The Scottish people are divided
A new YouGov/Times poll shows 50% of Scots support Britain having a royal family, and 41% think the tradition should continue even if Scotland became independent.
However, it’s a close call for the royals, with 40% saying they’d rather an independent Scotland have an elected head of state instead.
And although more than a third (37%) of Scots say the monarchy is currently good for Scotland generally speaking, 23% say the opposite.
Older Scots are far more likely to want to keep the monarchy
The royal family’s popularity in Scotland is currently dependent on its support among older residents.
Scottish over-65s are far more likely to support a continuing monarchy in an independent Scotland, with 62% preferring a monarchy to an elected head of state – but 63% of those aged 16 to 24 would choose an elected leader.
Likewise, fewer than one in ten 16 to 24-year-olds (9%) and less than a third of Scots aged 25 to 49 (28%) think the monarchy is good for Scotland.
That’s in stark contrast to the 47% of 50 to 64-year-olds and the 57% of over-65s who feel the same.
Younger people are also far less likely to think King Charles will perform well as reigning monarch, with a third of 16 to 24-year-olds (34%) saying he’ll do a good job compared to three-quarters of those over 65 (75%).
Overall, 58% of Scots believe Charles III will do a good job, though that falls to 16% when asked if he would do a “very” good job. Just over a fifth (21%) say they think he’ll do a bad job, including one in ten (10%) who say he’ll do a “very” bad job.
His son, however, is more well thought of by those north of the border. Seven in ten (70%) think Prince William would do a good job as king compared to just 10% who think he’d do badly.
However, neither Charles nor William can compete against the late Queen Elizabeth II, with 83% of Scots saying she did a good job – 58% a “very” good job – as the longest reigning monarch in the country’s history.
Overall, just 7% believe the Queen did a bad job – though that rises to more than a fifth (22%) of those aged between 16 and 24.
Like the monarchy as a whole, the Queen’s popularity – and that of her son and grandson – rises with age, with nearly all (96%) of over-65s believing she did a good job, compared to 93% of 50 to 64-year-olds, 77% of 25 to 49-year-olds and 65% of 16 to 24-year-olds.
Photo: Getty
