A new poll has found that nearly half of the British public think that the Duke of Sussex should have his title removed following his and the Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries.
The YouGov survey, commissioned by The Times, found that 44 per cent of respondents said Prince Harry should lose the royal title, while 32 per cent thought the opposite.
Meanwhile, the same proportion said they now felt more sympathy for the Prince and Princess of Wales after the tell-all documentary, titled Harry and Meghan, was released last month.
Around a fifth (23 per cent) said the six-episode series made them think less of the couple, compared to only seven per cent who said it made them think better of them, the newspaper reported.
The poll comes after an earlier YouGov survey found that Harry and Meghan’s popularity slumped before the release of the documentary, with only a third (33 per cent) of Britons saying they had a positive opinion of the duke compared to 59 per cent who had a negative one.
The Duke of York was the only member of the royal family to fare worse in popularity than the Sussexes, while Prince William and Kate Middleton enjoyed the most favourable opinions.
The Waleses were followed by the Princess Royal, then King Charles III, the Earl of Wessex and the Queen Consort, respectively.
According to the new survey, just over half (51 per cent) of respondents still think Harry and Meghan should receive an invitation to the King’s coronation next spring.
It comes after reports suggested Buckingham Palace will invite the couple to the big event, which is set to take place on 6 May 2023, despite their public criticism of the royal family.
In Harry and Meghan, the duke spoke of a “terrifying” meeting between him, William, and other members of the family in 2020.
In the fifth episode of the series, he claimed: “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me.”
Harry also alleged that his father, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, said things that “simply weren’t true” while the late Queen Elizabeth II, “quietly sat there”.
In the same episode, he also claimed that the Palace was “happy to lie to protect” William, but “were never willing to tell the truth to protect us”.
Further revelations are expected when Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare, is released on 10 January 2023.
You can read The Independent’s review of Harry and Meghan here.
The Independent has contacted the Sussexes’ representatives for comment.
