Nearly half of Brits support Harry and Meghan's decision to step back as senior royals
Nearly half of Brits support the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s dramatic decision to step back as senior royals.
A YouGov poll on Thursday found 45 per cent of the public support the Sussexes, though 63 per cent said their funding from the Prince of Wales’s Duchy of Cornwall should stop.
Meanwhile, more than a quarter (26 per cent) are opposed to Harry and Meghan’s stance, which appeared to catch Buckingham Palace by surprise on Wednesday.
Almost half (49 per cent) of Brits think the couple’s decision will not damage the royal family, while nearly a third (32 per cent) think it will.
The 45 per cent support for the decision aligns with a previous YouGov poll which found 44 per cent of Brits thought Harry and Meghan are treated too harshly by the media.
Announcing their decision, Harry and Meghan had said they intend to become financially independent. Currently, about 95 per cent of their funding comes from the Prince of Wales.
But David McClure, an investigator into royal finances, today said Harry and Meghan’s desire to combine royal life with making money will be a “toxic mix”.
Mr McClure, a television producer and writer who examined the wealth of the royal family in his book Royal Legacy, told PA: “I don’t think it is going to work, to be honest.
“It hasn’t been co-ordinated with the palace, who were blindsided by the announcement.
“The history of senior royals making money... the two is a toxic mix. It hasn’t worked well in the past.”
He added: “How can you be half-in, half-out? Half the week perform public duties and the other half earn your own income with TV, lectures, books? It is fraught with dangers.
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“What happens if one of them is sponsored by a tobacco firm or something like that?”
Additional reporting by PA.
