65% Britons ‘dislike’ Prince Harry, Meghan Markle; have 'no compassion' for couple

New Delhi: A day after Meghan Markle made headlines in Britain on Tuesday (August 30) with comments made on the ‘royal family’ during an interview with US magazine, a survey on Wednesday (August 31) has revealed that more than half of Britons dislike and “do not feel sympathetic” towards the couple Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex. According to a poll conducted on Tuesday by global opinion and data firm YouGov, 43% of 2,627 British people polled said they had no compassion for the couple, with another 22% saying they had "not very much." 

Meanwhile, a total of 22% said they had a "fair amount" or "lots" of sympathy for the royal couple. As many as 13% of those polled said they were neutral.

According to Newsweek, the survey came in the wake of Markle's solo podcast Archetypes, her interview with The Cut, and the couple's announcement of a September visit to the UK and Germany. Following the couple's announcement that they would step down as working royals and relocate to the United States, Prince Harry and Markle's popularity in the former's homeland plummeted dramatically. The scenario changed further during their blunt appearance with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, as well as the publication of Harry's memoir that same year.

According to Newsweek, the couple's popularity sank in May ahead of their travel to the UK for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee festivities, which saw Markle make a comeback and public appearance in the nation for the first time since her royal retirement.

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However, Queen Elizabeth II retained to be the most popular person in the United Kingdom, followed by Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter.

This fresh polling comes after Markle commented on her relationship with the Royal Family in a recent interview with New York, accusing them of unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.