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Meghan Markle will never be a popular figure in the UK, where she’s pretty widely disliked for reasons that are not entirely clear.
But Meghan is pretty well-liked here in her home country — though she’s not as widely beloved in the States as Brits might assume.
According to recent polling data it’s been a rough year for Meghan, whose popularity declined sharply in January, seemingly in connection with the publication of Prince Harry’s controversial memoir.
Four months later, however, Meghan enjoyed an upswing, possibly as a result of the coronation of King Charles and her bold decision to stay home.
A poll conducted by Newsweek indicates that Meghan is liked by 39 percent and disliked by 34 percent of Americans.
The “like” and “dislike” numbers are surprisingly close, which must feel a little discouraging for Meghan.
But on the bright side, they’re better than they were a few months ago, when the publication of Harry’s memoir seemed to negatively affect his popularity, as well as his wife’s.
Between December 5 and January 16, Meghan’s net approval rating dropped from an impressive +23 to a distressing -13, a decline of 36 points.
Harry fared even worse, as his approval rating dropped from +38 to -7, a decline of 45 points.
So the recent rebound is a nice change of pace for the Sussexes — but it’s important to note that the Newsweek poll concluded on May 17.
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That was the day that a rep for the couple issued a statement claiming that Meghan and Harry had been chased through the streets of Manhattan by a pack of overzealous paparazzi in souped-up vehicles.
The Sussexes clearly expected their statement to be greeted with sympathy and compassion.
Instead, Harry and Meghan’s story has been called into question by a wide array of critics, including security experts and NYC-based celebs.
Some believe the duke and duchess are lying or seriously exaggerating their account of the incident.
Others think the couple made the situation more dangerous by badly mishandling it.
In any event, the encounter has resulted in one of the worst PR crises of Harry and Meghan’s careers.
Celebrities from Bethenny Frankel to Whoopi Goldberg have called the couple out, saying they refuse to believe that their car was pursued by 12 vehicles, and the chase somehow went on for a full two hours.
The public — especially those who are familiar with Manhattan traffic patterns — appears to share that skepticism.
It might be a while before we get a clear picture of how this controversy has affected Harry and Meghan’s popularity.
But we’re guessing the couple’s recent resurgence will prove to be short-lived.
