Support for the Monarchy in the UK 1: Ending Sep 2022


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I think there are a bunch of issues at play here.

> As set out by @Denville above, Charles was popular in his 20s and 30s, seen very much as a man of tmrw, with a lot of promise.

> The 1980s and 1990s were not kind to Charles, with the difficult marriage, the very public War of the Wales', subsequent divorce, and then the death of Diana. In that time, he was often derided for his interests in organic food, preserving the environment and urban architecture; today these are all pretty mainstream.

> From that low point in 1997, I think he did well, and his public image recovered considerably, to the point that he could marry Camilla.

> The problem now is that Charles and Camilla are in their 70s, and are eclipsed by the younger royals at one end (photogenic, fashionable, attractive children) and the Queen at the other end. The Queen is seen as the steadfast and dutiful leader, the nations grandmother and has become a lot more popular in the last 15 years as she has reached the autumn of her life. Lets not forget, she too had a very difficult 1990s, but that seems to be behind her.
 
I don't know if this is the right spot where to put this, I am sure someone will put it to the right place. I just found British Family Favourability Ratings. Here it shows. Queen 71, William 65, Kate 62, Philip 28, Charles 24, Camilla 1, Harry 1, Meghan minus 26 and Andrew minus 73 I am not surprised by Andrew and by H&M, but I am a bit surprised by the low number Camilla got. She is doing a lot for the Monarchy. You can find this on Noblesse et Royautes.
 
I don't know if this is the right spot where to put this, I am sure someone will put it to the right place. I just found British Family Favourability Ratings. Here it shows. Queen 71, William 65, Kate 62, Philip 28, Charles 24, Camilla 1, Harry 1, Meghan minus 26 and Andrew minus 73 I am not surprised by Andrew and by H&M, but I am a bit surprised by the low number Camilla got. She is doing a lot for the Monarchy. You can find this on Noblesse et Royautes.

The original poll is from the Daily Mail.
Enough said ...
 
Where I live Hello Canada may as well be Hello Kate because she is always on the cover. Also, I too am surprised how badly Camilla polled and I don't believe that the Queen is that popular. The British complain a lot about the cost of the British monarchy.
 
I don't know if this is the right spot where to put this, I am sure someone will put it to the right place. I just found British Family Favourability Ratings. Here it shows. Queen 71, William 65, Kate 62, Philip 28, Charles 24, Camilla 1, Harry 1, Meghan minus 26 and Andrew minus 73 I am not surprised by Andrew and by H&M, but I am a bit surprised by the low number Camilla got. She is doing a lot for the Monarchy. You can find this on Noblesse et Royautes.


I believe that this is the same one that You Gov UK released earlier this week.


https://yougov.co.uk/topics/enterta...te_questions&utm_campaign=royal_favourability
 
Where I live Hello Canada may as well be Hello Kate because she is always on the cover. Also, I too am surprised how badly Camilla polled and I don't believe that the Queen is that popular. The British complain a lot about the cost of the British monarchy.
Of course tehy do. People alwasy complain about the cost of govt and a monarchy is an inherently unfair form of polity... the queen's respected but I dont know if she awas ever really loved.. she is a decent person, but not charismatic and now she is rather seen as a figure of the past. Charles is alos old fashioned, and Camilla i thtink had a period of escaping from the Diana factor and being accepted but in recnet years I feel that for younger people she's too old to attract them.. and that the Diana factor has again pushed down her ratings...
 
Charles has never really had the chance to be judged only on his own merits. He was overshadowed by Diana from the start of their marriage right through to her death and didn’t have the sort of personality or media savvy to effectively fight the narrative that developed of him as the unfeeling, out of touch husband and father who talked to his plants.

Then the focus was on William and Harry, their marriages, children, etc.

Now Charles is into his 70s and is still in the number two spot, caught between his iconic mother and his popular eldest son who is steadily building a more prominent role for himself.

