The British public has had its say on the return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the country – and it’s not particularly kind.

A YouGov survey of more than 2000 Britons taken in late October found the popularity of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s has fallen further.

According to YouGov’s periodic royal family favourability tracker, released on Thursday (British time), just 29 per cent of Brits have a positive opinion of Harry, down four points since July. Only 20 per cent have a positive opinion of Meghan.

Among the best-known members of the royal family, the Sussexes are trailed in popularity only by Harry’s embattled uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

By contrast, Harry’s estranged brother Prince William tops the poll with a 74 per cent positive view. Kate, the Princess of Wales is only slightly behind, on 72 per cent.

The survey found that 68 per cent of Britons have a critical view of Meghan, a rise of three points since the last survey in July. The duchess’s net favourability rating is -48, a record low for the YouGov tracker.

In between the two surveys, the Sussexes made their surprise decision to return to Britain after six years in California. They landed with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, in late August.

The couple have been polarising figures since they walked away from their royal roles in 2020. They lost their HRH titles and taxpayer-funded security, and a split developed with William and Kate.

Their return to Britain was quickly followed by a rare letter, authorised by Harry’s father the King, reconfirming that nothing had changed in their official status.

“The charitable work of the duke and duchess is a personal matter for them both and undertaken in their private capacity,” Lord Chamberlain, a senior Buckingham Palace official, wrote.

“In short, their position is akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”

The palace said the letter was sent to government and military officials in a bid to “avoid doubt or confusion”.

Kate and William sit firmly atop the royal popularity polls. Photo: AAP

Harry and Meghan are renting a private home, believed to be in the Cotswolds. They are still awaiting a review of their taxpayer-funded security, which has been the subject of a long-running campaign by Harry.

During his first public appearance after their relocation, the prince declared it was “good to be back on British soil”.

Two weeks ago, he stepped out with Meghan for a joint British outing. They were met by excited schoolchildren and cheering well-wishers and joined by a large media contingent for the visit to charities in Nottingham.

“Oh, it’s great to be back,” Meghan echoed her husband in a conversation with one woman.

It was the duchess’s first official engagement since the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. Britain’s Times newspaper reports they have another shared outing planned for before the end of he year.

The survey results come amid an emerging scandal about Meghan’s estranged father, Thomas Markle.

Meghan’s half-brother, Thomas Markle jr, last week told British media he found a stash of child sex abuse images belonging to their father at his former home in the Philippines. He reported it to local police and the FBI.

Markle sr has admitted paying for sex in the Asian country but denies ever possessing a hoard of such material.

On Friday, London’s Metropolitan Police said it had voluntarily referred itself to Britain’s police watchdog over its handling of a letter detailing allegations against Markle sr.

The Met Police has said it received a letter in 2019 in which the author suggested “they were writing to raise concerns relating to the security of the Duchess of Sussex”.

It said the letter “did not actually contain any information specifically related to security matters, [but] it did contain a number of claims about alleged offending outside the United Kingdom”. It was passed on to Harry and Meghan’s office.

The Met said that, after a review, a voluntary referral had been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct “in respect of the decision not to inform other law enforcement agencies, and the decision to pass the letter to the office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.

Meghan has previously described the allegations against her father as “very distressing”.

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-with AAP