Prince Harry’s dramatic fall in popularity in Britain was laid bare by a new poll showing he is getting the blame for the royal split and more adults are against than for him returning to take on official duties while King Charles recovers.
The Ipsos survey for The Standard also showed his personal popularity dipping compared to a year ago and at around only a quarter of its level six years ago.
Just under half of adults in Britain believe the Royal Family is currently divided, with women more likely than men to take this view, by 55 per cent to 41 per cent.
Among people who think there is a split, 41 per cent name the Duke of Sussex as the most responsible, the same figure for his wife the Duchess of Sussex, with Prince Andrew in third place on 28 per cent.
King Charles is on 17 per cent, followed by Queen Camilla jointly with Prince William on 14 per cent each, then the Princess of Wales on nine per cent.
The rift in the Royal Family appeared to be ongoing.
William was set to attend the event at the Science Museum in London on Thursday night in person, where he was expected to give a speech to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary and present awards to 20 recipients.
Harry, who now lives in California, was then due join a video call with the winners, according to reports, but his involvement would only take place after William had left the ceremony.
With the Monarch not undertaking public royal duties as he gets treatment for cancer, and Kate also having stepped back from official visits while recovering from abdominal surgery, speculation had mounted that Harry could return at least on a temporary basis to lighten the work load on other royals.
But the poll found little public appetite for such a move.
Around 40 per cent opposed a royal return for the Duke, on either a temporary or permanent basis, with just a quarter of adults supporting it.
Older people are more likely to be against a Harry comeback, with 58 per cent of the 55 to 75 age group taking this view, even if it was only temporary.
Just 11 per cent of adults name Prince Harry as the royal they like the most, down three percentage points on April 2023, with the Duchess of Sussex seeing a similar size fall to seven per cent.
His decline in popularity is far starker when compared to the spring of 2018, when he was the nation’s favourite, on 42 per cent, ahead of Queen Elizabeth II on 32 per cent, just weeks before his marriage to Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle.
Now, the most popular royal, on 38 per cent, is the Princess of Wales.
It is just over a month since Prince Harry flew back to London to see the King following his cancer diagnosis sparking hopes of a royal reconciliation but while father and son may be on speaking terms palace insiders insist the rift with Prince William shows no sign of ending.
It was Harry’s decision in January 2020 to quit as a working royal and leave for California with his family that ruptured their relationship offending William’s sense of duty and loyalty to the institution of monarchy.
But it is believed the real damage was done when the Duke and his wife Meghan went public with their views on the royal family and the reasons behind their departure.
Their bombshell TV interview with Oprah Winfrey included allegations an unnamed royal or royals made comments about their then unborn son Archie’s skin colour while Meghan spoke candidly about her mental health and told the US chat-show host she was left in tears in the run-up to their wedding after a disagreement with William’s wife Kate over dresses for the flower girls.
Even more damage was done to the brother’s relationship when Harry published his tell-all memoir Spare which all but destroyed what remained of his relationship with William.
It included everything from minor point scoring at William and Kate’s expense – Harry said the couple were to blame for encouraging him to dress up in Nazi uniform for a party in 2005 – to more serious revelations such as claims William was “tormented” by learning about his father’s relationship with Camilla.
Harry also described tensions between the two couples including how his brother “recoiled” when Meghan came in for a hug on their first meeting and perhaps most damningly spilled the beans on how a row over his wife’s behaviour led to a brawl between the brothers.
He recounted how William described Meghan as “rude” and “a difficult person” before allegedly grabbing him by his shirt and throwing him into a dog bowl on the floor before challenging Harry to hit him back.
Despite, the rifts and rows, 41 per cent of Britons believe it would be worse for the country if the Monarchy was abolished, with 25 per cent thinking it would be better if this happened, figures little changed since January last year, but showing a gradual decline in support for the royals over a longer period.
Keiran Pedley, director of Ipsos, said: “These numbers make clear how far Prince Harry’s popularity has fallen in recent times. Once the most popular Royal, now just one in ten say he is their favourite.
“Meanwhile, whilst Harry and Meghan are most likely to be blamed for Royal divisions, there is significant public hesitancy about Harry returning to Royal duties, even on a temporary basis. Even if a majority are not activity opposed.”
