The Prince and Princess of Wales are increasingly popular with the British public, many of whom already want King Charles III and Queen Camilla to start gradually handing over power to them or even to abdicate over the coming years, new exclusive polling for MailOnline revealed today.
Charles III appears to be viewed as a caretaker monarch – but the institution still enjoys the backing of the majority of Britons who believe he has had a good first year on the throne and deserves public support and money.
A year after the Queen’s death, most people believe the monarchy will go on strong for decades and in a further boost to the King almost two thirds (60%) are in favour of him speaking out publicly on issues that ‘matter to him’, such as climate change.
Today’s comprehensive new poll on the state of the monarchy carried out for MailOnline by Deltapoll asked more than 2,000 people how they view the Royal Family, its members and the work the institution does in the UK and abroad.
The survey shows that William is viewed as a King in waiting, with growing numbers hoping his father will hand over the reins before he dies after the Princess of Wales took an iron rod approach to his younger brother Harry and his uncle Prince Andrew.
And 41 per cent now believe the crown should have skipped a generation to William when the Queen died – up from 35 per cent in March. The polling came weeks after the Prince of Wales was revealed as the United States’ most admired public figure ahead of Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky.
But despite William’s growing popularity and influence, there is plenty of positive news for Charles, who has been mourning his mother in Scotland this week. Just 23 per cent of respondents said they were in favour of a republic compared to 62 per cent who say Britain should remain a monarchy. Another 53 per cent said they believed Britain would still have a monarchy in 50 years’ time.
Today’s poll is also clear that the majority of Britons believe Meghan and Harry should be removed from the line of succession and cut off financially by the taxpayer and the King. Just 25 per cent of people believe they should have an ‘active role in the monarchy’.
But despite the negative view of the Sussexes after three years of brutal transatlantic potshots since Megxit, Prince Andrew is still the most unpopular Windsor. The public believe that he has done more damage to the Royal Family than Harry and should not return to public life or be bankrolled by the state.
43 per cent of participants said they believe it right that Charles acceded the throne after his mother died, with 41 per cent saying it should have skipped a generation and passed to William. Much closer than it was six months ago
The Wales’ are also the most popular members in terms of financial support and remaining in the line of succession
Today exclusive survey also reveals:
- More than half of respondents (53%) think that the institution of the monarchy is good for Britain;
- More than six in ten (62%) believe Britain should remain a monarchy. Fewer than a quarter (23%) think Britain should become a republic;
- Just over half (53%) think that Britain will still be a monarchy in fifty years, with more than a quarter (25%) thinking the opposite.
- A majority (58%) have not changed their mind about Charles since he became king. Under a quarter (23%) think better of him, with just over one in nine (12%) thinking the opposite;
- It is a similar for Camilla. Half (50%) have not changed their mind about her and under a quarter (24%) think better of her. At one in six (17%), however, the proportion who say their opinion of her has got worse is slightly higher than for her husband. Half (50%) also think that Diana would have been a better queen. 12% think the opposite and 19% think there would have been no real difference;
- Four in ten (40%) think that Charles should not allow either Harry or Meghan to play an active role in royal life ever again. A quarter (25%) say Charles should be open to the idea, with a further fifth (20%) thinking Charles should be open to the idea of Harry without Meghan. A strong majority (69%) think Charles should not allow Andrew to have an active role again;
- More than four in ten (43%) thinks Harry will never come back to live in Britain full time, but more than a third (36%) think he will come back at some point in the future;
- Prince Andrew is viewed very poorly, even compared to Harry and Meghan. Four in ten (40%) think that the good things are in the majority when it comes to Harry with only one in seven thinking there are no good things about him. In contrast, only just over one in five (21%) think the good things win out when it comes to Andrew and more than four in ten (43%) think that there are no good things about him;
The number of people who believe Charles should have become King when the Queen died, compared to those who would have preferred William is now approaching parity, 43 per cent and 41 per cent respectively, today’s MailOnline poll has found. The gap has narrowed markedly over the past six months as William’s popularity has increased.
