In this episode, we look back at an extraordinary year for the royals, from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s dramatic fall and King Charles’s major US state visit to the Princess of Wales’s return to the international stage, Prince George’s next chapter at Eton and Prince Harry’s continuing battles over security and the British press.
Then we dive into years of YouGov polling to uncover what the numbers tell us about William, Harry, Kate, Charles, Camilla, Meghan and the wider Royal Family.
The findings are fascinating. Prince Harry was once Britain’s joint-most-popular royal... so when did public opinion change? Why has Prince William remained remarkably resilient? And why does Diana continue to have such a powerful effect on perceptions of her sons, King Charles and Queen Camilla decades after her death?
We also discuss Harry and Meghan’s standing in America, the public response to the King and Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnoses, and what could happen to royal popularity as the 30th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death approaches.
00:00 Introduction: The biggest royal moments of the year
00:24 Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s dramatic fall
04:44 King Charles takes America
07:47 Princess Kate returns to the international stage
10:13 Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling’s royal wedding
11:54 What Prince Harry has lost
14:11 Prince George prepares for boarding school
18:03 Why Eton makes sense for George
20:14 Kate’s hard stare at Trooping the Colour
22:21 Prince Harry’s devastating court defeat
25:11 Harry’s security battle
28:19 Meghan, Archie and Lilibet return to Britain
31:44 What the royal polls REALLY reveal
33:03 Harry’s dramatic popularity decline
35:50 Did Spare damage the entire Royal Family?
36:49 Why William remains so popular
38:41 The extraordinary “Diana effect”
40:20 Did the royal cancer diagnoses change public opinion?
41:31 Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie in the polls
43:55 Harry and Meghan’s popularity in America
45:26 What Diana’s 30th anniversary could mean
46:50 What happens next for the Royal Family?
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
