{"id":2177,"date":"2025-04-15T12:17:49","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T12:17:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=2177"},"modified":"2025-04-15T23:08:04","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T23:08:04","slug":"queen-elizabeth-ii-still-the-most-popular-royal-figure-three-years-since-her-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/15\/queen-elizabeth-ii-still-the-most-popular-royal-figure-three-years-since-her-death\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen Elizabeth II still the most popular royal figure three years since her death"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Queen\t<\/div>
Queen Elizabeth II remains top of the British public\u2019s affections while Harry and Meghan are close to being the least liked royals in British history, according to a poll (Picture: Getty\/Metro Graphics)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Queen Elizabeth<\/a> II remains the most popular public figure three years on from her death \u2014 while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle<\/a> are among the least loved royals despite their media blitz.<\/p>\n

Prince William<\/a> is the next highest royal on a chart newly updated by pollsters YouGov<\/a> that gauges the \u2018great British public\u2019s\u2019 approval for well-known figures. The Prince of Wales, 42, is placed at number three. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The heir apparent is ahead of Princess Anne, Catherine, Princess of Wales and King Charles III,<\/a> who all feature in the top 10. <\/p>\n

Queen Camilla, who has been ever-present by her husband\u2019s side through his treatment for cancer, is ranked 15th. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The Duke of Sussex<\/a> is listed 34th while his wife, Meghan, is at 88, despite the couple\u2019s slew of high-profile media projects and international appearances since parting ways with Buckingham Palace. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Both have dipped in popularity, according to the table. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"\"\t<\/div>
Queen Elizabeth II stands on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee (Picture: Frank Augstein\/WPA Pool\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By contrast, King Charles has had an uptick in favourability, from No10 in the last quarter of 2024 to No6 at present. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, who is married to Prince Edward, has leapt from No11 to No7 in the poll, which suggests that even relatively fringe royals are overtaking the Sussexes in the likeability factor.<\/p>\n

The Queen was the UK\u2019s longest-serving monarch when she died at Balmoral on September 8, 2022, aged 96. <\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"LONDON,\t<\/div>
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the celebrations for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey on March 10, 2025 (Picture: Samir Hussein\/WireImage)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

She had built up an appeal spanning different generations, from her wartime service<\/a> to appearing alongside a CGI Paddington Bear <\/a>in a video sketch. She not only heads the list posthumously but is the most popular monarch of all time, according to YouGov. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The King, 76, and the Princess of Wales, 43, have both attracted public sympathy with their cancer battles, <\/a>during which they have continued with public engagements. The king\u2019s treatment continues <\/a>while Kate is in remission and is focused on recovery.<\/p>\n

By contrast, Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, have courted controversy with incendiary claims about Buckingham Palace after leaving the fold in March 2020 to live in the US, with the split becoming\u00a0known as \u2018Megxit\u2019. <\/a><\/p>\n

Set pieces including the infamous Oprah interview and Harry\u2019s book, Spare, <\/a>have taken place alongside their media projects, including Meghan\u2019s Netflix lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan. <\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"2023\t<\/div>
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are both outside the top 30 in a poll of the most popular public figures (Picture: Joshua Sammer\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But the combination of personality projects, revelations about their former lives and tie ups with media brands has not washed with those polled.<\/p>\n

Harry has a popularity rating of 30% and is disliked by 44% of respondents, with 22% being neutral. Meghan has a popularity of 17% and a dislike rating of 57%, with 21% being neutral. <\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s metrics take them close to the most unpopular monarch in history \u2014\u00a0 the famously six-wived Henry VIII.<\/p>\n

He is the only ruler for whom a majority of the population (59%) have a negative opinion. Just 17% of Britons have a favourable view of the man who started the English Reformation.<\/p>\n

Also in the top 10 are former US president Barack Obama (No2), the late Queen\u2019s second child Princess Anne (No4), Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a> (No8), followed by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson and multi-billionaire innovator Bill Gates.<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tBranding expert Jonathan Gabay’s eye on the royals\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n\t\t\"Jonathan\t<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

King Charles<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the face of illness, he hasn\u2019t flinched. <\/p>\n

