Princess of Wales tops poll as UK’s favourite royal while Harry and Meghan’s popularity ratings drop – in latest survey before Mother’s Day picture controversy

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

The survey – which was carried out before the publication of the controversial edited Mother’s Day photo – found that 38 per cent of Britons like Kate Middleton the most.

But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have fallen in popularity by three points – with Harry on 11 per cent and Meghan on seven per cent.

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

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

The new poll shows that the princess is particularly popular among women, with 44 percent preferring her compared to 32 percent of men.

Half of those aged 55 to 75 also named Kate as their favorite, according to the Ipsos survey commissioned for The standard.

For those aged 35-54, 37 per cent listed the princess as their top choice, along with 28 per cent of those aged 18 to 34.

Kate’s husband is second, with William preferred by 36 percent, followed by Princess Anne with 26 percent.

King Charles and Queen Camilla were favorites among only 12 percent of Britons surveyed – an increase of two points since the last survey.

Social media executives were already wondering where she was before the explosive Mother’s Day photograph that saw six of the world’s top image agencies sensationally pull the image from their wires and libraries over concerns that the ‘source has tampered with 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 picture of Kate with her children was posted on Mother’s Day, the speculation took a whole new form.

Eagle-eyed social media users pointed out a plethora of problems with the image – and soon after it was pulled by photo agencies.

Afterwards, the princess sent an apology for the confusion caused and admitted that she had adjusted the family photo.

Kate is believed to be recovering well from major stomach surgery and should be back before Easter, but sources say she needs to be left alone to prioritize her recovery.

She publicly took the blame for the family photo released by Kensington Palace on Sunday when she issued an apology for the ‘confusion’.

MailOnline identified sixteen separate edits, including problems with the princess’s jeans zip and right hand – amid claims the image 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 rather than an extraordinary return to royal duties, MailOnline understands that Kate was heading to a private appointment instead.

Royal sources are warning of the negative impact rumors could have on the future queen as she recovers from major surgery in January.

‘It’s awful to be under all this public scrutiny when you’re recovering from major surgery,’ one told US celebrity news site Page Six.

‘The rumor mill – particularly on social media – has spiraled out of control, but Kate is recovering well and will be back by Easter. She should just be left alone’.

Another insider added: ‘I worry 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 it would not re-release the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond suggested that Kate ‘must be feeling under intense pressure now to be seen in public’ following her major operation in January.

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

Amid growing speculation surrounding the Mother’s Day photo of Kate and her children, which was released to the world by Kensington Palace on Sunday, a spokesman for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Foundation spoke out to deny that any official representative for the couple had done it. comments about the controversy to Page Six.

Speaking to Newsweek, the spokesperson spoke of quotes published by the magazine, which said 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 that Meghan would ever make”, noting that “she has a keen eye and wild attention to detail”.

However, Archewell’s official spokesperson has now insisted to Newsweek that the information ‘didn’t come from us’, saying simply: ‘As for Page Six, it didn’t come from us.’

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

As well as claims that Meghan “never makes the (same) mistake”, Page Six also published quotes from an insider who said the Sussexes “would have been annihilated” if they had released a similarly edited photo.

“If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same problem, they would have been wiped out,” the source was quoted as saying.

“The same rules do not apply to both couples.

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

However, the outlet did not state that the quotes had come 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.