An arrangement of UK daily newspapers photographed as an illustration in Brenchley, Kent on March 9, 2021, shows front page headlines reporting on the story of the interview given by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, to Oprah Winfrey, which aired on UK broadcaster ITV. (STANSALL /)
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s explosive interview has divided public opinion in Britain, a poll showed Tuesday, with those under 25 most likely to feel they were unfairly treated.
In the Oprah Winfrey interview, first aired in the United States on Sunday, the couple accused royal family members of asking how dark their baby’s skin would be.
Meghan, a mixed-race previous television actress, said she had felt suicidal and was refused help by palace aides.
A poll by YouGov taken after the interview aired in Britain on Monday evening, indicated that nearly a third (32 percent) felt Meghan and Harry were unfairly treated by the royal family, while the same percentage thought their treatment was fair.
But there was a clear split along age lines.
A family gathers around the television in Liverpool, northwest England to watch Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s explosive tell-all interview on CBS with Oprah Winfrey, on March 8, 2021, as national television in Britain shows the interview a day afterwards than in the US. (ELLIS /)
The younger generation took the side of Meghan and Harry, who are both in their 30s and married in 2018, while the older generation were more likely to back the royal family led by the 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II.
Sixty-one percent of those aged 18 to 24 thought the couple were unfairly treated, while 50 percent of those over 65 thought they were fairly treated, a view only shared by 13 percent of the youngest group.
Another question on whether people’s general sympathies lay with Meghan and Harry or with the other royals, found that overall more British people — 36 percent — favoured the Queen and the royal family, while 22 percent chose Harry and Meghan.
Britain’s Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle disclosed the gender of their second baby, a girl due afterwards this year, during an interview with Oprah which aired on March 7. (HARRIMAN / Misan Harriman via Instagram /)
The polling agency spoke to 4,656 British adults after the show aired on ITV commercial television, with an audience of more than 11 million.