Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have seen a tide change in their popularity among Americans for the first time since the release of their recent media projects that contained a number of allegations against members of the royal family, a new poll has shown.
In December, Harry and Meghan released a six-episode eponymous Netflix docuseries that charted the course of their relationship and gave a first-hand account of the events leading up to, and covering, their dramatic exit from the monarchy in 2020.
The series earned the couple equal measures of praise and brickbats for appearing to openly criticize the royal family, including Prince William, King Charles and Kate Middleton, just three months after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The series was closely followed by the publication of Harry's record-breaking memoir Spare, which contained a number of royal revelations and allegations against the royals, in particular William and Camilla.
All of the senior royals saw their popularity in the States take a hit after each of the Netflix and memoir releases, but none more so than Harry and Meghan themselves.
However, new poll data, compiled for Newsweek by strategists Redfield & Wilton, shows that this has reached its saturation point.
Of a survey of 1,500 U.S. registered voters on April 4, 39 percent responded that they viewed Prince Harry favorably, while 31 percent responded that they viewed him unfavorably.
This gives the prince a net approval rating of +8, an 18-point increase over figures published by Newsweek in February.
This shows a degree of increased public warmth towards the prince, however, the number still constitutes a drop from his approval rating of +38 in December, before the release of the Harry & Meghan Netflix show.
A similar boost has been seen for Meghan, with 33 percent of respondents in the April 4 poll saying they viewed the duchess favorably against 39 percent who viewed her unfavorably.
This gives the royal a net approval rating of -6 which, though still in negative numbers, constitutes a 11-point increase over February's result of -17.
Though moving towards a positive end, the new -6 figure is still 39 points down from her pre-Netflix December 2022 figure of +33.
Harry and Meghan are not alone in their approval ratings seeing an increase over February's results. King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton all saw their scores increase by ten points or more.
A number of factors could have contributed to this trend, one being a period of distance between the release of Netflix and Spare, with no further major revelations or interviews being made public since January.
Another factor could be a period of good will afforded to the royals as interest in the upcoming coronation of Charles and Camilla increases ahead of the May 6 ceremony date.
The monarchs will be crowned in a traditional ceremony at Westminster Abbey in a weekend of celebratory events, marking the first coronation to be held in 70 years.
The coronation may provide royal watchers with the opportunity to see Harry and Meghan reunited with the royals for the first time since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
The couple have not visited Britain together publicly since the queen's state funeral and the coronation would mark the first time the extended family would be reunited since the Netflix and Spare releases.
Though coronation invites have been sent out and Harry and Meghan's spokesperson confirmed in March that they had received "email correspondence" from Charles' office regarding the ceremony, no announcement has yet been made as to whether the Sussexes intend to be in the abbey for the milestone day.
Despite the uptick in their U.S-based popularity, recent polling by YouGov in Britain found that Harry and Meghan are currently more unpopular than ever in the prince's home country.
If the couple therefore do decide to attend the coronation there are increased chances members of the public could boo them during public-facing events, as was the case with the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
May 6, the date of the ceremony, holds particular significance for the couple away from the association with the king's coronation, as it also marks their son's birthday. This year, Prince Archie will turn four as his grandfather, Charles, is crowned.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith 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
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
