The Duke and Duchess of Sussex lost support in the US after the couple's interview with Oprah Winfrey, according to a new poll.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan told Winfrey a member of the royal family was concerned about "how dark" their unborn son Archie's skin colour would be.
Meghan also said she suffered mental health issues during her time as a senior working royal in the UK but received no support from Buckingham Palace officials despite a request for help.
The poll, by YouGov US and The Economist, found the couple's popularity declined in the two weeks since the interview was broadcast.
Of the 1,400 polled, 54 per cent of respondents said they had a very or somewhat favourable opinion of Prince Harry, while 26 per cent had a very or somewhat unfavourable opinion of him, giving him a net score of 28.
The poll showed that 48 per cent of people had a very or somewhat favourable opinion of his wife Meghan, and 33 per cent had a very or somewhat unfavourable opinion of her, giving her a net score of 15.
The average scores for Harry and Meghan were both down more than 10 points from three weeks before the interview was broadcast, on February 17, when the duke had a net rating of 39 and the duchess scored 28.
In a separate UK poll published in the week after the interview, YouGov data showed that 45 per cent of British respondents had a positive opinion of Prince Harry, while 48 per cent regarded him negatively, giving him a net score of -3.
This represents a drop of 15 points from March 2, the first time British attitudes towards the prince are negative rather than positive.
Meghan's scores also fell considerably. Just 31 per cent have a positive opinion of her, while 58 per cent view her negatively.
This means the duchess has a net rating of -27, down from -14 in the week before the interview.
The UK poll showed public opinion of the duke and duchess was strongly associated with age.
A majority of people aged 18 to 24 support the duchess (55 per cent), while only a third (32 per cent) dislike her. The same is true for Harry, with three in five aged 18 to 24 (59 per cent) having a positive opinion of him, while only three in 10 (28 per cent) dislike him.
In contrast, most people aged 65 and older dislike Harry (69 per cent negative) and Meghan (83 per cent negative).
Despite the interview’s revelations, most people in Britain support the monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth II, who has been on the throne since 1952 and is now 94, is hugely popular.
An Ipsos Mori poll last week indicated that only 17 per cent of people believed the country would be better off without a monarchy.
After two days of crisis talks after the Winfrey interview went to air, Buckingham Palace said the issues raised would be dealt with privately by the royal family.
The monarch expressed her concern over allegations of racism and her sadness on learning exactly how challenging the couple had found life as working royals, although she said some recollections of events varied.
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Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
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- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
