Her Majesty still nation’s Firm favourite
A REMARKABLE 86 per cent of the public are satisfied with the Queen, while her heir, Prince Charles, now enjoys the approval of almost two-thirds of Britons.
A poll by Ipsos shows the Monarch remains the most popular member of the Royal Family, with satisfaction ratings higher than for her Golden Jubilee (82 per cent) and, despite recent controversies that have dogged the Windsors, not far below her score for the Diamond Jubilee (90 per cent).
More than half of respondents said the characteristic they most admired in the Queen was that she was ‘traditional’.
While their recent tour of the Caribbean was dogged with claims of ‘tone-deaf colonialism’, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are the next most popular royals – with Kate beating William to second.
The Duchess is considered by the public to be ‘modern’ and ‘a good representative of Great Britain on the world stage’ while a third of respondents said her husband ‘gives them confidence in the future of Britain’.
Princess Anne emerges as the fourth most likeable member of the family but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who will return to Britain for the Platinum Jubilee this week, fare less well after stepping back from royal life.
They represent the favourite member of the family for just 11 per cent and 6 per cent of the British public respectively.
Prince Charles, whose popularity ratings slumped to 42 per cent after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, has apparently survived any damage from the ‘cash for honours’ scandal at The Prince’s Foundation charity with a 65 per cent satisfaction rate.
The survey of 1,000 Britons, aged between 16 and 75, earlier this month also found almost seven in ten want Britain to remain a monarchy and four-fifths think it will remain so in ten years.
Kelly Beaver, chief executive at Ipsos in the UK, said: ‘Considering the life she has committed to her country and her people for 70 years, it is no surprise that the Queen firmly remains the nation’s favourite Royal Family member, with her strongest characteristics associated with tradition and for being a positive symbol of Britain who can unite people.’