Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s own biographer Omid Scobie has warned the public are already suffering with “Sussex fatigue” and are in danger of losing their most loyal supporters. The couple’s increasingly fractured relationship with the Royal Family has been brought under the spotlight further following their six-part documentary series on Netflix and the release of Harry’s memoir, Spare. These have seen them launch a series of stunning accusations against the royals, which has triggered a furious backlash from some of their biggest critics.
But Mr Scobie, a friend of the Sussexes and the author of Finding Freedom, has now issued a huge warning to Harry and Meghan.
He was speaking on the recent Royally Obsessed podcast episode, and was asked by hosts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito whether he thought people were experiencing fatigue from the couple.
Mr Scobie replied: “In many ways, how can a regular person not have Sussex fatigue at this point? I almost feel it’s like my duty to follow it every step of the way, but I can understand how general members of the public have just had enough of hearing about the royal dramas in general.
“I sympathise with the Sussexes in some ways, because they’re only now getting to join the story at this very late stage.
“For many years, they weren’t able to share their side. They watched others try and tell versions of it or they sat back and watched things reported about them that they didn’t agree with or didn’t feel were a fair representation of themselves.
“So now they’ve come in with their versions of events, with their stories and are filling in the gaps that we didn’t know about. But of course, it comes after years and years of coverage. So I think people are starting to get a little tired of the story in general.”
The couple’s biographer insisted Harry and Meghan’s arguably intense approach “serves them” because they want to “move on”.
He said: “It’s why their polls, their popularity polls go down and down because ultimately they are making people feel uncomfortable with the things that they are talking about. Sure there are also people that think enough is enough, we’re tired of hearing about you, we’ve got Meghan and Harry fatigue – stop whining. There are also really valid conversations that just make people feel freaked out.”
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But following the release of the book earlier this month, a poll showed the Duke of Sussex’s popularity among the British public has plunged.
Delta Poll quizzed 1,059 UK adults from January 12-16, with 42 percent saying Harry has “done more damage to the Royal Family”, compared to 41 percent for his uncle, Prince Andrew.
Most telling with the older age groups, the figures were 56 percent to 32 percent for over-65s and 57 percent to 27 percent for those aged 55-64.
But in more positive news for Harry, half of the participants aged 35-54 believe Andrew has caused more damaged to the Royal Family, compared to just 35 percent for his nephew Harry.
The result was similar in the 18-24-year-old age category, 38 percent voting for Andrew versus to just over a fifth (22 percent) for Harry.
Earlier this month, a YouGov survey of 1,693 adults in the UK before the release of Harry’s book showed 64 percent had a negative view of him compared to 58 percent last May. Just over a quarter (26 percent) saw him in a positive light.
Harry’s net favourability among the British public has also plummeted to an all-time low of -38, with his wife Meghan Markle recording an even lower score of -42.
