A recent poll has captured a shift in British public sentiment toward Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, following a family visit that reunited the Duke with King Charles at the monarch’s Gloucestershire estate.
Harry’s favorability climbed to 33 percent in a YouGov survey conducted July 21-22, marking a three-point increase from 30 percent recorded in late April. The quarterly tracker, which measures attitudes toward members of the Royal Family, showed the Duke’s standing improved by six percent compared to May 2025, when he registered 27 percent approval.
The upward movement follows Harry’s July 10, 2026, reunion with his father at Highgrove, the king’s private residence. The Duke arrived with Meghan Markle and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, for a five-day stay in Britain. The gathering represented the first face-to-face contact between Charles and his California-based grandchildren in several years.
Still, 58 percent of those polled maintained a negative view of Harry, down from 62 percent previously, with the remainder undecided. The figures suggest the Duke continues to face skepticism despite modest gains.
Reconciliation Signals Resonate
Tracy Schaverien, a royal contributor for HELLO!, attributed the uptick to the symbolism of bringing Meghan and the children to the family property. That gesture, she said, conveyed to the public that Harry is genuinely committed to mending fences with the royal household.
Harry has publicly expressed his desire to end ongoing disputes, stating he sees little value in prolonging the conflict and expressing openness to rebuilding family ties. His popularity has declined steadily since 2017, the year of his engagement to Meghan, and he stepped back from official royal duties in 2020.
The visit came on the heels of a difficult stretch for the Duke. He recently lost a legal battle against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail, and now faces costs expected to reach the millions. People close to Harry described him as maintaining a positive outlook despite the strain, which insiders acknowledged had been significant.
The King’s Record High
While Harry’s numbers ticked upward, King Charles posted his strongest performance since taking the throne. Sixty-eight percent of respondents said the monarch is doing a good job, the highest mark of his reign. His personal favorability has remained in a range from 59 to 63 percent across the most recent two-year period.
William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, claimed the survey’s highest ratings, with 76 percent and 74 percent favorability respectively. Those totals have remained consistent across recent polling cycles. Princess Anne came in third at 70 percent, reflecting her reputation as the family’s hardest-working member. Prince Edward and Sophie registered 53 percent and 51 percent.
At the opposite end, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie—who have largely avoided public attention in recent months—appeared in the tracker for the first time, posting 30 percent and 29 percent. Meghan Markle saw a three-point increase to 22 percent. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, remained at the bottom with two percent approval and 92 percent disapproval. Roughly two-thirds of the public continue to support the monarchy as an institution.
William’s Absence and a Frozen Rift
Prince William did not attend the Highgrove gathering, and the estrangement between the brothers shows no sign of thawing. The week Harry was in the country, the Prince of Wales visited the London Welsh School on July 7, made a trip to the coastal town of Hastings on July 9, and joined the Princess of Wales at Guards Polo Club in Windsor for The Royal Charity Polo Cup 2026 on Friday, in the hours leading up to when news of the reunion became public.
Robert Jobson, who wrote the biography “The Windsor Legacy,” told Newsweek that William has no intention of reconciling, viewing the breach as a betrayal and considering the matter finished. Ingrid Seward, author of “My Mother and I,” characterized William’s attitude as complete disinterest in any rapprochement.
Archie and Lilibet last saw their grandfather during the Platinum Jubilee events in June 2022, when they were three and one. The poll offers Harry a rare measure of positive feedback, though whether the momentum survives—or endures the financial impact of his court loss—remains uncertain.