Princess of Wales tops poll as Britain’s favorite royal, while Harry and Meghan’s popularity ratings fall – in latest survey before Mother’s Day photo controversy

A new survey has named the Princess of Wales as Britain’s favorite royal as Harry and Meghan’s popularity falls.

The poll – which was conducted before the publication of the controversial edited Mother’s Day photo – found that 38 percent of Britons liked Kate Middleton the most.

However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s popularity has fallen by three points – with Harry on 11 percent and Meghan on seven percent.

The Princess of Wales has been the subject of intense speculation and conspiracy theories in recent weeks – and found herself in a social media firestorm after admitting to editing a family photo for Mother’s Day.

Royal insiders have claimed she wants to move on from the firestorm caused by the image and is struggling with its aftermath.

The new poll shows that the princess is especially popular among women: 44 percent prefer her, compared to 32 percent of men.

Half of 55 to 75 year olds also named Kate as their favorite, according to the Ipsos survey commissioned by Ipsos. The standard.

Of those aged 35 to 54, 37 percent named the princess as their first choice, along with 28 percent of those aged 18 to 34.

Kate’s husband comes in second, with William favored by 36 percent, followed by Princess Anne with 26 percent.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were only the favorite of 12 percent of Brits surveyed – a rise of two points since the last survey.

Social media sleuths were already wondering where she was before the explosive Mother’s Day photo, which saw six of the world’s top photo agencies sensationally withdraw the photo from their nets and libraries, fearing the ‘source manipulated the image’.

The princess has been recovering from surgery since January, but her absence from the public eye prompted conspiracy theorists to postulate.

But when a photo of Kate with her children was posted on Mother’s Day, the speculation took on a whole new form.

Astute social media users pointed out a plethora of problems with the image – and it was withdrawn by photo agencies shortly afterwards.

The princess then posted an apology for the confusion caused and admitted that she had edited the family photo.

Kate is reportedly recovering well from her major abdominal surgery and is expected to be back by Easter, but sources say she needs to be left alone to put her recovery first.

She publicly took the blame for the family photo released by Kensington Palace on Sunday, while apologizing for the “confusion.”

MailOnline identified 16 separate edits, including issues with the princess’s jeans zipper and right hand – amid claims the photo had been digitally altered.

Just hours after her apology, Kate was pictured with her husband leaving Windsor Castle as he headed to Westminster Abbey or the annual Commonwealth Day service.

But instead of an extraordinary return to royal duties, MailOnline understands Kate was heading to a private appointment instead.

Sources within royal circles are warning of the negative impact rumors could have on the future queen as she recovers from her major surgery in January.

“It’s an awful lot to be under all this public scrutiny when you’re recovering from major surgery,” one person told US news site Page Six.

‘The rumor mill – especially on social media – has gone out of control, but Kate is recovering well and will be back by Easter. She just needs to be left alone.”

Another insider added: ‘I’m worried about all this attention on Catherine. She didn’t look happy at all in the car on Monday.’

Despite calls for the original image to be published, Kensington Palace insisted the unedited photo of Kate and her children would not be reissued.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond suggested Kate ‘must now feel intense pressure when seen in public’ after her major surgery in January.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle broke their silence on the photo editing scandal, denying claims they said the Duchess would ‘never make that mistake’.

Amid mounting speculation surrounding the Mother’s Day image of Kate and her children, which was released to the world by Kensington Palace on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation spoke out and denied that any official representative of the couple had done that. comments on the controversy on page six.

Speaking to Newsweek, the spokesperson took issue with quotes published by the newspaper stating that a source “close to Prince William, Harry and his wife” had not come “from us.”

The source in question told Page Six that the editing error is “not a mistake Meghan would ever make,” noting that “she has a keen eye and a whimsical attention to detail.”

However, Archewell’s official spokesperson has now insisted to Newsweek that the information “did not come from us,” saying simply: “As far as Page Six is ​​concerned, it did not come from us.”

The statement marks the first time Harry, 39, and his wife have officially discussed the photo editing controversy in any official capacity.

Alongside claims that Meghan would ‘never make the movie’ [same] wrong,” Page Six also published quotes from an insider who claimed the Sussexes “would have been destroyed” if they had released a similarly edited image.

“If Harry and Meghan had ever faced the same problem, they would have been destroyed,” the source quotes read.

‘The same rules do not apply to both couples.

“This is not a mistake Meghan would ever make… she has a keen eye and a whimsical eye for detail.”

However, the outlet did not mention that the quotes came from within Archewell — and Newsweek noted that the comments could have been made by an acquaintance of the Sussexes who is not officially connected to the Foundation.