A new poll has named the Princess of Wales the UK’s favourite royal, as William’s popularity marginally dropped.
The survey found 63 per cent of Brits consider Kate, 42, ‘favourable’ – a slight increase from Prince William‘s score of 62 per cent.
The Princess of Wales has been the subject of intense speculation and conspiracy theories in recent months – and found herself in a social media storm after admitting to editing a Mother’s Day family photograph.
But this hasn’t seemed to knock her popularity, with her still rating well among Brits.
Royal insiders have claimed she wants to move on from the storm caused by the image and say she is struggling with the aftermath.
Regardless of the picture editing furore, 34 per cent found Kate ‘strongly favourable’ – a two per cent increase from her husband’s score, according to the poll conducted by Savanta research for The Independent.
The Prince of Wales (seen in April) was knocked from the top spot as Britain’s favourite royal by just one per cent
However, Harry and Meghan scored considerably lower in comparison.
Only 29 per cent of participants deemed Prince Harry ‘favourable’, while Meghan’s score sat one per cent lower at 28 per cent.
While William managed to impress 33 per cent of participants as ‘strongly favourable’, Harry appealed to only nine per cent in the same category – the same score achieved by Meghan.
The Duke of York came in as the UK’s least favourite royal, with just 14 per cent of participants regarding him as ‘favourable’.
Prince Andrew, 64, stepped back from public duties in 2019 following the scandal related to his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
It comes after Kate and William broke tradition today for the second time in weeks by delaying the release of a birthday portrait until late morning on the big day.
Princess Charlotte is nine today, and fans all over the world who were eagerly anticipating a new picture of the young royal were kept waiting a little longer than they had hoped to see a picture of the birthday girl.
Kensington Palace typically releases portraits of the Wales children at midnight to mark their birthdays, but Charlotte’s snap – which was captured by her mother – was held back.
Mother-of-three Kate, who is undergoing cancer treatment, also delayed releasing a snap of her youngest son, Prince Louis, to mark his sixth birthday last month, with the image not appearing until the afternoon.
The Mail’s Rebecca English revealed that the couple had initially decided not to issue a picture of Louis at all given their recent appeals for privacy at such an ‘unprecedented’ time for their family, but changed their minds because they wanted to thank fans for their kind wishes to Prince Louis.
And in conversation with The Express royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams added that once they’d decided to release a photo there were likely a lot of discussions about the best approach, given the furore over Kate’s edited Mother’s Day photo.
Kate achieved the title of Britain’s favourite royal with 63 per cent of participants deeming her ‘favourable’ (seen alongside William, George, Charlotte, and Louis in 2022)
Overall, Richard said the timing could ’emphasise Kate’s need for time, space and privacy.’
Describing the ‘vexed’ issue of her Mother’s Day portrait, he described the backlash as a ‘highly embarrassing contretemps’.
He added that not rushing out a birthday photo of Louis could also ’emphasise her need for time, space and privacy which she expressed so movingly’ in the video message revealing she has cancer.
Earlier this year, the Princess of Wales detailed how the cancerous cells were discovered, while she was undergoing surgery for a different condition in January.
She explained that she had not spoken out about it earlier because she wanted to have time to ‘explain everything’ to George, Charlotte and Louis and assure them ‘I’m going to be okay’.
In March, royal fans went into meltdown after Associated Press issued a ‘kill notice’ on a photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children that had been released for Mother’s Day.
It was the first official photo that was published of Kate after she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
That evening, the Associated Press became the first agency to ‘kill’ the photo over an ‘inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand’.
While AP said there was no suggestion the photo was fake, it retracted it because it said on closer inspection, the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet the agency’s photo standards.
The following day, the Princess of Wales admitted that she edited the Mother’s Day photo herself and apologised for ‘any confusion’ it had caused.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex scored lower than the Wales’s – with Harry on 29 per cent and Meghan on 28 per cent. Pictured in Whistler, Canada
63 per cent of participants found the Princess of Wales to be ‘favourable’, compared to 62 per cent achieved by William
A statement from the Princess of Wales said: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.
‘I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C’
Two weeks later, the Princess of Wales announced she was battling cancer – amid mounting pressure for the Palace to comment on her condition.
It is believed that the Princess of Wales announced her cancer diagnosis on 22 March as this was the day George, Charlotte and Louis broke up from Lambrook School in Bracknell for their Easter break.
The announcement may have been timed so that her children would not immediately face questions in the playground after the news was made public.
The family are reported to have spent the Easter holidays together as they adjust to Kate’s diagnosis, which was discovered in post-operative tests following her major abdominal surgery.
In the emotional message, which was filmed in Windsor, Kate revealed the news had come as a ‘huge shock’ and that she and William ‘have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family‘.
Speaking from a bench surrounded by daffodils and spring blossom, she said: ‘It has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok.
‘As I have said to them; I am well and getting stronger every day by focusing on the things that will help me heal; in my mind, body and spirits.
‘Having William by my side is a great source of comfort and reassurance too. As is the love, support and kindness that has been shown by so many of you. It means so much to us both.’
Kate revealed that she had been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing a planned operation at The London Clinic in January.