Contrast that to how things have gone/will go for William - able to build his own successful career separate from royal duties in his 20s, a stable and seemingly happy marriage in which he and his wife function as a team, he’ll become Prince of Wales soon and will likely become King just at the right time to avoid the traditional royal middle age popularity slump. Barring the unexpected his reign will be long, plenty long enough to build a strong reputation as King William, without people thinking of him as just a placeholder for George.

Those are all great points. I think it’s a shame because Charles has really come into his own since marrying Camilla, and especially in the last few years. He doesn’t seem at all like a fuddy duddy - not anymore, if he was before - in fact he seems a lot more relaxed and happy than ever.
 
I think there are a bunch of issues at play here.

> As set out by @Denville above, Charles was popular in his 20s and 30s, seen very much as a man of tmrw, with a lot of promise.

> The 1980s and 1990s were not kind to Charles, with the difficult marriage, the very public War of the Wales', subsequent divorce, and then the death of Diana. In that time, he was often derided for his interests in organic food, preserving the environment and urban architecture; today these are all pretty mainstream.

> From that low point in 1997, I think he did well, and his public image recovered considerably, to the point that he could marry Camilla.

> The problem now is that Charles and Camilla are in their 70s, and are eclipsed by the younger royals at one end (photogenic, fashionable, attractive children) and the Queen at the other end. The Queen is seen as the steadfast and dutiful leader, the nations grandmother and has become a lot more popular in the last 15 years as she has reached the autumn of her life. Lets not forget, she too had a very difficult 1990s, but that seems to be behind her.

Again, great points. I do also think Charles’ relationship with the media is much improved. Sure there will be some negativity, as there will be for any Royal, but I think it helped that he didn’t generally try to fight back against them in the Diana years. He kept quiet, continued doing his thing, and now he’s appreciated. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, it feels like the media was only reporting on him in a negative way, and the public kind of took their cue from that.

It would be impossible for anyone to follow the Queen, but hopefully when that time comes, the natural sympathy people will have for Charles losing his mother will extend to his reign, and they’ll give him the chance to be a good one.
 
Those are all great points. I think it’s a shame because Charles has really come into his own since marrying Camilla, and especially in the last few years. He doesn’t seem at all like a fuddy duddy - not anymore, if he was before - in fact he seems a lot more relaxed and happy than ever.

He does seem and is certainly happier but to the younger generation he is an old man and leads a luxurious life.. much more so than the queen. And younger people see TV documentaries about his marriage and Diana and think of him as this horrible man who cheated on lovely Diana.. (Albeit there are bound to be young people who dont know anything about Di and don't take any interests in her.. but she sitll has a lot of charm and charisma for the younger generation....
 
He does seem and is certainly happier but to the younger generation he is an old man and leads a luxurious life.. much more so than the queen. And younger people see TV documentaries about his marriage and Diana and think of him as this horrible man who cheated on lovely Diana.. (Albeit there are bound to be young people who dont know anything about Di and don't take any interests in her.. but she sitll has a lot of charm and charisma for the younger generation....

I do think this explains a lot....but, I don’t think it speaks well for these younger people if they are basing their feelings about Charles on overheated, biased movies and documentaries. Fortunately, I’m sure many young people have minds of their own. Also fortunately, Charles has learned to live with not being popular....
 
The goal for Camilla has always been to be accepted, not universally loved. 25 years ago she was probably the most hated woman in the UK, if not the World.
The fact that she's now a well known figure of the BRF and that people are used to it is already a success...
 
I do think this explains a lot....but, I don’t think it speaks well for these younger people if they are basing their feelings about Charles on overheated, biased movies and documentaries. Fortunately, I’m sure many young people have minds of their own. Also fortunately, Charles has learned to live with not being popular....

Believe it or not, while people half follow the stories about the monarchy only a minority in the UK takes any real interest. Most have a n "if it aint broke don't fix it" attitude in that they have little interest in the RF except when there is some scandal or story going around, but mostly are content to let them stay as they seem to work reasonably well but they'll still gripe about the cost.
 
The goal for Camilla has always been to be accepted, not universally loved. 25 years ago she was probably the most hated woman in the UK, if not the World.
The fact that she's now a well known figure of the BRF and that people are used to it is already a success...

