Meghan Markle's popularity has taken a knock with more Americans disliking her than liking her for the first time in five months—but Prince Harry is still viewed positively, according to exclusive polling for Newsweek.
Harry's book Spare sent the couple's standing with U.S. adults nose-diving in January, but it appears to be Meghan rather than her prince who is struggling to bounce back.
A new poll of 1,500 U.S. adults conducted between September 3 and September 4 showed Meghan was liked by 31 percent and disliked by 33 percent, giving her a net approval rating of minus 2.
This is down eight points since Newsweek's last royal poll with Redfield & Wilton in June, when she was on plus 6.
Prince Harry, meanwhile, was liked by 39 percent and disliked by 27 percent giving him a net approval rating of plus 12, a drop of six points since June when he was on plus 18.
While both remain a long way from their popularity before Harry's book came out, the prince is at least comfortably more liked than disliked.
The fieldwork was done on Sunday and Monday, after Meghan and Harry were seen partying to Beyonce on Friday, September 1, and starting on the same day Prince Harry was pictured watching LAFC play Inter Miami in the MLS.
It was also days after the August 30 release of Harry's latest Netflix show, Heart of Invictus, which failed to make the streaming giant's top ten charts.
How Harry and Meghan's Popularity Has Fluctuated in 2023
On December 5, 2022, days before the release of their Netflix show Harry & Meghan, the duke had a net approval rating of plus 38 while Meghan was at plus 23, according to polling by Redfield & Wilton for Newsweek.
In January, about a week after the release of Spare, Harry dropped 45 points to minus 7 while Meghan dropped 36 points to minus 13.
At Meghan's lowest, she was less popular in America than Prince Andrew in a February Newsweek poll that recorded a net rating for her of minus 17.
And she was still in negative territory in April, but bounced back in a May Newsweek poll that gave her a net approval rating of plus 5, increasing to plus 6 in June.
Analysis
The latest drop is a blow to the couple after a relatively quiet July and August and suggests that while some Americans have softened their stance, the negativity seen at the start of the year has become more long-term for others.
Meghan appears to be more popular with 18-to-26-year-olds, who gave her a net approval rating of plus 19, than boomers, who gave her a minus 7 rating.
Gen Z liked Harry too, giving him a plus 17 rating, but he was also more popular among boomers, on plus 13, than the two age groups in the middle, Gen X and Millennials.
That 20-point difference between the older generation's perceptions of Harry and Meghan could simply be a product of a relationship with the prince that dates back much further to the Princess Diana era, when he was a child.
However, it also invites questions about whether some had taken sides in relation to unfounded rumors the couple were secretly divorcing, a claim Newsweek's fact checkers assessed as false.
If that is the explanation, it is not all bad news for Meghan as the rumors were partly a product of the vacuum created by their own decision to step out of the limelight for a period and the strength of their marriage is likely to become self-evident over time the more they become visible again.
The other major dividing line was between Republicans and Democrats with Meghan on a net approval rating of minus 20 among those who voted Donald Trump in 2020. Meanwhile, Joe Biden voters were far more positive giving her a plus 17 net rating.
Harry was on -4 among Trump voters and +26 among Biden voters, suggesting the couple may have recovered their standing with liberals but not conservatives.
Meghan's trip to see Beyonce generated significant positive publicity but was not enough to lift her out of negative territory, though the polling was done before a picture emerged of her in a VIP area with Kelly Rowland and Kerry Washington.
And if the move is part of a broader strategy that will include further star-studded moments at parties, concerts and sporting events then she may reap greater rewards the more times she is pictured in the company of A-listers.
Needless to say, the Sussexes would be well advised to take the damage done during the Spare era seriously in light of the fact that nine months after the book's release even Harry is not back to the level of popularity he enjoyed in December 2022.
One good place for Harry to start though will be his Invictus Games tournament for wounded veterans, which begins today, September 9.
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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