Prince Harry’s popularity among young people in Britain sank to a record low in the days leading up to the publication of his bombshell memoir, a new poll has shown.
Members of ‘Generation Z’ appear to be changing their tune on the duke, with those aged 18-24 having neither a negative nor positive view of the King’s youngest son, according to a YouGov survey conducted between January 5 and 6.
Traditionally, Harry has relied upon the younger generation as a stronghold of support that helped to fuel his popular image, and just a month ago he held a 20 per cent net approval rating among the group.
But by the end of last week, with just days to go until the publication of ‘Spare’, this support had slumped to zero – suggesting the group’s opinion on the duke had nosedived.
Prince Harry ‘s popularity among young people in Britain sank to a record low in the days leading up to the publication of his bombshell memoir, a new YouGov poll suggests
Almost two-thirds of Britons have a negative view of the Duke of Sussex, up from 58 per cent in May, with just a quarter seeing him in a positive light, the YouGov survey shows.
Harry’s net favourability among the public is at an all-time low of -38, with his wife Meghan recording -42.
Despite the duke’s popularity slipping, his wife still boasts a positive net favourability score of 10 among 18-24-year-olds, but this has dropped from a high of 55 in 2017.
Harry has also come under attack from younger social media users following his explosive revelations and deeply personal attacks on the royal family.
Members of ‘Gen Z’ appear to be changing their tune on Prince Harry, with those aged 18-24 having neither a negative nor positive view of the King’s youngest son, according to a YouGov survey conducted between January 5 and 6
Traditionally, Harry has relied upon the younger generation as a stronghold of support that helped to fuel his popular image, and just a month ago he held a 20 per cent net approval rating among the group
Harry’s book has sparked headlines amid claims he was physically attacked by the Prince of Wales, his revelation he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war, admissions of taking drugs including cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms, and losing his virginity in a field behind a pub to a cougar ‘horse enthusiast’ when he was 17.
Regarding his father, Harry said his ‘Pa’ was ‘never made’ for single parenthood but had tried, and told Tom Bradby in an interview broadcast on ITV on Sunday night, that he will ‘always love’ his father.
Narrating his autobiography, the Duke said: ‘Over dinner one night at Highgrove, Pa and I spoke at some length about what I’d been suffering.
‘I gave him the particulars, told him story after story. Towards the end of the meal he looked down at his plate and said softly ”I suppose it’s my fault. I should have got you the help you needed years ago”. I assured him that it wasn’t his fault, but I appreciated the apology.’
He also questioned whether Charles had the ‘patience’ and ‘time’ for parenthood.
‘He’d always given an air of not being quite ready for parenthood: the responsibilities, the patience, the time. Even he, though a proud man, would have admitted as much. But single parenthood? Pa was never made for that. To be fair, he tried,’ he wrote.
Almost two-thirds of Britons have a negative view of the Duke of Sussex, up from 58 per cent in May, with just a quarter seeing him in a positive light, the YouGov survey shows
Harry, Meghan, William and Kate at Windsor Castle in September last year
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla attending the Christmas Day service
Speaking of his affection for Charles, Harry told Bradby: ‘Of course, he’s my father. I will always love him.’
Harry describes the King as liking ‘his routines’, adding: ‘He wasn’t the kind of father who played endless rounds of tag, or tossed a ball long after dark.’
But when a picture of Harry romping naked in Las Vegas, just weeks before his deployment to Afghanistan, was splashed across the newspapers, he said Charles, to his surprise and relief, was gentle.
‘He felt for me, he said, he’d been there, though he’d never been naked on a front page,’ said Harry.
The King’s youngest son’s net favourability score among 2019 Labour voters is minus seven, while among 18-24-year-olds, the proportion of positive and negative views of him was equal (41 per cent).
Meghan holds a score of -11 among 2019 Labour voters and -30 among Remain voters, with -81 and -72 among 2016 Conservative voters and Leave voters, respectively.
In television interviews, the Duke has said he is ‘not texting’ his brother, described the Queen Consort as ‘the villain’ and criticised ‘family members’ for a ‘really horrible reaction’ when the Queen died.
He spoke to Bradby, denying branding the royals racist and accusing his family of ‘getting into bed with the devil’.
YouGov surveyed 1,693 adults in the UK at the end of last week.
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