That’s a fantastic point...and, the Queen is a fan, which took some doing... Post-Diana, that really is a success story because Charles insisted that he would never break it off with Camilla, and ultimately he overcame objections to their love story.
 
Believe it or not, while people half follow the stories about the monarchy only a minority in the UK takes any real interest. Most have a n "if it aint broke don't fix it" attitude in that they have little interest in the RF except when there is some scandal or story going around, but mostly are content to let them stay as they seem to work reasonably well but they'll still gripe about the cost.

That actually makes sense as the BRF isn’t involved in their daily lives - it’s not like they’re the government. They’re also used to it, whereas for, say, Americans, we (even non-Royal watchers) find it a cool part of the UK.
 
I know we've discussed this poll but I hadn't seen the longitudinal graph of Harry's (and later Meghan)'s popularity according to YouGov (starting from June 2012).
 
I know we've discussed this poll but I hadn't seen the longitudinal graph of Harry's (and later Meghan)'s popularity according to YouGov (starting from June 2012).

From reading at the graph, the biggest drop in favourability for both Harry and Meghan is the "Dec '19" mark. I know it's quite difficult to tell a very specific time with no micro scales on the time axis. However, I think the Sussex's exit as senior working royals, particularly on how they handle the situation was the main catalyst of their reduced favourability.

It's interesting to see that apart from a slight increase in early 2020, Meghan's favourability has been dropping since YouGov started polling her in late 2017 (when Harry and Meghan got engaged). There was no peak for the Sussex's wedding, when Meghan was expecting a baby or when Archie is born. Spookily, Harry's popularity started to drop at the same time when Meghan arrives at the scene (excluding the drop in late 2012). Yes, there is a slight increase at mid-/late- 2019, but overall, Harry's favourability has dropped.
 
"New" YouGov Poll with two thirds supporting the continuation of the Monarchy

Despite the republicans' attempt to smear the monarchy and making it unpopular, 67% of Briton still prefer their country to "continue to have a monarchy". 21% wants "an elected head of state instead". Conor Ibbetson (data analyst) has written an article on YouGov at 4th December.

How do Britons want the future of the Royal family to look?
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politic...site_article&utm_campaign=royal_family_future

This is based on the survey results conducted on 2nd-4th October and some later dates with 1626 British adults. Link to the full results in PDF format: https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/tnt8vkmjp1/YouGov - Future of Royal Family Results.pdf
 
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At the end of the day, ultimately it's the British Public and citizen of nations with the "British" Monarch as the head of state (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc.) who gets to decide (most likely through referendums) on whether their country should be a constitutional monarchy or a Republic. At this point, based on YouGov, around 2/3 of the surveyed UK adults wants the monarchy to continue.

I also forgot to mention that 41% preferred Prince William to succeed the Queen (instead of Charles), 37% preferred Charles to succeed (as usual), 15% thinks there should be no monarch after the Queen and 11% don't know.

In a separate question: Who do you think will have the most influence on the future of the Royal family in the next decade?

Results on 19th-20th November 2019
Prince Charles and Camilla: 10%
Prince William and Kate: 65%
Prince Harry and Meghan: 9%
Don't know: 16%​

Results on 2nd-4th October 2020
Prince Charles and Camilla: 12%
Prince William and Kate: 68%
Prince Harry and Meghan: 7%
Don't know: 13%​

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/tnt8vkmjp1/YouGov - Future of Royal Family Results.pdf
 
In a separate question: Who do you think will have the most influence on the future of the Royal family in the next decade?

Results on 19th-20th November 2019
Prince Charles and Camilla: 10%
Prince William and Kate: 65%
Prince Harry and Meghan: 9%
Don't know: 16%​

Results on 2nd-4th October 2020
Prince Charles and Camilla: 12%
Prince William and Kate: 68%
Prince Harry and Meghan: 7%
Don't know: 13%​

https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/tnt8vkmjp1/YouGov - Future of Royal Family Results.pdf

I am at a loss to understand why a majority answered in this way. The Prince of Wales does not seem to be the sort of person who would delegate fundamental decisions about the future of the royal family to his son or anybody else.
 
