Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Nottingham visit failed to change Britain’s mind – poll
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex remain non-working royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer working royals (Image: Annabel Lee-Ellis – Pool/Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seemed to have a successful day of charitable visits in Nottingham on Thursday, yet a new poll has shown that it has failed to change the minds of British people regarding their status. In 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from life as working royals and moved to America to become financially independent.
While they are still members of the family, they no longer carry out any duties in the name of the Crown. This year, when the couple moved back to Britain for the first time since 2020, King Charles reiterated that their status as non-working royals remains unchanged. This means that despite Harry being back on home soil with his wife and children, any work the family they do – including charity work – is not on behalf of the Royal Family. Instead, it is carried out as private citizens.
It is not known whether this pleases Harry and Meghan, whose visit to Nottingham this week looked very much like a royal-style engagement. With people lining the streets, cheering and taking pictures of the couple, it almost looked as though they wanted the duke and duchess back as working royals. However, a new poll has now suggested this is not the case. On Friday – the day after the Nottingham visit – The Daily Express launched a poll shortly after 9.20 am.
The poll asked readers: “Should Prince Harry and Meghan Markle become working royals?” The poll ended at 9 am on October 18.
The answer was clear, with 97% of people voting no. Only 3% voted yes, while 0% said they don’t know.
This suggests that while the Nottingham visit may have been a success, Brits do not want Harry and Meghan to represent the monarchy once more. Some Daily Express readers gave their opinions on the matter, explaining why they do not want Harry and Meghan to become working royals once more.
One person said: “They should not. They had their chance to be working royals, and they took off for Hollywood because Megan thought she would have many chances to be a star. She did not, and now they’re back.”
The couple received a lot of love from the public in Nottingham (Image: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
Someone else said: “Once you quit your job and don’t much like your new one you don’t get to change your mind, so NO!!”
Another person wrote: “Absolutely, definitely not. They quit and they don’t get to come back just because they failed in Hollywood and need to be “seen” as working royals again. They are private citizens.”
While people may not want the couple to become working royals again, there is no denying the fact that many people in Nottingham this week were delighted to see the couple. Both Harry and Meghan were met with cheers, handshakes and hugs, with presents also given to the couple from members of the public.
Meghan was seen carrying various bunches of flowers from fans and was asked by many for selfies.
