By Tom Cotterill For Mailonline
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A furious British public has today declared the Duke and Duchess of Sussex must have their royal titles ripped away after their sensational assault against the monarchy, with an overwhelming 95 per cent of people backing the plea.
In one of the clearest indications yet of Prince Harry‘s nosedive from grace, a staggering 195,000 people demanded the youngest son of the King and his wife are stripped of their royal privileges as part of a 24-hour MailOnline opinion poll.
While just 2,088 people – four per cent – showed their support for the 38-year-old royal, saying he should keep his titles, with the remaining one per cent of readers saying they were ‘undecided’.
The overwhelming result comes on the day Prince Harry released his explosive tell-all memoir, Spare, which has ignited controversy worldwide over its bombastic behind-the-scenes claims about blazing rows and in-fighting within the Royal Family.
A whopping 95 per cent of MailOnline readers have demanded that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are stripped of their royal titles following their relentless assault against the Royal Family
Overwhelming: In a 24-hour poll of more than 210,000 people, 95 per cent of people said Harry and Meghan should be stripped of their royal titles
Harry has already shared intimate details of his life, including losing his virginity, his use of drugs and killing 25 Taliban, as well as private conversations with his family and the deepening rift over Megxit, during a series of explosive television interviews in the US and UK.
But he has faced a huge backlash over his blistering comments about his brother, Prince William – who he claimed assaulted him during a furious row – and his step-mother, Queen Consort Camilla, who he branded a ‘villain’ during am extraordinary TV interview with CBS.
And today Harry was accused of making a laughing stock of the Royal Family after being ruthlessly lampooned by the host of America’s Late Show, Stephen Colbert in a promo for the Duke’s interview on the programme on Tuesday.
The Duke’s comments and media campaign outraged MailOnline readers, who have demanded action to strip Harry and Meghan of their royal titles.
‘Royals titles are a privilege that they no longer deserve. They don’t even live in the country they represent let alone share their core values,’ one reader said.
While another added: ‘They should definitely be stripped of their titles – Harry doesn’t even deserve to be the spare!’
The YouGov survey, undertaken by more than 1,600 adults between January 5 and 6, reveals the duke’s net favorability now sits at -38
The results come as Prince Harry’s explosive tell-all memoir, Spare, hit the shelves today in the UK following after causing a storm of global controversy
The Mail’s vote come as a new poll showed how Prince Harry’s popularity among the British public has plunged to a record low.
Almost two-thirds of Britons now have a negative view of the Duke of Sussex, up from 58 per cent in May, with just a quarter seeing him in a positive light, the YouGov survey shows.
Harry’s net favourability among the public is at an all-time low of -38, with his wife Meghan recording -42.
Meanwhile, 60 per cent have a positive opinion of his father Charles – about whom Harry has been scathing in his incendiary book, including descriptions of his medical ailments and the fact the King carries his teddy bear around with him – while nearly eight in ten Britons regard William – who Harry calls his ‘arch-nemesis’ favourably overall.
The King’s, Meghan’s and Kate’s unpopularity remain unchanged at 28, 64 and 15 per cent respectively.
Since Harry and Meghan announced their departure from the monarchy, many have called into question whether or not they should be stripped of their royal titles.
The pair first made the shocking announcement that they were going to step back from their royal duties on January 8, 2020.
At the time, they wrote in a joint statement that they had reached the decision after ‘many months of reflection and internal discussions.’
Almost two-thirds of Britons have a negative view of the Duke of Sussex, up from 58 per cent in May, with just a quarter seeing him in a positive light, the YouGov survey shows
Harry is promoting his book on US TV again – this time with Late Show host Stephen Colbert – who appears ready to lampoon the prince and his life
They continued by saying they wanted to ‘work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen.’
The statement continued: ‘This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity.’
Since, the issue of their titles has become increasingly pressing as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have continuously made attacks on the royal family – starting with the Oprah interview, then following on to a Netflix documentary, and finally the release of Harry’s memoir, which he has been promoting in a string of interviews
The Duke addressed the matter himself during his tell-all interview with 60 Minutes, suggesting the pair have no intention to give up the status as it would not ‘make a difference’.
Anderson Cooper asked: ‘Why not renounce your titles as Duke and Duchess?’
