Meghan Markle Not Approved By Brits? Polls Say Prince Harry’s Love ‘One Of The Least Popular Royal Figures’

Prince Harry may be utterly smitten with American Meghan Markle, but it appears that Britons do not share his passion with the Suits actress. In a recent poll where Harry was voted the most popular royal, Meghan was at the bottom, as the “least popular royal.” What do we know about this poll and why Meghan Markle is not highly favored among those in the U.K.?

For nearly six months now, there have been rumors flying that Prince Harry intents on marrying Meghan Markle. In September, the couple finally made their first public engagement at the Invictus Games in Toronto, the city where the American actress lives and shoots the popular television show Suits.

Yet in a “highly respected poll” Markle only received a 19 percent approval rating, scoring even lower than Prince Charles’ wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at 20 percent and Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, the Countess of Essex at 22 percent.

According to Express, Opinion Research conducted the online poll of 2,500 “U.K. adults” between Tuesday and Thursday. This same poll was given back in April, and Markle received 16 percent approval rating. So, the latest result is an improvement, however slight.

On the other hand, Prince Harry, her royal boyfriend that she gushed over to Vanity Fair, is the most popular royal at 74 percent. Ever popular, Kate Middleton has an approval rating of “just under two-thirds.”

Yet, Meghan should not feel too distressed over her poll numbers as the two blood princesses, Beatrice and Eugenie ranked lower than the actress, at 13 percent and 12 percent respectively. Their mother Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, is at 11 percent.

Managing director of Opinion Research James Endersby points out that unlike Duchess Kate, Meghan is new to the public and has just begun to be in the spotlight alongside Prince Harry.

“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 points out that Markle’s recent appearance at the Invictus Games, alongside Prince Harry, is most likely the reason for her improvement in poll ratings. He predicts that the more often she is seen in public, the higher her ratings will go up.

“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.”

What do you think of Meghan Markle’s approval rating? Do you think it is too early to even rate her popularity, considering she has yet to become engaged to Prince Harry, or do you think it is appropriate for her to be included in this poll?

[Featured Image by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation]