What Are William And Kate's Approval Ratings With The Public?

Prince William and Kate Middleton have a public reputation to uphold, especially when the world is watching. Even before their wedding in 2011, the royal couple has always drawn the attention of the public and the press, garnering admiration and headlines along the way. Royal fans just can't get enough of the two.

So what makes the Cambridges and other royal family members so popular? The reason could be everything that they portray. Speaking on the society's fascination with royals, Dr. Fran Farley, a professor and psychologist at Temple University, told Time that royals' popularity has a lot to do with keeping our dreams alive. "We all have dreams of wealth and fame and happiness and style and social influence and so on, which starts early with fairy tales," Farley said. "That stays with us, to some extent, through our lives. Royals and other people, like Hollywood figures and Kardashian types, keep that phenomenon alive."

Royal fans missed William and Kate when they were further away from the public eye during the COVID-19 lockdown than they had been in years. Now that they are back to making public appearances, there's plenty to see and celebrate. But how do the Cambridges compare when it comes to their approval ratings with the public? Do the numbers really add up for the Cambridges? Here's more on William and Kate's approval ratings with the public, and how they fare against other royals in their family.

According to the international research, data, and analytics group YouGov, which released the royals' fame and popularity ratings, the Cambridges were quite popular in the latter half of 2021. YouGov defines fame as "the % of people who have heard of a royalty," while popularity accounts for "the % of people who have a positive opinion of a royalty."

The ratings revealed that William and Kate are the third and fourth most popular royals, with a rating of 62% and 60%, respectively. Queen Elizabeth topped the popularity chart at 72%, followed by late Prince Philip at 62%. The Sussexes, meanwhile, were far behind when it came to popularity. Prince Harry was the ninth name on the list with a 36% rating. At the same time, Meghan Markle found the fourteenth spot with a popularity rating of 28% — just above the last name in the list, the controversy-embroiled Prince Andrew. Harry, however, outscored his brother in the fame rating. The Duke of Sussex was second in the list with a fame rating of 99%, followed by William at 98%. Kate was ninth on the list with a rating of 93%. Meghan found sixth place with a 96% rating, while Philip was the chart-topper, with a fame rating of 99%.

Looking at the ratings, it's evident that William and Kate have found much love among their fans, which is good news for them as they inch closer to the British throne.