Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to return to live in the United Kingdom in the coming days, according to British media reports published on Wednesday, August 19. The reported move comes six years after the couple stepped back from their official roles within the royal family and relocated to the United States.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moved to California in 2020 following growing tension with members of the royal family. That strain notably involved Harry's elder brother Prince William, who is the heir to the British throne.
The decision to move back across the Atlantic comes as public sentiment toward both Harry and Meghan in Britain has reached low levels, according to longstanding polling figures tracking their standing among the British public.
Royal popularity rankings and polling data
Surveys conducted by YouGov, an international market research and data analytics firm headquartered in London, show that approval for Prince Harry has fallen significantly in recent years. In October 2020, 42 percent of British respondents held a favorable view of the prince. That figure declined to 27 percent by July.
At the same time, the proportion of Britons who actively dislike Prince Harry fell to 43 percent in July, down from 55 percent recorded in April.
Public standing has dropped even further for Meghan Markle. Favorable sentiment toward the former American actress turned Duchess of Sussex fell from 40 percent to 18 percent over six years. Currently, 61 percent of British citizens hold an unfavorable opinion of her, marking a 15 percentage point increase in negative sentiment over three months.
The figures place Harry 11th and Meghan 14th among the most popular members of the royal family. The overall rankings are heavily dominated by Prince William at 71 percent approval and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, at 65 percent. Additionally, 44 percent of respondents in Britain believe Prince Harry should lose his royal titles.
Media projects and royal tensions
The steady decline in public approval coincided with prominent media projects released by the couple following their departure. In December 2022, Netflix released the documentary series Harry & Meghan, which was followed in January 2023 by the publication of Harry's memoir, Spare.
Those releases occurred during a transitional period for the British monarchy, between the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the coronation of King Charles III. During her public comments, Meghan stated that she had experienced unconscious racist bias from within the royal family.
Neither Buckingham Palace nor representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have issued public statements regarding their reported return to Britain.
