A recent YouGov poll conducted July 21-22 shows Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has seen his public approval climb to 33 percent, marking a three-point increase from the 30 percent recorded in late April. The shift follows a July 10 family gathering at Highgrove, King Charles’ Gloucestershire estate, where Harry brought his wife, Meghan Markle, along with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for a five-day stay in Britain.
The visit represented the monarch’s first face-to-face meeting with his California-based grandchildren in several years. For the king, the encounter came during a period of sustained public support—his approval as monarch reached 68 percent, the highest since he took the throne.
Yet the Duke still faces a public deeply divided over his standing. Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed held negative views, though that figure has dropped four points from the 62 percent recorded a year earlier. Compared to late April, when his favorability sat at 27 percent, Harry has gained six points.
Reconciliation Efforts Behind the Numbers
Royal observers attribute the uptick to Harry’s attempts at mending ties with his father. Tracy Schaverien, a royal contributor for HELLO!, noted that bringing Meghan and the children to Highgrove sent a clear message about the Duke’s commitment to family reconciliation.
The Duke has publicly expressed his desire to end hostilities, indicating he sees little value in perpetuating conflict and would be open to repairing family relationships. His standing with the British public has eroded steadily since 2017, the year his engagement to Meghan was announced, and he stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
The Highgrove reunion arrived after a difficult stretch for Harry. He recently lost a legal battle against Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the Daily Mail, leaving him facing costs expected to run into the millions. Sources close to the Duke described him as upbeat despite the challenging period, which insiders acknowledged had been difficult.
A Divided Royal Picture
The Prince and Princess of Wales topped the survey with 76 percent and 74 percent favorability, numbers that have held steady in recent years. Princess Anne came third at 70 percent, cementing her reputation as one of the family’s hardest-working members. Prince Edward and Sophie registered 53 percent and 51 percent respectively.
At the lower end, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie—who have remained largely out of public view in recent months—scored 30 percent and 29 percent in their first appearance in this type of YouGov survey. Meghan Markle’s approval rose three percentage points to 22 percent. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew, occupied the bottom position with 2 percent support as 92 percent of respondents viewed him unfavorably. Overall backing for the monarchy has remained stable at roughly two-thirds throughout King Charles’ reign.
The Absent Brother
Prince William did not attend the Highgrove meeting, and the breach between the brothers shows no sign of closing. During the week of Harry’s visit, the Prince of Wales visited the London Welsh School on Tuesday, traveled to Hastings on the south coast on Thursday, and appeared with the Princess of Wales at Windsor’s Guards Polo Club on Friday for The Royal Charity Polo Cup 2026—just hours before news of the family gathering became public.
Robert Jobson, author of “The Windsor Legacy,” told Newsweek that the prince has ruled out any future rapprochement, characterizing William as someone who feels his brother’s actions constitute a betrayal and considers the relationship permanently fractured. Ingrid Seward, author of “My Mother and I,” described William’s posture toward the reconciliation as complete disinterest.
The poll represents a rare bit of positive news for Harry. The young prince and princess had enjoyed little quality contact with King Charles since attending the Platinum Jubilee festivities in June 2022, at which point they were aged 3 and 1. Whether this momentum endures—particularly as financial consequences from his court defeat loom—remains uncertain.