In Harry’s book, he writes: ‘Meg asked if Kate was aware of what was going on right now. With her father. Kate said she was well aware, but the dresses. And the wedding is in four days!’ ‘Yes, Kate, I know….’ his fiancée replied sharply
Harry is seen with Anderson Cooper during his 60 Minutes interview, which aired in the U.S. on Sunday night
Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, is on sale for half price at a bookshop in Richmond, London
Prince Harry retorted back: ‘And what difference would that make?’
This statement contradicts Harry’s previous claims in his Netflix docuseries, saying he and Meghan told King Charles they would give up their Royal titles if their departure failed.
During the series, he said that by the time he spoke to his father Charles from Canada in Christmas 2019, the family knew they wanted to leave.
Discussing the initial conversations, he added: ‘My father said, “Can you put it in writing?”
Harry said he would prefer not to, but relented, adding: ‘He said he couldn’t do anything unless it was put in writing. I put it in emails.’
Harry, Meghan, William and Kate at Windsor Castle in September last year
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla attending the Christmas Day service
The Duke of Sussex revealed more personal details about his life in the breakfast show interview with former NFL player Michael Strahan, on Monday morning
After months of anticipation, Harry’s book finally hit shops on Tuesday morning – after having previously been mistakenly released in Spain early, last week.
It has sparked headlines around the world amid claims he was physically attacked by the Prince of Wales, his revelation he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war, admissions of taking drugs including cocaine, cannabis and magic mushrooms, and losing his virginity in a field behind a pub to a cougar ‘horse enthusiast’ when he was 17.
Regarding his father, Harry said his ‘Pa’ was ‘never made’ for single parenthood but had tried, and told Tom Bradby in an interview broadcast on ITV on Sunday night, that he will ‘always love’ his father.
Narrating his autobiography, the Duke said: ‘Over dinner one night at Highgrove, Pa and I spoke at some length about what I’d been suffering.
‘I gave him the particulars, told him story after story. Towards the end of the meal he looked down at his plate and said softly ”I suppose it’s my fault. I should have got you the help you needed years ago”. I assured him that it wasn’t his fault, but I appreciated the apology.’
He also questioned whether Charles had the ‘patience’ and ‘time’ for parenthood.
‘He’d always given an air of not being quite ready for parenthood: the responsibilities, the patience, the time. Even he, though a proud man, would have admitted as much. But single parenthood? Pa was never made for that. To be fair, he tried,’ he wrote.
Speaking of his affection for Charles, Harry told Bradby: ‘Of course, he’s my father. I will always love him.’
Harry describes the King as liking ‘his routines’, adding: ‘He wasn’t the kind of father who played endless rounds of tag, or tossed a ball long after dark.’
Harry and his father the King, and their wives Meghan and the Queen Consort as they follow the late Queen Elizabeth II’s hearse following the state funeral
But when a picture of Harry romping naked in Las Vegas, just weeks before his deployment to Afghanistan, is splashed across the newspapers, he says Charles, to his surprise and relief, was gentle.
‘He felt for me, he said, he’d been there, though he’d never been naked on a front page,’ said Harry.
But Harry’s broadside against his family have seen calls from a Tory MP for him to relinquish his title and ‘become Mr Windsor’.
Bob Seely, who has already criticised the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s ‘Netflix narcissism’, will press ahead with an attempt to pass legislation to allow their royal status to be downgraded.
He plans a Private Member’s Bill that would allow a vote on amending the 1917 Titles Deprivation Act. The act was used to strip the German royal family of their UK titles during the First World War.
Tory MP for the Isle of Wight, Bob Seely said Harry should give up his royal titles and ‘become Mr Windsor’ if he continues to lash out at the monarchy
‘If he hates the institution so much, why doesn’t he… set an example and become Mr Windsor,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour.
The King’s youngest son’s net favourability score among 2019 Labour voters is minus seven, while among 18-24-year-olds, the proportion of positive and negative views of him was equal (41 per cent).
Meghan still has a positive net favourability score of 10 among 18-24-year-olds, but this has dropped from 55 in 2017.
She holds a score of -11 among 2019 Labour voters and -30 among Remain voters, with -81 and -72 among 2016 Conservative voters and Leave voters, respectively.
In television interviews, the Duke has said he is ‘not texting’ his brother, described the Queen Consort as ‘the villain’ and criticised ‘family members’ for a ‘really horrible reaction’ when the Queen died.
He spoke to Bradby, denying branding the royals racist and accusing his family of ‘getting into bed with the devil’.
YouGov surveyed 1,693 adults in the UK at the end of last week.
Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group