Meghan Markle's net approval rating is back in positive numbers four months after a publicity blitz around Prince Harry's book Spare appeared to spark a collapse in their popularity.
The Duchess of Sussex was liked by 39 percent and disliked by 34 percent, according to a survey of 1,500 U.S. adults carried out on May 17 by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek.
The data gives her a net approval rating of +5, leaving her in positive numbers for the first time in multiple rounds of polling for Newsweek since a collapse in their popularity in January 2023.
A publicity blitz around their Netflix series Harry & Meghan in December 2022 and the duke's book Spare in January 2023 appeared to send their U.S. approval rating into free fall.
Between December 5 and January 16, Meghan's net approval rating dropped from +23 to -13, a 36 point decline, while Prince Harry's dropped from +38 to -7, down 45 points.
During that period, Harry leveled a series of attacks against other members of the British royal family, accusing Camilla of leaking stories about him in order to pave her path to becoming Queen Consort, and also talked at length both in his book and at least one interview about putting Elizabeth Arden lip cream—the same brand used by his mother, Princess Diana—on his frost bitten penis.
Since then, however, American public opinion has begun to swing slowly back in the couple's favor and Newsweek's most recent polling data puts Harry on +15.
Across all U.S. adults, the prince was liked by 42 percent and disliked by 27 percent, a seven point bump compared to April 4 when he was on +8.
However, the couple are still lagging behind Kate Middleton and Prince William, who remain America's favorite royals, according to Newsweek's polling.
Kate Middleton was liked by 49 percent and disliked by 12 percent giving her a net approval of +37 while Prince William was liked by 46 percent and disliked by 12 percent, putting him on +34.
King Charles III was liked by 42 percent and disliked by 16 percent putting him on +26 while Queen Camilla was liked by 34 percent and disliked by 24 percent, giving her a net rating of +10.
Camilla remains more popular in America than Meghan by five points but is less popular than Harry by the same margin.
The latest polling was conducted one day after Meghan wore a strapless, gold Johanna Ortiz gown to a Ms. Foundation gala where she picked up a Women of Vision award for her work advocating for feminist causes.
She brought Prince Harry and her mother Doria Ragland to the ceremony though the trio were followed by paparazzi for two hours afterwards.
The Sussexes sparked a major international news story after describing the experience as a "near catastrophic" car chase in a May 17 statement but received some pushback on their choice of language from the NYPD and New York mayor.
It remains for now unclear how the saga has affected their standing with the U.S. public since many of the respondents in the Redfield & Wilton survey will likely have completed it before the statement and later pushback had unfolded in full.
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.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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
