Drumroll, please...
From the pandemic, to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relocation to California, 2020 was a seismic year for the royal family.
The devastating global impact of COVID-19 may have dominated the news, but there were plenty of big changes in the royal family that hit the headlines, too.
With rumours of a rift between Prince Harry and Prince William, Princess Beatrice's surprise royal wedding, and Princess Eugenie's exciting baby news, this year was far from a quiet one for the royals – as they changed the way they worked, and adapted to a restructuring of senior working family members following Harry and Meghan's relocation.
So given recent royal events, the most searched-for royal of the year doesn't exactly come as a surprise.
Taking the title a second time, Meghan Markle became the most Googled royal of 2020 – beating out both The Queen and husband Prince Harry to the top spot.
Meghan was also the most Googled public figure in 2018, the year she and Harry tied the knot at St George's chapel in Windsor.
All eyes were on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex this year as they announced they would be renouncing their respective roles as working royals, becoming financially independent, and relocating from Frogmore Cottage to Montecito, California.
But most searched-for doesn't necessarily mean most popular. Meghan and Harry faced much public scrutiny for their decision to step back from the limelight, with many criticising their tax payer-funded renovation of Frogmore Cottage – which is thought to have cost the Sovereign Grant around £2.4m. (It's since been reported that the couple have paid back the money in full.)
In fact, the most popular member of the royal family is The Queen. According to a recent YouGov poll, 78% of those surveyed said they had a positive opinion of the monarch. She was followed closely by Prince William, who has 73% public favour, and Kate Middleton, who has 66%.
Meghan and Harry continue to forge their own careers outside their royal roles – with exciting news of an official podcast and new charitable organisation to come in the new year.
With all that in mind, we can hardly wait to see what 2021 has in store for the royals.
