PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle have been voted the most respected royals after the Queen, by young Brits.
Ahead of the first Youth Mental Health Day, teenage mental health charity stem4 asked 1000 teenagers and young people in the UK about who they most respected in different categories.
The Queen topped the poll for public figure, with 25% of the vote.
Prince Harry came in second, with 22% of the vote, and was followed by Meghan Markle, with 21%.
Bill Gates polled third, with 17% of the youth’s votes, Yahoolife reported.
Gates was followed by Dr Alex George (16%), Boris Johnson (14%), Kate Middleton (11%) and Prince William (10%).
According to stem4, voters’ most common reason for admiring the public figures was that “they are brave and resilient, and even when things go wrong and they are criticised, they carry on”.
This reasoning was followed by “they stand up for people’s rights and make society a better place”.
In the inspiring figure category, David Attenborough was ranked the most popular with 54% – the highest of all those voted for by the group.
Dr Nihara Krause, founder and chief executive at stem4, said: “To earn the respect of young people today you don’t need to earn a fortune or have good looks.
“It’s far more important that you show bravery, resilience, and compassion for others and for nature.
Dr Krause said those were “certainly” qualities that the Queen shared with other names on the list – such as David Attenborough and Marcus Rashford.
“It’s also significant that many of the most admired famous people are those, like Billie Eilish and Prince Harry, who have been open about their own mental health challenges.
“Problems like anxiety, depression and self-harm are sadly very common among young people and it makes a huge difference to them when public figures have the courage to open up.”
Princess Diana was named as a notable mention in the public figures category, while Meghan and Harry’s friend Oprah Winfrey was praised in the “inspirational figures” category.
The charity named Princess Diana as a notable mention in the public figures category, while Meghan and Harry’s friend Oprah Winfrey was praised in the ‘inspirational figures’ category.
It wasn’t the first time the Queen had topped a popularity chart – she consistently ranks top of polling about the most popular royal conducted by YouGov.
Typically, she would be closely followed by her grandson Prince William, who had previously been ranked as Brits’ preferred next monarch.
Despite this, the future of the whole monarchy was cast into doubt in a recent poll, which showed that young people were more likely to want an elected head of state – instead of continuing the monarchy.
Harry and Meghan often came up trumps with a younger audience, but were less popular among those in older age groups.
The survey was conducted by stem4 to gauge the wider hopes and aspirations of young people after the pandemic.
The charity surveyed young people in Britain aged between 13 and 25, between 26 and 29 May 202, as part of the exercise.
A majority of the respondents (70%) said they wanted to be happy and healthy.
56% of respondents reported a desire for a stable job.
Only 27% expressed a desire to make a lot of money.
