Prince Harry has faced a "catastrophic" fall in popularity polls over recent years – but there was one key moment that was "bigger" than all the others in impacting his image.
HELLO!'s senior editor Jack Malvern discusses how the Duke of Sussex fell from being "the joint most popular member of the royal family" in 2017 alongside his brother Prince William to being "almost last" – only above his wife Meghan Markle and the disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
Speaking to HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash on the most recent episode of A Right Royal Podcast, Jack unveils his polling research to map Harry's drop in popularity in the UK.
You can find out the crucial moment that Harry's popularity started to plummet by watching the full podcast episode below.
© Getty ImagesJack explains: "So at one stage back in 2017, he was the joint most popular member of the royal family along with William.
"And now he is almost last. Not quite - he's just ahead of Meghan and, unsurprisingly, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. But that fall has been catastrophic for him. And it didn't necessarily happen in the way you might think."
Why is Prince Harry not as popular as he once was?
When Prince Harry was a working member of the royal family, he was seen by many as the younger, fun-loving brother of Prince William.
Jack has traced several other important moments that have impacted his popularity.
He explains: "There were other parts where you might expect public opinion to change. When he went on the Oprah interview and when he published Spare - and they did have a big effect, and they were relentlessly negative. From Harry's point of view, he just wants to set out his side of the story. But it hasn't been welcome in Britain amongst the British public."
Recently, Emily added, Harry has offered "a little glimpse of the old Harry" through "softer" interviews with James Corden on Fox and Joe Marler in the UK.
However, she says: "It's not really touching the sides at the moment."
Prince Harry and Meghan stepped down as working members of the royal family in 2020, moving to Montecito in the US, where they now live with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
