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A new poll has named Kate Middleton the most popular member of the royal family. Kate, Duchess of Cambridge’s, popularity has witnessed a huge boost amid the coronavirus pandemic, but not everyone agrees with the latest poll. Sources say that Meghan Markle’s friends do not think the results are accurate and argue that the Duchess of Sussex is actually the most popular royal.

Kate Middleton Meghan Markle
Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle | Clive Mason/Getty Images

Inside Kate Middleton’s popularity boost

When the coronavirus pandemic struck last spring, most high ranking members of the royal family stepped out of the spotlight. After canceling their public engagements, for example, Queen Elizabeth retired to Windsor Castle while Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles hunkered down in Scotland.

Queen Elizabeth and Charles both issued statements throughout the pandemic, but they largely kept to themselves as the country dealt with the lockdown.

Kate and her husband, Prince William, however, remained in the public eye. Although the couple was isolating at their country estate, Anmer Hall, they took part in numerous virtual engagements and frequently updated fans on social media.

Between their meetings and social media activity, Kate and William quickly became the faces of the royal family. The extra attention has paid huge dividends for Kate, who is now one of the most popular members of the royal family.

According to Express, a new poll gave Kate the top spot as the most popular royal. Over 4,000 people took part in the poll and Kate narrowly beat out Queen Elizabeth, who came in second place with a little under 1,000 votes.

William came in third in the poll, following by Prince Harry, Princess Anne, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who took the sixth spot.

Meghan Markle’s friends deny the poll results

Although Kate came out on top of the recent poll, Meghan’s fans were not happy about the results. Taking to Twitter, many of the Duchess’s most loyal fans voiced their disapproval of the poll, with some commenting on a segment of Good Morning Britain that featured royal expert Russel Myers.

In the segment, Myers praised Kate for her work during the pandemic, especially when it came to opening up about her homeschooling struggles. But not everyone agreed with his assessment of the most popular royal.

“Not at all! Definitely Meghan,” one fan wrote, while another added, “Meghan Markle has never been the number 1 since joining the Royal Family.”

Like Kate, Meghan has not shied away from the spotlight in recent months. A few weeks ago, the Duchess of Sussex spoke at her old high school’s graduation ceremony and tackled some difficult issues such as inequality, police brutality, and racial tensions.

That said, Meghan is no longer a member of the royal family, which explains why she didn’t make it higher on the list. Meghan and Harry’s exit from the monarchy became official at the end of March and the two are now starting their new lives in Los Angeles.

Meghan may have stepped out of the royal spotlight, but she clearly still has a loyal following.

Kate Middleton and Prince William had this one advantage over the Sussexes

While fans continue to debate about Kate and Meghan’s popularity, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enjoyed one advantage over the Sussexes that has carried them through the years.

As royal watchers are well aware, Kate and William met while attending St. Andrews University in the early 2000s. The two started out as friends and dated for nearly a decade before tying the knot in 2011.

The years they spent as friends built a strong foundation. According to Express, William and Kate discussed this in an interview from 2010 and admitted that it gave them a “massive advantage.”

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“We ended up being friends for a while and that just sort of was a good foundation,” William shared. “Because I do generally believe now that being friends with one another is a massive advantage.”

Meghan and Harry, of course, experienced a different path to marriage. The two only dated for around one year before getting engaged. Despite their quick romance, Harry later confessed that “everything was just perfect.”

Kate has not commented on the latest poll dubbing her the most popular royal.