What does Britain really think of the Royal Family and which royal events have transformed public opinion?

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