We love them or we hate them: Prince Harry and his wife Meghan do not leave indifferent among the onlookers who went to see the members of the royal family in London on Friday, on the second day of the celebrations of the jubilee of Elizabeth II.

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As soon as they arrive at the foot of the steps of Saint Paul’s Cathedral for a religious ceremony in the heart of the British capital, to the heavy sound of bells, the tone is set.

For their first royal appearance as a couple in the United Kingdom since their resounding departure from exile in California two years ago, the terrible children are applauded, but also suffer a few boos. And the acclamations are much less supported than those intended for the crown prince Charles or his son William, second in the order of succession, and his wife Kate.

“I love the monarchy”, but “I am not in favor of Harry and Meghan”, asserts Keith Macmillan, an elderly man who arrived expressly from Scotland to see the “royals”.

“I hate them intensely,” he adds, interviewed by AFP, regretting their return to Prince Harry’s native country on the occasion of the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

The British press had initially welcomed the entry of Meghan Markle, 40, into the royal family, marked by a marriage worthy of a fairy tale in 2018.

First praised for bringing a breath of fresh air to an institution steeped in tradition, the former American actress quickly drew fierce criticism from the tabloids for her allegedly capricious behavior or the setbacks with her father.

The couple’s decision to cut the cord with the monarchy, to earn a living independently, then their great unpacking in an interview granted to American television in 2021, in which he accuses her of racism, end up consummating the break. Harry and Meghan appear to want to enjoy the privileges of their rank without the constraints.