Why has Harry and Meghan's popularity plummeted in the US? Sussexes are now 'less popular' than Prince Andrew

As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle still appear to have not made a decision yet on whether they will attend the King’s Coronation on May 6, it appears that their popularity has slumped further in the US after their South Park ‘infamous’ episode. 

According to Newsweek and a poll conducted for them by Redfield & Wilton, “Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are more disliked in America than Prince Andrew in the aftermath of the duke’s book Spare.”

Newsweek also revealed the following: “Harry’s popularity in the U.S. has sunk 48 points since December and Meghan’s 40 points giving them net approval ratings of -10 for the duke and-17 for the duchess, according to polling by Redfield & Wilson for Newsweek.”

Although Prince Andrew is still viewed negatively following the New York civil trial against Virginia Roberts-which he settled out of court, it is of a slimmer margin in comparison to Meghan and Harry as his net approval rating is at -2. 

The poll which puts Meghan and Harry ‘less popular’ than Prince Andrew is marked. Newsweek revealed that “The difference is striking, not least because Harry and Meghan’s supporters frequently compare their treatment by the palace and British media to Prince Andrew’s as evidence of unfairness.”

Despite their popularity plummeting in the US, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can take some comfort from their Netflix series ‘Harry & Meghan’ Their docuseries was the third most-streamed programme in the UK last year and beat both Love Island and The Crown.

Although Jeremy Clarkson came ‘under fire’ for his comments in a newspaper column, Clarkson’s Farm got the highest UK audience for an original Amazon show. According to the Daily Mail, “The figures for Clarkson’s Farm are reportedly Amazon’s highest rating figures since Barb began reporting its figures in November 2021.”

As for Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary, the first episode of it was watched by nearly 4.5 million people. The most popular subscription streaming show of 2022 was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery starring Daniel Craig. This movie had an average audience of 6.7 million during the first seven days of its release on Netflix. 

Despite Prince Harry drawing the largest audience for ‘The Late Show’ With Stephen Colbert’ in more than two years (the episode reportedly averaged 3.15M total viewers, according to early Nielsen data), more recently, his popularity along with Meghan Markle has started to wane.

According to American journalist and TV pundit Meghn Kelly, Prince Harry and Meghan ‘won’t recover’ from the recent South Park episode that mocked them. On ‘The Megyn Kelly Show,’ she said:”I feel that this is a pronouncement that they have jumped the shark, they are not beloved and her hopes of running for president, reported hopes, are all but dashed.”

An article in the New York Post revealed that “Kelly was referring to the widespread speculation that the Duchess of Sussex is eyeing a career in politics, adding fuel to the fire of unconfirmed reports that she got her sights set on the White House.”