Those who say Charles should remain King until he dies is at 41 per cent – whereas the number of people who believe William should become king before he dies or even immediately has risen to 45 per cent.
The poll shows that Britons largely believe William has done well in a year where he lost his grandmother, faced more brutal attacks from his brother Harry and scandals involving his uncle Prince Andrew. Today’s results reveal that those issues have failed to damage the heir to the throne.
But the survey shows there is anger and suspicion aimed at the Sussexes and the Duke of York, with the vast majority believing they should all be booted out of the line of succession and cut off financially by the King and the British taxpayer.
Britons also largely share the view that King Charles should ensure his controversial younger brother Prince Andrew must not be allowed to return duties again.
Almost half of people surveyed believe ‘there are no good things about him, only bad things’ when it comes to the Duke of York.
More than half the country now believe that William makes a ‘positive contribution to the UK’ and it is on an upwards curve.
At 54 per cent, it is now at a level just below that of his beloved grandmother, who even a year on from her death, still leads the field on 63 per cent.
Diana, Princess of Wales is on 49 per cent, Princess Catherine is on 47 per cent ahead of Charles III on 39 per cent. The popularity rankings then go from Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Queen Camilla, the Queen Consort and Zara Tindall at the top to Prince Harry, Peter Phillips, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew at the bottom.
The late Queen remains the most popular and influential royal, a year since she died at Balmoral sparking mourning in Britain, the Commonwealth and around the world.
Today’s poll one of the most comprehensive surveys of its kind since the death of Queen Elizabeth, examining everything from who is perceived to provide best value for money and is more in touch with the average British person. It also gives the country’s verdicts on individual royals and again backs a slimmed down monarchy with fewer of the King’s family being paid for by the public purse.
Charles’ popularity remains static. But there is less good news for his wife, Queen Camilla, however. While more people say their opinion of her has improved since 2005, 50 per cent believe that Princess Diana would have been a better queen than her. Just 12 per cent thought Camilla would be better than William and Harry’s mother.
The late Queen Elizabeth led the field of those respondents believed to have made a positive contribution to the United Kingdom
The Prince and Princess of Wales remain enduringly popular and have even increased their share of support, particularly when compared to Harry and Meghan (pictured)
Calls to downgrade disgraced Prince Andrew are up, with a decisive percentage of respondents saying they would like to see him removed from the line of succession
Three quarters of those polled say that Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, should have to work for a living when they grow up, rather than being funded by taxpayers. Just one in ten believe they should be entirely funded by the public purse.
Their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, remain enduringly popular, however, and have even increased their share of support, particularly when compared to Harry and Meghan, suggesting the Sussexes’ repeated blows have failed to land.
There is growing support to remove Prince Harry from the line of succession while almost twice as many respondents (50 per cent) believe that it is William rather than Harry (27 per cent) who best represents the values of their mother, Diana.
Sixty one percent of respondents are in favour of the fifth in line to the throne being stripped of his position given his departure as a working royal and litany of attacks on his family and the institution. A slight improvement from the same question in March.
Calls to downgrade disgraced Prince Andrew are also up, with a decisive 77 per cent of respondents saying they would like to see him similarly deposed.
Interestingly, given the often-heated public debate over the years over his alleged ‘meddling’ in politics, 60 per cent of respondents said they believed King Charles should continue to speak out on issues and current affairs that matter to him, suggesting that his campaigning on issues such a climate change and the environment have struck a chord with the public. 28 per cent said he should not.
The public’s views appear to be clearer on whether the Sussexes are entitled to taxpayer-funded security and other costs.
Just 15 per cent said they should be, with an overwhelming majority of 74 per cent saying they should pay for everything themselves.
- Deltapoll interviewed 2,009 British adults online between September 1 and 4 2023. The data have been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.
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