He\u2019s kept calm, carried on and avoided the circus. Carefully released quotes from Camilla\u2019s press team highlight the King\u2019s relentless energy and strong work ethic \u2013 reinforcing the brand of royal resilience in a tough (ish \u2013 for him) working world.<\/p>\n

Prince William\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prince William isn\u2019t just popular \u2013 he\u2019s pivotal. <\/p>\n

His appeal cuts across generations. He looks like a future king; more importantly, he acts like one.\u00a0He\u2019s been brand-cast as open, but not oversharing; present, but never performative. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Technically, in the world of branding, this image crafting is called \u2018high-trust leadership\u2019 \u2013 and in a world drowning in overexposure, William\u2019s controlled grace is a breath of fresh air.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Harry & Meghan: The Royal rebrand that bombed\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite the documentaries, the memoirs and the media blitz, for many their brand is in freefall. They\u2019ve confused visibility with value. <\/p>\n

The public is tired of the sob stories, the slick edits, the charity gaffs and the personal brand masquerading as public service.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Spare\u2019 wasn\u2019t catharsis, it was a score-settling family fist-fight at a wedding or funeral. Meghan\u2019s Netflix cookery show wasn\u2019t charming; it was cringeworthy. \u00a0Homemade jam in designer kitchens doesn\u2019t land well when half the country\u2019s struggling to heat their flats and pay exploitative rents (let alone ex-Army personnel left wondering what their sacrifice was really about).\u00a0<\/p>\n

MeghanLand is a curated dreamworld where she\u2019s the princess, surrounded by angel dust, and real life never intrudes. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back in Britain, we\u2019re dealing with food banks, broken systems, bloated energy firms, tax-draining steelworks and flatlining public trust. Their glossy detachment doesn\u2019t look like empowerment \u2013 it feels like entitlement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We want Royals who represent us \u2013 not resent us\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The great British public isn\u2019t stupid. <\/p>\n

We don\u2019t want influencers wearing Harry Winston tiaras. We want dignity. Dedication. A reason to believe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than ever, people need some kind of hope.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elizabeth II understood that. Charles is beginning to. William embodies it.\u00a0Harry and Meghan? They\u2019re still trying to monetise it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And the message from the public? \u00a0<\/p>\n

Loud and clear: no thanks.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Milan Dinic, director\u00a0\u2013\u00a0content\u00a0strategy\u00a0and\u00a0innovation at the online pollsters, said:\u00a0\u2018YouGov Ratings measures popularity and fame based on millions of responses from the British public. <\/p>\n

\u2018The latest data shows that the late Queen Elizabeth II has remained top of the table for most popular public figures. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018In fact, the Royal Family is shown to be among the most popular British figures on the list across all age groups, with top 10 placements for King Charles, Prince William, Princess Anne and Sophie, Countess of Wessex.\u2019 <\/p>\n

YouGov has examined the popularity of royals<\/a> throughout British history.<\/p>\n

In February, 82% of Britons said they had a favourable view of the late Queen, compared to only 8% who had an unfavourable view.<\/p>\n

The response made her by far the most popular of the 43 rulers of England and Britain since 1066.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story you would like to share? Contact\u00a0<\/strong>josh.layton@metro.co.uk<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/02\/14\/harry-meghan-courting-trouble-launching-new-sussex-website-20278513\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Harry and Meghan \u2018courting trouble with the Palace\u2019 after launching Sussex website<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/09\/20\/meghan-and-harry-should-heed-emotional-power-of-queens-funeral-17416978\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Meghan and Harry should heed \u2019emotional power\u2019 of Queen\u2019s funeral to heal royal rift<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><title>Arrow<\/title><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/12\/08\/harry-and-meghan-told-that-being-rebel-king-and-queen-has-no-future-17903427\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Harry and Meghan warned that being \u2018rebel king and queen\u2019 has no future <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Queen Elizabeth II remains top of the British public\u2019s affections while Harry and Meghan are close to being the least liked royals in British history, according to a poll (Picture: Getty\/Metro Graphics) Queen Elizabeth II remains the most popular public figure three years on from her death \u2014 while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2179,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2177"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2185,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177\/revisions\/2185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}