King Charles, Meghan Markle, and the British public would face a "big problem" if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ever decided to return to the UK, an expert has said.
The two royals officially crossed the Atlantic and embarked on new lives outside the Firm in 2020 following a long-rumoured rift in the Royal Family, and have since settled in Montecito, California. There is no sign that they have any intention of returning, but, with each flying visit to the UK, the rumour mill turns once more.
The Royal Family's working ranks are now one member short as Kate, the Princess of Wales, receives treatment for an undisclosed cancer, and King Charles has a smaller workload as he battles the disease. But, while there are fewer people to work, one expert believes there is little chance the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would return to fill the rota, with the King facing an uphill battle against the public to recruit them.
GB News royal correspondent Cameron Walker told the broadcaster's podcast, the Royal Recount, that the US-based royals are still deeply unpopular in the UK. Rejoining the rota would mean British taxes are used to finance their duties, a prospect Cameron said would not sit well with most Britons.
He said: "They consistently poll, since the publication of the Netflix series and Harry's memoir "Spare", at the very bottom...of the Royal Family - apart from Prince Andrew, who's slightly below them. That's a big problem, because if they become working members of the Royal Family again, it's taxpayers - it's us as the public - who would have to pay for their security, the staff travel, and all the rest of it."
Pollsters have found that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are among the least popular royals in the UK in 2024, but they aren't scraping the bottom of the list like they have in previous years. Prince Harry is the tenth most popular royal, with a rating of 34 percent, placing him just below but a whole nine points shy of the Queen Consort, on 43 percent.
Duchess Meghan is second from the bottom, but still more than a dozen points higher than Prince Andrew, the family's least popular royal. She holds favour with 26 percent of Britons, while the Prince is the only member with a single-figure rating, having approval from just nine percent of people.