Euro opinion on Kate photos

October 05, 2012, 11:09 AM GMT+0

Majority of people in Britain and several European countries are against publication of Kate topless photos, YouGov study reveals

YouGov’s EuroTrack survey, a multi-country study tracking public opinion in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway, has revealed that a majority of people in all the countries surveyed say it was wrong for magazines to publish photos of the Duchess of Cambridge sunbathing topless. Opposition to the images was strongest in Britain, at 80%, and weakest in France (60%), where the photos were originally published.

Legal action

The controversy over the photos, taken in secret while the Duchess and Prince William were on holiday in France, has been reignited by the decision of a Danish magazine to print previously unpublished photos showing the Duchess bottomless. The YouGov EuroTrack survey also revealed that a majority (54%) of people in Denmark believe the Royal Family is right to take legal action against the French magazine that originally published the photos. The study was carried out during the Royal Family’s successful legal action in France, and before the publication of the bottomless photos in Denmark.

A majority of the public in the UK (69%), Germany (55%) and France (55%) were also in favour of the Royal Family’s decision to sue the magazine, but respondents in the Nordic countries (aside from Denmark) were less supportive.

  • 43% of people in Sweden believe the Royal Family should take legal action, while 35% say they should not
  • In Finland, 39% were supportive of the Royals suing, and 45% were not
  • 45% of people in Norway were in favour of legal action, and 38% were against it

Opinions about the press

The survey also found that sizeable majorities in every country surveyed except for Norway believe the media report too much about peoples’ lives and don’t give them enough privacy. This sentiment was strongest in Britain, where 73% of respondents said the media is too intrusive, while only 6% say the press gives people too much privacy, and 15% say the media gets the balance about right. In Norway, 38% say the media is too intrusive, while 10% believe the press gives people too much privacy and don’t report stories that would be of legitimate public interest, and 45% say the balance is about right.

See the results here

For more information contact YouGov PR Executive Harris MacLeod

And click here for the full original press release