The British Royal Family is definitely the most scrutinised family of royal blood. As such, they attract a lot of opinion and controversy. Moreover, even though they are the most talked about royals in the world it doesn’t take away from the fact that they embody monarchy in a world where that governing model is moved away from.
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However, that being said, the British Royal Family has an immense amount of soft power. For instance, every year they impact the British economy and have significant influence on things such as brands sales.
Now, Newsweek reveals that a new poll shows that the British monarchy currently has ‘the support of less than half of Britain’ which is historic. But that poll is not the whole truth...
What does the new poll say?
According to Newsweek, a poll done by agency Savanta commissioned by Republic (an anti-monarchy group) shows that the British public no longer supports the monarchy. The poll sampled 2,200 UK adults.
There results are:
Just 48 percent of adults in the United Kingdom said they would prefer to be a monarchy compared to 32 percent who wanted to scrap the crown and 20 percent who answered "don't know."
Republic shared the news with their followers and they were thrilled with the results. On X, their posts read:
For the first time, support for a Monarchy in Britain has dropped below 50%, with it now at 48%. This represents a drop of almost 30 points in the last decade.
Republic also claims that this drop is, in part, due to the ‘allegations of sexual assault and rape against Prince Andrew.’ However, the drop is also due to many other factors including: a new King, Prince Harry and Meghan leaving, and the old age of most of the working royals.
The anti-monarchy group adds:
It’s simple. Support for the Monarchy is collapsing. Britain will have an elected Head of State, sooner rather than later.
This new poll indicates a historic shift in the Royal Family’s popularity as, during Queen Elizabeth’s reign, polls showed results as high as 70%. This poll also highlights that now older people are also increasingly against the monarchy.
Newsweek writes:
Among 35 to 44-year-olds, 34 percent wanted to keep the king, and 40 percent wanted to vote for Britain's head of state.
Signs of discontent were also visible among 45 to 54-year-olds, though they still came out in favor of the crown, with 47 percent wanting the monarchy and 32 percent a republic.
These results are also part of a broader discontent in Britain over how the country is ruled. Historian Ed Owens who spoke to Newsweek explains:
We can't discount the significance of a deeper disenchantment with the state of the country not necessarily simply with government but with the way the country works and I think the monarchy acts as a kind of lightning rod for people's frustration, this deeper sense of unhappiness about the status quo.
Lack of popularity yes, but that’s not all…
Though the poll conducted by Savanta is still a completely valid source of data, the popularity of the British Royal Family is not that simple to interpret. Indeed, while this poll shows a historic low, TV ratings show the opposite.
On Boxing-Day 2023, BBC broadcasted an exclusive documentary - Charles III: The Coronation Year. This documentary showed the world the behind-the-scenes of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s first year as monarchs including never before seen footage of the coronation and its rehearsals.
After the day of the release, it came out that the programme was the one of the most watched on TV on the bank holiday. Express writes:
With 3.7 million people tuning in, it attracted 3.9 million viewers at its peak. The BBC documentary seemed to have been popular with a large majority.
The producer of the documentary took to X to share his view of those phenomenal results:
Great team effort at Oxford Films. Thank you for all the kind comments. The King’s broadcast was also the UK’s most-watched programme on Christmas Day (down on 2022 but still well in front).
He also added a very valid point:
Whatever the challenges for the monarchy in 2024, it would seem that lack of interest is not one of them #Charlesiii.
It is true that, as much as this poll suggests a change for the worst for the Royal Family, other indicators suggest otherwise.
And, we must say, as long as the royals have this much attention, they aren’t going anywhere because, as it had been proven before: their biggest power lies in their image.
Read more:
⋙ Prince Harry and Meghan: New poll reveals new height in their popularity as Archewell loses millions
⋙ Sarah Ferguson dials back support for Prince Andrew as Epstein victim doubles down on claims
⋙ King Charles might need to reward these two 'unsung heroes' of the Royal Family, according to expert
Sources:
Newsweek: King Charles, Prince William's Crisis Deepens
Express: King Charles defies critics as BBC documentary is most watched show on Boxing Day
