There were reasons to believe that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex might have enjoyed a burst of popularity on their return to live in the UK after six years away. Harry was once the joint most popular member of the royal family, alongside his brother the Prince of Wales, and his return could signify a willingness to bury the hatchet with William.
There are even hints of a wish to return to public service, a skill they have already shown on a joint trip to Nottingham, where they met fans bearing flowers and balloons.
But beyond Nottingham's well-wishers, the wider British public have bridled at Harry and Meghan's return.
© Getty ImagesA new poll by YouGov, which has been tracking individual royal family members' favourability for 15 years, shows that Harry has fallen six points since his return, his worst score in four polls this year. Meghan has fallen five points, her worst score ever.
In a survey of more than 2,000 respondents conducted on Thursday and Friday last week, 29% expressed a positive opinion of Harry and 60% a negative one, giving him a net score of -31. Meghan has a net score of -48, lower than anyone except Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The poll took place just before sexual abuse allegations relating to her father, Thomas Markle Senior, but after Meghan was photographed having lunch with the human rights campaigner, Malala Yousafzai.
Harry was at his most popular when he was a working royal and he rejects the idea that he no longer is. When the head of the Royal Household declared in September that Harry was a "private citizen", the Duke responded: "We can all live a life of service. Service is universal."
Harry's decline in the polls hints that the public do not see him as a working royal, but we do not have to guess. An exclusive poll run by YouGov for HELLO! shows that just 5% of people think of him as a working royal, with 82% saying he is not and a further 14% who don't know. To put this in perspective, it is lower than the 15% who wrongly think that Princess Beatrice is a working royal.
Respondents were asked: "A 'working royal' is a member of the British royal family who officially represents the monarch, carrying out public engagements, state duties, and charity patronages on behalf of the Crown. As far as you are aware, which of the following, if any, are working royals?"
Unsurprisingly, William scored the highest with 87%. Unfortunately for Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, only 15% know that he is.
It is unclear whether Harry pays any attention to polling, but perhaps he should. Two things are clear. First, Harry has a mountain to climb if he wants to restore his reputation, which was degraded by his attacks on his family on television and in his memoir. Second, the public are not confused about his royal status. However much his engagements mimic those of full-time working royals, they know he is not.
