Prince William and Prince Harry are two of the most well-known royals of the British royal family and it just so happens that they’re brothers, they’re the sons of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles. So one of them must be more popular than the other, but who is it?
Prince William is the most popular out of the pair, in fact, according to YouGov, he’s the second most popular member of the UK’s royal family with Prince Harry following shortly behind him as the fourth most popular member of the royal family.
Read more below about Prince William and Prince Harry, including the monarch mania involving royal weddings and childbirths and other events that have caused widespread exposure.
Monarch Mania
According to The New York Times, former President Obama said during Prince Charles’ visit to America that “American people are quite fond of the royal family, they like them much more than they like their own politicians.”
While I’m sure this isn’t the case for every American out there, I wonder why some Americans are so interested in the royal family of a country entirely separate to their own – perhaps it’s to do with the increase in royal weddings and new additions to the royal family in the years following Prince William and Kate Middleton’s extravagant wedding in 2011.
Royal Weddings and New Additions
It’s true that after the pair’s wedding, the royal family gained much publicity from media outlets all across the world who were eager to report on the latest updates about the royals.
The birth of the couple’s first little boy Prince George just two years after they wed resulted in even more publicity for the royals. Then in 2015, along came the stunning Princess Charlotte followed by the couple’s third child Prince Louis, three years later in 2018.
So it seems that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge received more than their fair share of the media’s attention in the years that followed their memorable wedding. But it doesn’t stop there for the royals.
The controversy caused by the Sussex’s
Seven years after his brother’s wedding, in 2018, Prince Harry married the Suits actress, Meghan Markle.
Shortly after this, the pair announced the birth of their first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in 2019. It was decided that they would not give Archie the title of Prince, and technically only grandchildren of the sovereign receive royal titles—not great-grandchildren, but a royal title is usually given as a courtesy.
What attracted more media attention was when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they were stepping back from their senior royal duties as they moved to Markle’s home country of America. This controversial move was viewed in different lights across the world, but the conclusion that was made from this move was that the couple valued their privacy and wished to be independent citizens rather than relying on the royals for money.
According to the YouGov community, 32% of members view Harry’s wife, Meghan negatively, compared to just 10% who view his brother’s wife, Kate negatively. People have mixed views on the Duchess of Sussex, with some claiming she caused a wedge between Harry and his family and others arguing she’s not the greatest role model.
Despite all of that, you can never be sure what happens behind closed doors or what somebody’s truly like if you’re only seeing one side of them in the public eye. Although Meghan’s not the most liked member of the royal family, it hasn’t much affected how people view Harry as the public still perceives him as pretty likable.
To conclude, perhaps Prince William’s more popular because his marriage to Kate has ultimately been a success while his brother’s moves have caused much controversy that isn’t taken lightly but we could never be sure of that.