Nearly half of Britons think Harry and Meghan should lose royal titles, poll shows
WATCH: Harry and Meghan’s political statements are risky in the US
Nearly half of Britons think Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should lose their royal titles, according to a YouGov poll.
The survey of more than 3,000 adults in Britain found more than a quarter of people said they should keep their titles, while 25% did not know.
Harry and Meghan are still the Duke and Duchess of Sussex because the titles were given to them as a wedding gift by the Queen.
However they have been criticised in recent days in the UK because of their ongoing comments about American politics, including remarks which have been interpreted as supporting Joe Biden in the presidential election.
A Tatler poll released last week found 68% agreed Harry and Meghan should have their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex taken from them after stepping down as working royals and moving to the US.
A total of 63% agreed that Meghan should not be commenting on US politics despite the fact she’s a US citizen, while 35% agreed that the duchess “wants to be president of the United States one day”.
Read more: Harry and Meghan's political statements 'could harm US brand - but might help them internationally'
Read more: Have your say: Should Harry and Meghan lose their royal titles?
A survey by Yahoo UK found 85% of people thought their titles should be removed.
The YouGov poll found seven in ten Tories think they should lose their titles (70%); three in ten Labour supporters (31%); four in ten Liberal Democrat supporters (39%). Support for removing royal titles was highest among over 50-year-olds.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, stepped back as senior royal family members in March, after announcing their intention to carve their own path and work to financial independence in January.
As part of the deal struck with Buckingham Palace, they stopped using ‘His Royal Highness’ and ‘Her Royal Highness’, but are still entitled to be called the duke and duchess.
Harry is also still sixth in line to the throne.
WATCH: Meghan and Harry urge Americans to vote
The poll comes ahead of the halfway point in the 12-month review period offered by the palace to look at the situation with the Sussexes.
September 30 will be six months since the couple stepped back and in that time they have signed a deal with Netflix to produce documentaries for the streaming service, bought a new home in California and paid back the £2.4m renovation work on their UK home, Frogmore Cottage.
They have not been back to the UK because of the coronavirus pandemic, but have been reported to be in touch with members of the Royal Family.
Meghan, who was critical of President Donald Trump before she married into the Royal Family, has worked with non-partisan organisations to encourage people to vote since moving back to the US.
Lifelong campaigner Gloria Steinem, who Meghan has called a friend, said the former actor “came home to vote”.
Harry initially stayed out of the conversation around voting, but in a video for Time 100 encouraged Americans to “reject hate speech” as he revealed he had never voted in the UK.
Royals are not specifically banned from voting but tend not to out of convention to avoid appearing biased.
A source close to the duke and duchess has previously denied they are offering specific support for either candidate in the US election.
