The royal family are a bit like Marmite, some people think they are a wonderful institution and others think they are an outdated relic that should be shown the door.
Still, around two-thirds of people in Britain reckon the monarchy should stick around.
A new book has been making a stir with fresh claims about Prince Andrew. It says he knew Jeffrey Epstein for ten years longer than he has admitted, that shady foreign agencies might have dirt on him, and that he once got into a scuffle with Prince Harry and ended up with a bloody nose.
None of this has done much for his popularity. The latest YouGov poll puts him right at the bottom of the royal league table, again.
Only 5% of the public have anything nice to say about the King’s brother. That has hardly changed since his car-crash Newsnight interview in 2019. A whopping 87% still have a bad opinion of him.
At the other end of the scale, Prince William is the clear favourite, with 74% giving him the thumbs up. His wife Catherine isn’t far behind at 71%, and Princess Anne is also riding high on 70%.
King Charles holds majority support, with 59% saying they like him, almost the same number as those who think he’s doing a decent job.
It’s not such a rosy picture for Prince Harry and Meghan. Just 28% have a good view of Harry, and only 20% say the same for Meghan. Her score matches her worst ever in these polls.
Generally speaking, the older you are, the more likely you are to like the royals (unless we’re talking about Harry, Meghan, or Andrew). King Charles is liked by only 30% of 18–24-year-olds, compared to 77% of over-65s. Harry and Meghan do slightly better with younger people, but even then, they are still more unpopular than not. Among the over-65s, just 17% have a good word for Harry and only 10% for Meghan.
Overall, support for the monarchy as an institution is still solid. About 62% of people have a positive view of the royal family as a whole, and 58% think the monarchy itself is a good thing. That’s roughly double the number who hold the opposite opinion.
When it comes to the big constitutional question, two-thirds (65%) want to keep the monarchy. Only about a quarter (23%) would rather swap them for an elected head of state, though no one’s rushing to suggest who’d want that job.
What are your thoughts? Do you think the royal family are worth their weight in gold, or should we be showing them the door?
