Royal Winners and Losers From 2021—From Meghan Markle to Prince Andrew and the Queen

The royal family's 2021 included racism allegations, tragedy, and a collapse in approval rating—but only for some.

The year of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Oprah Winfrey interview was also marked by the tragedy of Prince Philip's death.

Polling by YouGov throughout the year delivered some unexpected results and things went from bad to worse for Prince Andrew.

Here's how 2021 changed the lives of Britain's royal family.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had a rollercoaster 2020 after quitting royal duties to move to America, and 2021 was just as dramatic.

The year started with Meghan winning her privacy lawsuit against The Mail on Sunday in February, though the newspaper went onto appeal.

Hot on the heels of that success they accused the royal family of racism in a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on CBS in March.

Meghan described experiencing suicidal thoughts amid negative press coverage while a working royal, in January 2019, while Harry accused his father of cutting them off financially after their royal exit.

The interview sparked a major international debate and earned an audience of millions around the world.

However, it also precipitated a collapse in their approval ratings in Britain, which continued throughout the next six months of the year.

Days before the interview was broadcast, bullying allegations against Meghan were published in U.K. newspaper The Times.

Afterwards, a number of the couple's claims were challenged in the media, including their account of having a private backyard wedding days before their official service at Windsor Castle in May 2018.

The interview was aired while Prince Philip was still in hospital following heart surgery and Harry and Meghan were accused of insensitivity when Queen Elizabeth II's husband died in April.

Harry went on to launch further attacks on his family, accusing them of "total neglect" in his Apple TV docuseries The Me You Can't See.

By September, they sank to their lowest ever U.K. approval rating which put them firmly underwater, according to data collected by YouGov.

Meghan was viewed positively by 26 percent of Brits and negatively by 65 percent, putting her on a net approval rating of -39 percent.

Harry was liked by 34 percent and disliked by 59 percent, meaning his net rating was -25 percent.

Their standing in the country they left behind has improved only partially since, with the latest data from quarter three putting Meghan on 28 percent positive and 51 percent negative. Harry was on 36 percent positive and 43 negative in the same batch of data.

In November, Meghan's credibility came under attack again during The Mail on Sunday's unsuccessful appeal in Meghan's privacy and copyright lawsuit over a letter she sent her father.

The duchess ultimately won but not before she was forced to apologize for misleading the court about authorizing an aide to co-operate with the authors of the biography Finding Freedom.

Overall, Harry and Meghan's 2021 included both victory and defeat. They had meaningful wins against the media, including claiming the scalp of ardent critic Piers Morgan who resigned from Good Morning Britain.

On royal matters they end the year with their reputation having suffered significant damage while the royals they criticised appear to be as popular as ever.

However, the biggest positive from 2021 for the couple will also be the most enduring of all—the birth of their daughter Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor in June.

Queen Elizabeth II

The queen will remember 2021 as the year she lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died several weeks after undergoing heart surgery.

She gave her most emotional tribute in her Christmas Day message, when she said the twinkle in his eyes was "as bright at the end as when I first set eyes on him" but life "consists of final partings as well as first meetings."

However, Britain will remember the prince's funeral as a moment when Elizabeth showed leadership during a global crisis by sitting alone at his COVID-19 compliant funeral.

The monarch kept to Britain's strict coronavirus rules which limited guest numbers to 30 as she said goodbye to the man she once called her strength and stay.

The poignant moment resonated so strongly with the British public it was brought up in Parliament in December by the opposition Labour party during attacks on the Conservative government over accusations they held parties while the country was in lockdown.

The queen was also praised for her response to Harry and Meghan's Oprah Winfrey interview when she expressed sympathy for the couple but also famously stated "some recollections may vary."

Elizabeth, 95, experienced her own health scare in October and pulled out of a series of high profile public appearances, including following a back sprain.

It is difficult to see her returning to the level of direct public engagement she was used to previously.

The queen ends 2021 having lost her husband and a crucial aspect of her role—her ability to make regular public appearances.

However, as ever, she has been beyond criticism in her conduct throughout the year. Even Harry and Meghan made clear they were not criticising her in their interview with Oprah.

Latest YouGov polling figures for Q3 show she is liked by 72 percent and disliked by just 11 percent of Britons.

Prince Andrew

The Duke of York is the biggest royal loser of all in 2021 having been catapulted into a rape lawsuit in which he is accused of having sex with a 17-year-old Jeffrey Epstein trafficking victim.

Virginia Giuffre's legal team spent weeks attempting to serve papers on the queen's second, and reportedly favorite, son.

Now that he has accepted service, her lawyers are attempting to pin him down on a date for when he will give a sworn deposition.

Meanwhile, Andrew is attempting to get the case thrown out, most recently by arguing Giuffre lives in Australia, not Colorado.

The case has also seen him attack the New York Child Victims Act, which gave hope to thousands of child abuse victims.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles appears to be doing better than might be expected in popularity terms at the end of a year in which his second son launched a series of public attacks against him and his charity was thrown into turmoil.

Prince Harry variously accused his father of stopping taking his calls during royal exit negotiations, cutting him off financially and passing on the "genetic pain" of his own upbringing.

Charles' former valet Michael Fawcett quit as chief executive of his charity, The Prince's Foundation, over allegations he offered to help a Saudi billionaire secure British citizenship and an honor in exchange for donations.

His spokesperson also denied he was the mystery racist royal described in Harry and Meghan's interview.

So far, there is little evidence the scandals have cut through and affected the public's impression of Charles.

The prince also showed leadership during the COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, when President Joe Biden praised his efforts to promote the environment over 50 years.

He was liked by 45 percent of people and disliked by 24 percent in Q3 of 2021, while public perceptions of his prospect as a future king improved over the year.

In November, more people (34 percent) felt we would make a good monarch than bad (33 percent) for the first time since June 2020.

However, neither issue is closed, with Prince Harry due to release a memoir towards the end of 2022 and a regulatory inquiry into Charles' charity still ongoing.

That means next year could be a perilous one for the next king of Britain at a time when the queen is increasingly retreating from her role and he has been expected to take over.

Charles survived 2021 remarkably well—though it would be a push to say he won.

Prince William and Kate Middleton

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge came out of the Oprah Winfrey interview remarkably unscathed.

Prince Harry suggested the bond between him and his brother from their shared experience of losing Princess Diana was stronger than any rift.

He told Oprah: "You know, as I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But we . . . you know, we're on . . . we're on different paths."

Meghan accused Kate Middleton of making her cry at a bridesmaids' dress fitting days before the royal wedding, but was also careful not to stick the knife in too far.

She said: "I don't say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding.

"And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised.

"And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it."

William publicly denied the royals were a racist family in the aftermath of the interview and the couple remain popular in the polls.

The prince also announced the first winners of his Earthshot Prize, which looks to reward innovative solutions to the climate crisis.

And Kate this month played piano alongside Scottish singer songwriter Tom Walker in a special rendition of For Those Who Can't Be Here during her Westminster Abbey Christmas carols.

The duke was liked by 62 percent of the British public and disliked by 15 percent in Q3, giving him net figures of +47 points.

The duchess was liked by 60 percent and disliked by 10 percent giving her net figures of +50 points, according to the YouGov data.