The Crowd's Reaction To Meghan And Harry's Platinum Jubilee Appearance Might Surprise You
Since they stepped down as working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first appearance in Britain has been hotly anticipated. Some feared that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would steal the limelight from Queen Elizabeth. The Platinum Jubilee celebrations are all about the monarch, who has ruled the United Kingdom for 70 years.
During the Trooping the Colour ceremony on June 2, 2022, the California couple remained in the background, watching behind the scenes with other family members instead of appearing on the balcony. A palace spokesman told the Mirror that the queen decided that the balcony appearance would only include "members of the royal family who are currently undertaking official public duties on behalf of the Queen." But Harry and Meghan appeared to have fun as they played and joked with the children watching the ceremony.
There has been media speculation about how the British people would respond to Harry and Meghan, as a You.Gov survey showed that the couple's popularity is rated at an all-time low. The survey reported that 32% of the British public have a positive opinion of Harry, while only 23% have a positive view of Meghan. Ouch.
The British media (hello, Piers Morgan) are not the biggest fans of the Duchess of Sussex, either, and some might say they even pick on the American a bit. And the Oprah Winfrey interview didn't help boost the couple's popularity.
But the crowd's reaction to Meghan and Harry at their Platinum Jubilee appearance might surprise you.
The crowd had a mixed reaction to seeing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Platinum Jubilee
Crowds mostly cheered Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at their first U.K. public appearance since 2020. Newsweek reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were greeted positively when they arrived at St Paul's Cathedral to join other royal family members at the National Service of Thanksgiving. They smiled and held hands as they entered the church.
Live BBC coverage showed the Sussexes' enthusiastic reception at St Paul's. Journalist Ava Santina tweeted: "Cheers for Harry and Meghan, boos for Boris Johnson. Gosh — I don't suppose the papers were expecting that." Another royal watcher tweeted: "Crowd booing Boris and cheering Harry and Meghan. It's almost as if the Daily Mail doesn't have the influence it thinks it has."
Yahoo U.K. reported that Meghan and Harry arrived on their own, ahead of the senior members of the royal family. The couple sat next to Harry's cousins, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their husbands, and they looked very happy and relaxed in photos inside the church.
However, reports are split about the public reaction to Harry and Meghan's Jubilee debut at the service. Some media outlets, like Global News, captured audible boos as the couple arrived and exited their car as well as when they descended the stairs and left. It's unclear how many cheers were aimed their way since other royals were arriving and leaving around the same time.
One Twitter user commented: "Wow — the boos and jeers at Meghan and Harry are very evident in the videos — drowning out any cheers." Another admitted: "Won't deny it. If I take my filter off, this is exactly how I feel. Harry and Meghan finally got what they deserve — boos."
A journalist who says she was in attendance at the event tweeted to set the record straight: "Thought I'd share because I'm seeing a lot of varying reports and reactions: I was on the ground outside at St. Paul's and I heard only cheers, no boos for Harry and Meghan."
Royal expert believes Harry and Meghan will come back to the U.K.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem happy to be back with their family. Royal expert Tina Brown predicts that Harry and Meghan will return to royal life after Queen Elizabeth dies. The Daily Mail reported on Brown's interview on BBC Radio 4's "Today," when she chatted about the future of the House of Sussex.
"Harry and Meghan leaving was definitely a blow for the monarchy because they did represent a more modern — dare I use the word 'relatable' — modern, royal couple who could be deployed to connect more, essentially, with the younger generation," she said. "I think my guess is that they will want to come back actually."
The former Vanity Fair editor published a book about the Firm in April 2022, "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor — the Truth and the Turmoil." In a Time interview, Brown noted that many of Meghan's "instincts were right" about the British monarchy. The author explained, "I think she had a lot to offer in terms of media modernity. But [her pushback] was just chaotically executed and done with such recklessness and bad feeling that a lot of this stuff got mixed up."