A new poll has revealed the extent of the challenge facing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as they seek to win back the United Kingdom by moving home after six years overseas. The impact of half a decade of firing brickbats and insults at the royal family is laid bare in the new survey, commissioned by The Mail on Sunday. Incredibly, only 2 percent believe Harry should get state-funded security.
Interestingly, the figures on whether people approve of Harry and Meghan’s decision to return to live in the UK is a closer call 34 percent say no, 27 percent say yes, and 39 percent don’t know. But most people clearly perceive the homecoming as a dangerous thing for the monarchy, with 22 percent saying it will make the institution weaker and only 8 percent saying it will make it stronger.
There are much stronger figures on whether Harry and Meghan should apologize for implying the royal family were racist: 43 percent say yes, against 26 percent who say no. Financial reasons are given by 36 percent as the likely explanation for the couple’s return to the UK.
One of the most divisive issues of all, of course, is who should pay for their security in the UK, and there has been a great deal of reporting on this because RAVEC has apparently finally commissioned an RMB (a risk management board) which could unlock security for Harry and his family. Some politicians have recently said he should get it, so this is a live issue.
But the extent of the opposition is very clear: 68 percent say they should pay for their own security, while just 2 percent say taxpayers should cover it. You would be naive to think that doesn’t feed into the decision-making process. Meanwhile, 16 percent think the couple should become working members of the royal family again.
