Prince Harry’s Popularity Amongst Americans Fades as His Ratings Drop in the U.K.
Prince Harry’s explosive memoir Spare has made headlines around the world, from shocking revelations about the rest of the royals to sweet stories about his romance with wife, Meghan Markle. While the book sold millions of copies, Spare didn’t seem to do much for Harry’s popularity with the public.
Prince Harry’s approval rating dropped 45 points in just one month
Spare was released in January 2023 and quickly exploded online with its tales of rude royals, fights with Prince William, and memories of the late Princess Diana. Many people praised Prince Harry for his candor, but a new poll has revealed that not everyone was a fan of his tell-all.
A Newsweek poll surveyed 2,000 Americans just days after the release of Spare to see what people really thought of the prince. The poll’s findings?
Just 31% of those polled said they liked Harry, while 38% said they disliked him. This gave Harry a net approval rating of -7. For comparison, a similar survey done in December had Prince Harry’s net approval at +38. In just one month, his approval rating dropped 45 points.
Prince Harry’s approval rating in the UK is also plummeting
Americans aren’t the only ones who are turning on Prince Harry following the release of Spare. A poll conducted by marketing research company Ipsos Mori found that 53% of those polled held negative opinions about Prince Harry. The poll put Harry’s overall approval rating at 23%, which is a 7% drop from a poll conducted in late December.
Harry was previously one of the most popular royals. In March 2018, his approval rating was somewhere around 70% (per the Daily Mail). The release of Spare has changed the way many view the prince.
Reviews of ‘Spare’ accuse Prince Harry of creating the publicity he claims to hate
Reviewers of Spare have been critical, with the BBC calling it “part confession, part rant, and part love letter … it feels like the longest angry drunk text ever sent.” The review also noted the book’s “self-absorption,” writing, “He talks about a row over people parking near his palace accommodation with more detail than you’d expect from a small war.”
The New Yorker wrote that Harry doesn’t seem to “entirely understand” his own memoir and wondered how the prince balanced his criticisms of the invasive press with the more TMI elements of Spare.
The New York Times echoed that criticism, stating, “He seems both driven mad by ‘the buzz’ [of the press]… and constitutionally unable to stop drumming it up.”
How many copies has ‘Spare’ sold?
Despite the harsh reviews, Spare sold over 3.2 million copies in its first week of release, with 1.6 million of those copies sold just in the U.S, according to ABC News. The memoir has been released in 15 languages besides English and is expected to be published in 10 more languages.
