- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were the most tweeted about royals in 2020, according to Harper's Bazaar.
- Over 20 million tweets were made about the royal family this year.
- Prince William and Kate Middleton claimed seventh and eighth place.
2020 has been a momentous year for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, who stepped down as senior members of the royal family, bought a house in Montecito, signed a multimillion dollar Netflix deal, became financially independent from the royal family, volunteered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and began to use their newly-independent platform to fight for racial justice and challenge online hate speech. The Sussexes also experienced great tragedy, with Meghan suffering a miscarriage in July.
It's little wonder, then, that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were the most tweeted about royals of 2020, according to Harper's Bazaar. Meghan took first place, while Harry came in second—no mean feat for a couple who don't have public Twitter accounts. In total, over 20 million tweets were made about members of the royal family in 2020, an increase of 30% from 2019.
Surprisingly, Kate Middleton and Prince William didn't directly follow the Sussexes in the ranking; in fact, the Queen took third place, while Princess Diana came in fourth. Prince Charles was the fifth most tweeted about royal, and the conversation around all three likely had something to do with a little-known Netflix show named The Crown, as well as the reignited controversy surrounding Diana's 1995 Panorama interview.
"There has always been a steady conversation about the royals on Twitter, but this year we've seen the appetite for royal information, stories, and history explode," Jenna Ross, Twitter's senior manager of entertainment partnerships, told Harper's Bazaar. "The season four release of The Crown on Netflix majorly contributed to this conversation, with fans coming together on Twitter to talk about the new episodes and share their reactions, generating over half a million Tweets about the series since its premiere."
In sixth place was Prince Andrew, whose relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein came under renewed scrutiny, destroying his public reputation and leading to his withdrawal from royal duties.
Next, in seventh place, came Prince William, followed by Kate Middleton. Prince Philip came in ninth, while Princess Charlotte—the only Cambridge kid in the top ten—completed the list. Wonder which royal stories will set Twitter alight in 2021!
