King seen as doing good job

MORE than half of the public think the King is doing a good job following a post-coronation boost, an Ipsos poll has shown, marking a slight rise in the numbers reporting positive feelings about the monarch.

Asked, to what extent, if at all, they thought the King was doing a good job or bad job, 53 per cent said they believed he was doing a good job, up from 49 per cent last month.

However, the numbers do not quite match the bounce in popularity that the King had in the immediate aftermath of Elizabeth II’S death. In both September and December 2022, 61 per cent said they thought he was doing a good job.

Meanwhile, half of those questioned this week think that too much was spent on the Coronation. A third thought it was costing too much before the event took place. Buckingham Palace has not revealed how much it cost to stage the event but unofficial estimates put it anywhere between £50million to £100 million.

The late Queen’s 1953 coronation cost £912,000, which is about £20.5million in today’s money.

Oliver Dowden, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said in February that the King had requested a “slimmeddown event” without “lavishness or excess” and was “mindful of ensuring that there is value for the taxpayer”.

◆ The majority of the public believe the police handled the King’s Coronation well despite controversy over the arrests of anti-monarchist protesters. More than half were happy with the way that the Metropolitan Police dealt with the event on Saturday, which is more than double the proportion who felt they handled it badly.