The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made one public appearance during celebrations to mark the Queen’s historic, 70-year-long reign, attending a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral. A recent poll in the US shows the couple’s popularity has fallen.
The YouGov poll of 1,000 US adults from May 18-21 found just 45 percent had a “favourable or somewhat favourable” view of the Duchess of Sussex.
At the Jubilee service, Meghan and Harry were relegated to the second row behind the Wessexes and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Royal columnist Daniela Elser claimed “if ever there was an image that summed up the descent of Harry and Meghan it was this”.
TV and radio host Vanessa Feltz suggested the Sussexes failed to make the most of the royal reunion over the Jubilee weekend.
She claimed: “The pivotal thing is they weren’t able to harness the Platinum Jubilee, they weren’t able to get Netflix in, they weren’t able to be photographed with the Queen.
“They didn’t get to sit in the front row, they scarpered without going to the lunch, they had a party for the baby that no one was invited to and then they went home.
“So they weren’t able to use it, they couldn’t monetise the trip here could they? They didn’t look royal enough.”
Journalist Afua Hagan disagreed, arguing: “I don’t think they actually wanted to.”
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Meghan spoke of her and Harry’s “guttural” reaction to the decision, saying: “He’s a feminist too.”
The US Supreme Court last week ended constitutional protections for abortion that have been in place for nearly 50 years by deciding to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling.
In a conversation with American feminist activist Gloria Steinem and journalist Jessica Yellin published in Vogue, Meghan said: “Women are already sharing stories of how their physical safety is being put in danger.
“Women with resources will travel to get an abortion, those without might attempt to give themselves one at tremendous risk.”
She explained some will be forced to find abortion pills from unregulated pharmacies and “be at the mercy” of doctors and lawyers.
Meghan added: “What does this tell women? It tells us that our physical safety doesn’t matter, and, as a result, that we don’t matter. But we do. Women matter.”
The Duchess said the court’s decision was going to have a disproportionate effect on women of colour and that is was “difficult to overstate” what it would mean for them.
However, it is not just a women’s issue, she told the magazine, with the ruling representing “a blueprint for reversing rights”, including same-sex marriage and contraception access, and called on men to get involved.
She said: “Men need to be vocal in this moment and beyond because these are decisions that affect relationships, families, and communities at large.
“They may target women, but the consequences impact all of us. My husband and I talked about that a lot over the past few days. He’s a feminist too.”
