Popular royals serve the public, not themselves

No doubt Harry and Meghan fans will argue that the reason their popularity has fallen to a new low in the UK is because we are a nation of bigots. A Yougov poll published on Tuesday found that 49 per cent of Britons now regard the Duke of Sussex negatively, giving him a net score of -6. This is a further drop from mid-march, when attitudes towards the Duke turned negative for the first time.

The Duchess’s scores have also fallen considerably, with only three in 10 people (29 per cent) now having a positive opinion of Meghan, while 61 per cent view her negatively. This means she has a net rating of -32, down from -14 earlier in the month. So the pair have divebombed in the British public’s estimation since their Oprah Winfrey interview, in which they accused the Royal family of being racist and unsupportive.

Conversely, the survey found that other senior royals (including the Duke of York) had become more popular in the wake of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral while revealing that there is still overwhelming support for the monarchy in general.

Prince Edward’s

Poor show: the Sussexes’ approval ratings have plunged

approval rating shot up after he and his wife Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, spoke so movingly about the loss of Prince Philip. What this tells us is that people generally prefer royals who appear to serve the public rather than themselves.

When the Wessexes spoke out, the perception was they were doing it for Queen and country. When Harry and Meghan unburdened themselves on Oprah, it looked like they were doing it for the Royal Bank of Sussex.

Can anyone far more green-fingered than me tell me what on earth has happened to my bushes in lockdown? I have six box hedge plants (Buxus sempervirens) in the flower beds either side of my front door. Four of them are thriving; two look like they have been attacked with a blow torch and I cannot for the life of me work out why.

They are all in the same amount of sun, I haven’t pruned any of them differently, but rather than sprouting spring leaves, this duo appears to be going bald – and the foliage that is left is dry and brown. Help, I’m boxed in here!