Prince William and King Charles are facing an alarming popularity crisis as less than half of the British public support the sovereign, according to a new poll.
The poll by Savanta for the anti-monarchy group Republic found levels of support have fallen to 48 percent.
Survey members were asked: “What would you prefer for the UK, a monarchy or an elected head of state?”
The results showed that 48 percent of adults in the United Kingdom would prefer a monarchy while 32 percent said that they would prefer an elected head of state and 20 percent said they “don’t know.”
A new poll by Savanta for the anti-monarchy group Republic found levels of support have fallen to 48 percent.
The data was based on a representative sample of 2281 adults in the United Kingdom conducted online between January 5 and January 8, 2024.
These results put major pressure on the King and Prince William as fewer than half of the participants in all age groups support the royals.
Historically, the Royal Family have experienced higher levels of support from the older generation, but this poll shows that support is dwindling amongst generations up to age 54.
But support from the younger demographic of the UK's population remains the lowest as 35 percent of Gen Z would prefer a monarch compared to 35 percent opting for a head of state.
These results put major pressure on Charles’ sovereign and Prince William.
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It is even lower amongst 25-34 year olds, with 30 percent want to keep the monarchy while 44 percent would rather an elected head of state.
Rates of support have dropped since the death of Queen Elizabeth II who scored toward 70 percent in favour of the Royal Family, although this number began to drop in the final few years of her reign.
Royal commentator, Ed Owens told Newsweek: “I think it's striking. It's a poll that's been commissioned by Republic, which is clearly interested in revealing declining support for monarchy, but nevertheless, to see that 50 percent of the British public now outwardly claim to want a monarchy is a remarkable shift in opinion.
"As Republic notes, this is a significant drop over ten years. A more than 25 percent drop over the last decade.
Rates of support have dropped since the reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
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The public remain in favour of Princess Anne and the next generation of royals.
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"It speaks to many of the deeper concerns the public has over the state of the country, the state of the monarchy, recent scandals involving Prince Andrew and, of course, Harry and Meghan, as well.
"I think we can explain this downward trend in relation to those big events, the wider family scandal, and the dysfunction of the family, but I would also emphasize that this is a historic downward curve as well,” Owens said.
Republic also found that support for the monarchy dropped from 52 percent in November 2023 to 48 percent in just six weeks.
The Royal Family has experienced slumps in support before, notably after the death of Princess Diana. However, now the lack of support does not seem to stem from disinterest in the family but a rise in opposition.
The popularity of the next generation of royals remains strong as Prince William, Princess Kate are viewed positively in the eyes of the public, as is the King's sister Princess Anne.
A 2023 survey showed that 61 percent of respondents were “very favourable” or “mainly favourable” toward Prince William. This was closely followed by 59 percent in favour of Princess Anne and The Princess of Wales.