I am at a loss to understand why a majority answered in this way. The Prince of Wales does not seem to be the sort of person who would delegate fundamental decisions about the future of the royal family to his son or anybody else.

Nor should he, if he’s King, unless he’s unable to do so. This is wishful thinking from people who want Charles to pass the crown to a William as if it’s a baton. If he’s still PoW, he has more “authority” than his son, so...
 
The goal for Camilla has always been to be accepted, not universally loved. 25 years ago she was probably the most hated woman in the UK, if not the World.
The fact that she's now a well known figure of the BRF and that people are used to it is already a success...




I don't hate Camilla but a lot of people still blame her for Diana. I think they would do better to keep the "princess consort" title or whatever the title was they were going to give her.
 
I don't hate Camilla but a lot of people still blame her for Diana. I think they would do better to keep the "princess consort" title or whatever the title was they were going to give her.

Why should they? Camilla doesn’t deserve to be singled out just because some nasty people hold a forever grudge against her..
 
I am at a loss to understand why a majority answered in this way. The Prince of Wales does not seem to be the sort of person who would delegate fundamental decisions about the future of the royal family to his son or anybody else.

I think The Crown might have influenced that - a lot of people take fiction for fact.
 
Why should they? Camilla doesn’t deserve to be singled out just because some nasty people hold a forever grudge against her..


Because it makes them liars who can't be trusted. But don't worry she'll be queen. I just think it's a mistake.
 
Because it makes them liars who can't be trusted. But don't worry she'll be queen. I just think it's a mistake.

Um, ok.....I don’t even know what to say to that, except that I couldn’t disagree with you more.
 
Because it makes them liars who can't be trusted. But don't worry she'll be queen. I just think it's a mistake.

Intentions change.

I 'intended to retire when I turned 65'. I retired when I was 61. Does that make me a liar or someone for whom circumstances changed?

Even in 2005 the PM said that Camilla would be Queen and then parliament would have to pass legislation to strip her of that title. That was in the week leading up to the wedding.

I can see them going the 'equality' route and having ALL future consorts as Prince/Princess Consort so not only Camilla but Catherine as well.
 
I like Camilla. I think she's a wonderful spouse and she's good at the job.

But I don't think she should be Queen. I don't think it matters to her one bit what her title is, and I agree that they should never have issued the "princess consort" statement as an appeasement if they weren't going to stick with it.

Charles should take a lesson from history and learn that you can't have absolutely everything.
 
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Intentions change.

I 'intended to retire when I turned 65'. I retired when I was 61. Does that make me a liar or someone for whom circumstances changed?

Even in 2005 the PM said that Camilla would be Queen and then parliament would have to pass legislation to strip her of that title. That was in the week leading up to the wedding.

I can see them going the 'equality' route and having ALL future consorts as Prince/Princess Consort so not only Camilla but Catherine as well.

Please see here for my reply.
 
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From reading at the graph, the biggest drop in favourability for both Harry and Meghan is the "Dec '19" mark. I know it's quite difficult to tell a very specific time with no micro scales on the time axis. However, I think the Sussex's exit as senior working royals, particularly on how they handle the situation was the main catalyst of their reduced favourability.

It's interesting to see that apart from a slight increase in early 2020, Meghan's favourability has been dropping since YouGov started polling her in late 2017 (when Harry and Meghan got engaged). There was no peak for the Sussex's wedding, when Meghan was expecting a baby or when Archie is born. Spookily, Harry's popularity started to drop at the same time when Meghan arrives at the scene (excluding the drop in late 2012). Yes, there is a slight increase at mid-/late- 2019, but overall, Harry's favourability has dropped.
2012 was Las Vegas, right? Or am I mixing things up?

This is very interesting, TBH, 4 years of trending upwards, without any hitch. These last few years have trully made me forget how universally liked Harry was in the UK.
(Also, obvious congratulations to ELF for a job very well done ;))
 
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