King Charles III and Kate Middleton appear to have weathered the storm after being named in relation to Meghan Markle's royal race allegations, polling for Newsweek suggests.
The Dutch version of Omid Scobie's royal book Endgame accidentally named the British monarch as the royal who asked how dark Prince Archie's skin might be before he was born.
And the Princess of Wales was said to have been present when the remark was made, though little detail was given about her reaction to it.
Redfield & Wilton polled a representative sample of 1,500 U.S. adults on December 8 on behalf of Newsweek to determine whether the scandal had an impact on their popularity.
And both appear to be liked more in America now than they were in September, as are Prince William, Queen Camilla, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Popularity of U.K. Royals After Endgame
King Charles III was liked by 32 percent of Americans and disliked by 15 percent on December 8, leaving him with a net approval rating of plus 17.
This represented a 17 point increase compared with September when Redfield & Wilton's Newsweek polling put him on net zero.
Kate Middelton was liked by 47 percent and disliked by 9 percent giving her a net rating of plus 38, up five points from September.
Other U.K.-based royals were on the up as well, including Prince William who was liked by 43 percent and disliked by 11 percent giving him a net rating of plus 32. In September he was on plus 28, marking a four point boost.
Even Queen Camilla, languishing on minus 13 in September, had her head above water on plus two after she was liked by 27 percent and disliked by 25 percent.
The figures will be a welcome boost for the U.K. royals after the scandal threatened to engulf their December.
Charles and Kate Named in Dutch Endgame
From the moment the names first began circulating in translations of the Dutch version of Endgame on social media during the afternoon of Tuesday, November 28, U.K. time, media coverage ran at fever pitch for well over a week.
After British outlets initially avoided repeating the passages, Charles and Kate were named across all the major U.K. news outlets by late Thursday into Friday morning that week.
In the process, a multitude of royal engagements were overshadowed, including Charles' star turn at COP28, where he otherwise managed to overshadow beleaguered U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Scobie's book described letters exchanged between Charles and Meghan in the days after she told Oprah Winfrey an unnamed royal had "concerns and conversations about how dark [her unborn child's] skin might be when he's born."
The Dutch Endgame read: "During their conversation with Oprah, both Harry and Meghan declined to say who was present at that conversation (a representative for the couple only wanted to say that it was not the Queen or Prince Philip).
"'I think that will be very damaging to them,' Meghan said. But in those private letters an identity was revealed and confirmed: Charles.
"The king, sources say, wanted to respond to make clear to Meghan that there was no ill will or bias."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
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