Meghan Markle’s Gen Z Popularity Surge Challenges William

Meghan Markle’s popularity among Gen Z Brits has soared 22 points in under four months, bringing her to within touching distance of Prince William’s popularity within the same age group, according to a new poll.

The Duchess of Sussex appeared to be flat-lining across every demographic group in Britain as recently as May but now seems resurgent among 18-to-24-year-olds.

Polling by YouGov conducted between 14 and 15 August and published last week showed Meghan getting a major bounce as she and Prince Harry toured Colombia.

She was liked by 48 percent of Gen Z Brits and disliked by 30 percent giving her a net approval rating of plus 18. She remains so overwhelmingly disliked by other age groups that her overall rating was still -43.

However, young people have long been a major target group for the Sussexes and winning back her young fans could mean finding an audience in the U.K. for her lifestyle brand.

This puts her ahead of Prince Harry, who was liked by 47 percent of Gen Z and disliked by 37 percent, putting him on plus 10.

Meanwhile, Prince William was liked by 48 percent of this age group and disliked by 28 percent, putting him on plus 20, while Princess Kate was slightly ahead on plus 23

Meghan’s score is a sharp turn around compared to a YouGov survey conducted between May 1 and 2 when she was liked by 36 percent and disliked by 40 percent of Gen Z, giving her a net approval rating of minus four.

Back then, Harry was on plus six meaning, he has only jumped four points in the intervening few months.

The earlier polling came out a few weeks after Meghan began sending her American Riviera Orchard jam to celebrities and also in the aftermath of Princess Kate revealing her cancer diagnosis in March. It was before Harry and Meghan toured Nigeria in the middle of May.

Meghan and Harry’s tour of Colombia began on August 15, the second day of the latest poll’s fieldwork, though it had been trailed in the media for days beforehand.

Needless to say, it is always difficult to know what moves the needle from one poll to another.

One particularly striking feature of the shift, however, is that in May there wasn’t a single demographic group surveyed that returned a double-digit percentage of strong support for Meghan across all ages, genders, political parties and regions.

Now, not only do almost half of Gen Z like her, but 16 percent said they were “very positive,” hinting at the possibility she might see an uptick in her more dedicated fanbase.

The Wider Picture
Meghan, however, still has a long way to go to generate positivity across the wider British population, among whom she was once highly popular prior to her decision to quit royal duties.

She did not have a positive net approval rating among any other demographic group measured and was on minus 75 among baby boomers.

Conservative Party voters overwhelmingly disliked her (minus 83) but Labour Party voters were also negative (minus 18) with 52 percent saying they disapproved of the duchess.

She was on minus 71 among those who voted to leave the EU in 2016 but also minus 30 among those who voted to remain.

Needless to say, if Meghan were able to reignite her support among young Brits she would have achieved a first step on the way to a softening of attitudes.