EXCLUSIVE: The Duchess of Sussex travelled to Britain with her children for a reunion with King Charles, and while the meeting is believed to be a success, her public image in the UK leaves a lot to be desired
She may have been able to enjoy her first significant trip to the UK in more than four years, visiting the likes of Highgrove, Althorp and even the Scottish Highlands.
But despite the visit to Britain with Prince Harry and her children seemingly going off without a hitch once they arrived in the country, it appears she is still not popular among the public. A new poll shows that she is still hugely unpopular with Brits, having only a 22 per cent approval rating – with only Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s being lower.
And even though the UK visit last month saw her finally reunited with the King and Queen at Charles’ country retreat and Harry reportedly expressing his desire for his children to know more about their royal heritage in the UK, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes that for Meghan, the negative approval ratings will have an effect on any future plans.
The former BBC royal correspondent told the Mirror : “Meghan is an intelligent woman. I’m sure she is perfectly aware of her extremely low popularity in the UK. I should imagine she now views it as a lost cause and, in any case, she seems to be far happier with her sunshine life in California.
“I think Meghan can be credited with encouraging Harry to stop sulking about the past and concentrate on the future. But I’m not sure she has any further role to play in mending the rift between Harry and his family.
“I think her eyes are firmly set on their lives in California, their children and her business ventures. She seems to be perfectly reconciled to a permanent estrangement from her own father, so she probably doesn’t see any particular problems in Harry remaining estranged from his brother and having only a fragile relationship with his father.”
Despite this, the royal expert believes it was important that the Duchess of Sussex was present for the long overdue meeting at Highgrove, as Harry continues to mend the rift between his father, as Archie and Lilibet may have sensed the tension within the family if she wasn’t included.
“It’s a good thing that she was part of the family reunion at Highgrove a few weeks ago,” Jennie explained. “The children deserve to see some family harmony: it would have been damaging to have to explain that their mother wasn’t invited.
“And even though it must all have been rather awkward – after the accusations Harry and Meghan have made about the Royals – I’m sure everyone was on their very best behaviour.”
And while the Highgrove meeting may have brought up complicated feelings for both the Sussexes and the monarch, Jennie believes that Meghan may still feel a sense of loyalty to her in-laws, given their relationship to her husband and children.
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She said: “Understandably, I think Meghan remains very proud of her royal connections. She does seem to like to use her title at the drop of a hat and she and Harry clearly want their children to be aware of their heritage and know that they are a Prince and Princess. And there’s nothing wrong with that, even though Harry appears to feel that being royal has been the hardest cross to bear.”
With Meghan’s 45th birthday just days away, the royal expert said that it is unlikely that the Firm will mark the special day, as they do with other senior royals on social media, but that doesn’t mean the occasion isn’t marked privately.
“I doubt if there will be any formal birthday wishes posted for Meghan, but if the King really is in fairly regular contact – as has been suggested – then perhaps there will be a phone call or birthday card,” Jennie said.
And while it is believed that the meeting at Highgrove was a success, Jennie said that Meghan seems content with her life in America, where she can focus solely on her family and business without thinking about her past royal duties and reputation in the UK.
“I haven’t seen the verified figures for her businesses and projects – but it looks to me as if they are quite reasonably successful. You certainly can’t accuse her of being lazy or not trying to earn her living. So I think we should all wish her good luck. And a very happy birthday.”
