- According to a recent study, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are the British royals who have been discussed the most.
- Prince Harry received the most attention, with 3.9 million mentions, but the majority of these were negative comments.
- Markle came in second, with around 384,000 mentions, most of which were also negative.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex hold the title of the most popular royals on social media, but unfortunately, it is not for a positive reason.
According to recent research conducted by YouScan, an AI-based social media listening platform, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have emerged as the most discussed royals, occupying the first and second positions, respectively. However, the study revealed that they also received the maximum negative coverage.
The study’s methodology involved aggregating the total mentions received by each current member of the British royal family across multiple social media platforms, such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and YouTube, between January and March 2023.
The analysis showed that the 38-year-old Prince Harry received 3.9 million social media mentions, with the majority being negative. The negative mentions (593,000) surpassed the positive ones (239,000).
The research coincided with the release of Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir “Spare,” where he shared details about his life growing up in the public eye and coping with his mother, the late Princess Diana’s death, which accounted for 21% of the mentions.
YouScan further highlighted that over 12,000 social media posts claimed that the Duke of Sussex used drugs. Prince Harry had previously confessed to using cocaine, cannabis, and magic mushrooms during a party at Courteney Cox’s Los Angeles home, as well as an illegal psychedelic drug called ayahuasca in the U.S. as part of his therapy.
Some social media users believed that the prince was exploiting his family’s secrets for financial gain by publishing his autobiography. The Sussexes reportedly ceased receiving funding from the Royal Family after they stepped down as senior royals in 2020 and relocated to California, according to the BBC.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also made headlines after being parodied in Season 26, episode 2 of the American animated comedy series “South Park” titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour.”
Markle secured the second spot, with 3 million mentions on social media, thereby emerging as the second most talked about British royal. The study highlights that Markle has been in the limelight since her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018 and has been accused of causing a rift between her husband and the rest of his family.
Of the total mentions, the 41-year-old “Suits” alum received around 384,000 negative mentions and 98,000 positive mentions. Nearly half a million publications also highlighted that her image was further damaged by the release of “Spare” in January.
Kate Middleton ranked third with 2.2 million mentions, followed by King Charles III with one million, Prince William with 659,000 mentions, and Queen Consort Camilla with 307,000.
Prince Harry and Markle made headlines after disclosing several royal secrets and alleging that an unidentified royal made racist remarks about their son Archie before his birth.
Apart from “Spare,” they released highly-publicized content such as the Netflix docuseries “Harry & Meghan” in December last year.
Despite ongoing tensions, Prince Harry will attend his father, King Charles’, coronation at Westminster Abbey on May 6.