Harry not spared: popularity falls to record low after book

His approval rating has fallen by six percentage points in a week, while his brother’s and father’s has risen.

William and Kate arrive at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

The Duke of Sussex’s popularity with the British public is at its lowest ever level after his claims against the royal family, according to the first polling since his autobiography was published.

Only 24 per cent of people have a positive view of Prince Harry, compared with 68 per cent who are critical. His approval rating has fallen by six percentage points in a week, the YouGov survey has found.

Harry and his wife, Meghan, are now so disliked by older Britons that their ratings are worse than the Duke of York’s among the over-65s. The survey also found 41 per cent believed Harry’s motivation for publishing his book, Spare, was money, while only 21 per cent accepted Harry’s explanation that he wanted to tell his side of the story.

The findings will be a relief for Buckingham Palace, because it shows the duke’s revelations have had little effect on the popularity of the King, the Queen or the Prince of Wales, all of whom attract criticism in the book.

Spare: Harry’s book on sale in Berlin. Picture: AFP

The King and Prince William’s ratings have actually increased since the last polling was carried out by YouGov, while Camilla’s has dipped only slightly. However, the number of people who say they’re embarrassed by the monarchy has risen from 15 per cent to 21 per cent since September. Those aged between 18 and 24 are significantly more likely to be embarrassed than their elders – 35 per cent say they’re a little or very embarrassed, compared with 11 per cent of those aged 65 or over. Just under 60 per cent of people think that the monarchy is good for Britain, while 64 per cent are in favour of keeping the institution.

The polling, which was carried out earlier this week after the publication of Spare, found a stark generational divide in reactions to the book. It found that 39 per cent of the under-25s had a positive view of Harry compared with only 9 per cent of the over-65s. Among the over-65s, Harry and Meghan are now more disliked than Prince Andrew. While 60 per cent of the oldest generation have a “very” negative view of Andrew, that rises to 69 per cent for Meghan and 73 per cent for Harry.

King Charles visits a community shed in Aberdeenshire on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

Overall Princess Anne – who has escaped the drama – is now the most popular senior royal in Britain. Seventy-two per cent hold a positive view of her, and while this is a similar figure to William (70 per cent) and Kate (68 per cent), she is disliked by fewer people, giving her a higher net score of plus 59 to the Prince of Wales’s plus 49 and the Princess of Wales’s plus 50.

Britons are also somewhat less convinced that the country will still have a monarch in 100 years, with the number thinking that it “definitely” will falling from 18 per cent to 12 per cent, although the number who think there will “probably” still be a king or queen in 100 years remains about the same as it was (35 per cent).

The Times