Americans cheer William and Kate over Harry and Meghan

America was born of revolution, a republic forged in defiance of monarchy. Yet despite our founding mythology of liberty and self-determination, we can’t seem to resist the allure of royalty – so long as it is authentic and dutiful. That is why, even in a land that rejected monarchy, public sentiment favours hands down the Prince and Princess of Wales over the rogue runaways who swapped Buckingham for Beverly Hills.

A recent YouGov poll confirms what intuition already tells us. Prince William enjoys a 63 percent favorability rating among Americans, well ahead of Harry’s 56 percent and miles beyond Meghan’s dismal 41 percent (with 25 percent viewing her unfavorably). In the UK, the Sussexes fare even worse: Harry’s approval languishes at 27 percent, Meghan’s at just 20 percent. The contrast is stark. Where William represents stability, discipline, and loyalty, the Sussexes have come to personify grievance, vanity and betrayal.

Harry and Meghan might have become American icons: a dashing prince and his Hollywood bride, trading the constraints of monarchy for freedom and fresh purpose. Instead, they chose to become cautionary tales. In his latest bid for attention, Harry used a BBC interview to accuse his father of “ghosting” him and whined about his taxpayer-funded security being withdrawn – hardly the rugged self-reliance Americans admire. Meanwhile, Meghan’s ventures, from tone-deaf podcasts and Netflix episodes to staged charity photo-ops, seem more designed to boost her personal brand than to help anyone else. Their conduct – especially their shameful behavior during the final days of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip – incinerated what little goodwill remained.

Far from underdogs, they now appear as opportunists. Nearly two-thirds of Brits view them negatively. Even in celebrity-happy America, they trail behind lesser-known royals. For all our admiration of rebels, we revile narcissists who trash their families for applause and payouts.

Contrast that with William and Catherine. The Prince of Wales has responded to his brother’s attacks not with interviews or indignation, but with dignified silence. His life – rooted in duty to family, nation and the Crown – stands as a silent rebuke to Harry’s endless complaints and schemes. The Princess of Wales, enjoying a remarkable 72 percent approval rating in the UK, exudes warmth, steadiness, and resilience. Together, they represent a modern monarchy: not perfect, but purposeful. Their quiet, consistent service stands in stark relief to the Sussexes’ victimhood circus.

This paradox – that the United States, born in defiance of monarchy, now champions its most traditional heirs – reveals something profound. In an age of cultural decay and institutional collapse, Americans crave continuity. We are drawn to symbols of permanence and poise. William and Kate, with their unshowy sense of duty, offer exactly that. The Sussexes, by contrast, offer only the fleeting buzz of celebrity – and worse, a corrosive kind of self-martyrdom disguised as liberation.

No American fortune, however vast, can match the stature conferred by a thousand-year royal lineage. Fame is not the same as honor. Accepting disingenuous awards, peddling lifestyle brands and monetizing private grievances may pay the bills, but it commands revulsion rather than respect. True nobility lies in service, not self-promotion.

This is the Sussexes’ fatal flaw: they mistook freedom for meaning. In casting off royal duty, they found only themselves – and without the royal associations… there isn’t much there that warrants a second glance. Their bridges are burned, their mystique gone. In a country that believes in redemption, even we are running out of patience.

William and Kate, by simply showing up, remind us of a forgotten truth: that dignity, loyalty and service are not relics of the past but virtues still worth aspiring to. As Harry and Meghan sink into self-inflicted irrelevance, the Waleses soar – not because they bully nor shout the loudest, but because they understand Queen Elizabeth’s example of the power of humble duty done well.