William and Kate Are Popular in the U.S. For the Same Reason as Harry and Meghan, Author Says
Americans are fascinated by British royals. Well, at least Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince William, and Kate Middleton. According to a royal author, the couples are well-liked in the U.S. for the reason that they “live in the current moment.”
William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan’s modernity contributes to their stateside popularity
The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s popularity goes beyond the U.K. As author Clive Irving remarked, they’re preferable to King Charles III and Queen Camilla for some.
“Americans would love to see the monarchy much more like Harry and Meghan than like King Charles and Queen Camilla,” the author of The Last Queen said (via Express UK).
Since Harry and Meghan relocated to California, “that leaves us with William and Kate,” he said. “Like Harry and Meghan, they are also very popular in America.”
Both couples “have a similarity in the eyes of the American people,” he went on. “They live in the current moment, as opposed to the rest of the family who seem to have lost the plot.”
The image of royal life William and Kate have described includes one with beer pong and being more relaxed publicly. Then there’s Harry and Meghan’s California version, which features stops for fast food, trick-or-treating, and worrying about kids using social media.
William is more in tune with ‘reality’ than King Charles
Discussing William and his father, Irving shared King Charles may not have the same success stateside as his oldest son. “I think there’s a great deal of feeling that William understands the mood and the reality on the ground [in America] far more than Charles ever will,” he said.
Indeed, William is already believed to be planning to have a more modern coronation for himself when the time comes. Specifically in an area where King Charles came under criticism at his May 2023 ceremony. The moment? When William took an oath to be his father’s “liege man of life and limb.”
The father of three is thought to want to skip that particular portion of the ceremony. Meaning that Prince George, 10, who is currently second in the line of succession, won’t kneel as William did with King Charles.
Additionally, William and Kate, like Harry and Meghan, have turned their attention across the pond in recent years. The Prince and Princess of Wales traveled to Boston, Mass., for the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards. Most recently, in September 2023, William made a whirlwind trip to New York.
King Charles and Queen Camilla appeared ‘ridiculous and out of touch’ walking a red carpet in Kenya
Sure, he ate at a food truck in Kenya, but King Charles still received some backlash for appearing “out of touch.” He and Queen Camilla were said to look “ridiculous” walking a red carpet at Nairobi National Park during a four-day trip from Oct. 31-Nov. 3, 2023.
Journalist and author Omid Scobie noted the negative visual it created on X, formerly Twitter. “Even if this was a choice made by the hosts (and it probably was),” the biographer began. “The optics of the king and queen walking on a red carpet to avoid soil at Nairobi National Park are pretty ridiculous and out of touch. A clued up Palace aide could have easily asked for it to be removed.”
“I’ve been on many royal visits all over the world and seen aides run around requesting last minute tweaks or changes before royals arrive at engagements,” Scobie added, noting it’s sometimes included “red carpets that have been deemed unnecessary). “So there is precedent for this,” he concluded.
