Melania Trump More ‘Admired’ Than Kate Middleton Or Beyoncé In Poll, But Meghan Markle Did Not Make List

Melania Trump was polled as “more admired” than Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, or Beyoncé. Yet, Meghan Markle never made the list at all. What do we know about the poll, and could there be a logical reason why the Suits actress didn’t make the cut?

Gallup asked 1,049 adult respondents, “What woman that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most? And who is your second choice?” According to Newsweek, the Gallup poll was conducted between December 4 through December 11.

The most admired woman was Hillary Clinton with nine percent, Michelle Obama took second place with seven percent and possible presidential candidate Oprah Winfrey was third with four percent. Queen Elizabeth received two percent of the votes.

Condoleezza Rice, Melania Trump, Nikki Haley, Duchess Kate Middleton, and Beyoncé were at the bottom of the list at one percent each, but their names were listed in order of the amount of votes received.

This means that the First Lady fared better than Duchess Catherine or Beyoncé, yet the hottest female news story of 2017, Meghan Markle was not on this list. Why wasn’t the Suits actress on the list?

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry officially became engaged on November 27. The Gallup poll was conducted a full week after the loved-up couple made it official, on that quiet night when they were roasting a chicken for dinner and Harry proposed.

Despite the press and the hoopla that occurred back and forth across the pond over the news that the philanthropic American actress was marrying a British prince, obviously did not sway those adults polled.

Yet, this is not the first time that Meghan Markle has not polled so well. Back in early November, when Brits were anxiously awaiting the official engagement announcement between Meghan and Harry, it was determined that Meghan needed to “work harder to engage with the British public” based on a poor showing in a poll on the royal family.

According to Express, the Opinium Research poll showed an approval rating of a mere 19 percent. To compare this to other royals, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, whom the late Princess Diana called a “Rottweiler,” had a 20 percent approval rating by the 2,500 UK adults polled. In comparison, her fiancé Prince Harry had “three-quarters” of the vote, and was the most popular member of the royal family.

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle will this afternoon visit @ReprezentRadio in POP Brixton, to see their work supporting young people through creative training in radio and broadcasting. pic.twitter.com/QzBUr7MMXA

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) January 9, 2018

James Endersby, the managing director of the research company pointed out that in this particular poll, Meghan had just begun to attend public functions with Prince Harry. At this point, she had just attended the Invictus Games. In comparison, Kate Middleton received a very positive 63 percent rating, but she has been slowly climbing up in the polls since her marriage to Prince William.

“Meghan Markle may have low approval ratings compared to other royal spouses, such as the Duchess of Cambridge, but it is worth bearing in mind that she has only recently begun to attend official engagements as Prince Harry’s partner.”

Endersby, an expert on such polls further explained that once Markle is more in the public eye, her numbers will reflect.

“Her relatively recent public appearances may account for the small uptick in her popularity over the last few months. We are likely to see Meghan featured more prominently over the coming months and this may correlate with a more positive public image.”

Gallup poll did not mention Meghan Markle in the summation of their poll results, but James Endersby’s explanation could certainly apply to the American Gallup poll results.

Although devoted Meghan Markle fans are aware of her work with the United Nations, and many other charities, once she is married to Prince Harry, her work and her name will likely become better known on both sides of the pond and should be of interest to every organization taking future polls like this, and her numbers should certainly improve.