It’s not easy being Prince Andrew. Or Meghan Markle for that matter. The duo was declared the least favorite royals, according to a recent poll.
The Independent reported that Prince Andrew has an 86% negative rating. He is followed by Meghan Markle with 64% negative responses.
The Duke of York has been less popular following the news of his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. That relationship alone prompted the prince to step back from royal public duties four years ago, per the Independent.
He was then stripped of his HRH title in 2022. This was when he was accused of sexually assaulting by Virginia Giuffre, who was a victim of Epstein’s.
Prince Andrew has denied these claims.
However, he reached a multi-million pound out-of-court settlement where he paid Giuffre for “damages and a donation to her charity ‘in support of victims’ rights,’” per the Independent.
Prince Andrew said after the settlement that he “regrets his association with Epstein and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
The Duchess of Sussex, on the other hand, has not been a royal for long, but was listed as the second least favorite royal.
The former actress and her husband, Prince Harry, stepped down from royal duties due to allegations of racism and media coverage.
Her husband did not fare much better with a 61% negative rating.
The most favorable royal is not one by blood.
The Princess of Wales came out on top with 76% seeing her favorably, per the Independent.
Kate was recently diagnosed with cancer following abdominal surgery earlier this year.
This comes following the Kate’s recent health struggles which began when she initially stepped back from public duties in January for planned abdominal surgery.
Prince William came in second with a 73% positivity rating, lagging just 3% off his wife.
King Charles III received 63% approval rating after announcing his cancer diagnosis in February.
But he was beaten by his sister, Princess Anne, who garnered a 71% positivity rating.
With both King Charles and Kate battling cancer, a majority of the public royal duties have fallen on Prince William and Queen Camilla.
