The Prince and Princess of Wales remain the most positively viewed members of the royal family
The last few years have been a turbulent time for the royals, from the death of Queen Elizbeth II, Britain’s most popular monarch, to the unfortunate series of serious medical diagnoses for senior royals last year. But holding reasonably steady are how positively key royals are seen by their public.
The most popular royals remain the Prince and Princess of Wales, with 74% of Britons having a positive opinion of both William and Catherine. But Princess Anne is not far behind the top couple, with 70% of the public seeing the Princess Royal in a positive light.
King Charles is seen positively by six in ten Britons (59%), but negatively by a third (34%). While this net favourability score of +25 is noticeably better than any leading politician, it is down from +33 in December and is Charles’s lowest rating with YouGov since he became King.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh are also seen positively by most Britons, with a small majority (53-55%) having a good opinion of Prince Edward and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
Camilla, Queen Consort continues to divide opinion, with 45% of the public having a positive opinion of her and 43% holding a negative opinion of the Queen, while Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are seen positively by four in ten Britons (40-41%) and negatively by a quarter (24-25%).
Less positively viewed are the Sussexes, with twice as many Britons having a negative view (61%) of Prince Harry than a positive one (30%), while two-thirds of the public (68%) have an unfavourable view of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, compared to just one in five (21%) who see her favourably.
It is Prince Andrew, however, who remains the least popular royal, with nine in ten Britons (89%) now seeing the Duke of York negatively.
Do all Britons see the royal family the same way?
For most of the senior royals, there are sizeable generational differences in how they are viewed, with older Britons tending to have more favourable opinions than younger Britons. For instance, the 91% of over 65s with a positive opinion of Princess Anne is roughly double the 45% of 18-24 year olds who see her similarly.
Harry and Meghan are the two main exceptions to this rule. Nearly half of 18-24 year olds (48%) have a positive opinion of Prince Harry, compared to just one in six over 65s (18%), while 36% of 18-24 year olds see Meghan favourably, relative to only 10% of over 65s.
In fact, among 18-24 year olds, Harry is one of the most popular royals, only slightly less favourably viewed than Prince William (55% have a positive view) and Catherine, Princess of Wales (53%). He is also seen noticeably more positively than King Charles (33%) or Camilla, Queen Consort (20%).
How do Britons view the monarchy as a whole?
Beyond the royals as individuals, most Britons remain positive about royalty, with 58% holding a positive opinion of the royal family as a whole and 55% of the institution of the monarchy. This is against 35-36% of the public who hold negative views of either.
But there is a clear political divide here. Conservative voters are the most positive about royalty, with more than eight in ten (84-86%) viewing the family and institution positively, something true of two-thirds of Reform UK voters (68%) and six in ten Lib Dems (59-61%).
Labour voters, however, are more divided, with 46% having a negative opinion of the royal family and of the institution of the monarchy, roughly equal to the 49% who see the family positively and 43% who are favourable towards the institution of the monarchy.
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Photo: Getty
