
Now, a new survey conducted by market research firm Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek states Prince Harry’s overall US approval rating sank by three points to hit -10 since the episode aired, while Markle’s sits at -17.
Since December 2021, Harry has dropped 48 points and Markle 40, according to the poll conducted on 19 February.
The figures put the couple below Harry’s embattled uncle, Prince Andrew, who has a net approval rating of -2. Redfield & Wilton’s poll found that 26 per cent said they liked the Duke of York while 28 per cent said they disliked him – the rest identified as indifferent or “don’t know”.
Last year, Andrew settled out of court following a six-month legal battle against Virginia Giuffre who accused him of sexually abusing her three times in 2001, when she was 17, below the legal age of consent in some US states.
While Parker and Stone didn’t specifically use Harry and Meghan’s names in South Park, the male character is a red-headed prince and his wife wears the exact same outfit Markle once wore in 2018.
In the episode, titled “The World-Wide Privacy Tour”, the prince is promoting a book named Waaaagh, which is an apparent reference to Harry’s infamous memoir, Spare, which was released last month.
The Independent has rounded up seven references you may have missed in the episode here.
