King Charles and Prince William have seen a coronation boost to their popularity, a new poll has revealed.
The Ipsos survey for the Evening Standard shows just under two thirds of adults in Britain are satisfied with the way the King is doing his job, up six points from April to 63 per cent. William has seen an even bigger jump in his satisfaction rating among the public, up 11 points from before the coronation to 73 per cent.
However, the number of people backing Britain becoming a republic hit 28 per cent, a record for the 30 years Ipsos has tracked views on this. Forty three per cent of those polled say the country would be worse off if the monarchy was abolished, 17 per cent say better off, and 35 per cent believe it would make “no difference”.
The coronation itself does not appear to have significantly swayed views on the monarchy, with 61 per cent saying it had made no difference, 19 per cent now having a more positive opinion of the monarchy, and the same figure a more negative feeling.
The survey comes after the coronation was beamed around the world in a show of pomp and pageantry. It also follows earlier allegations made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex against the royals in their Netflix series and Harry’s book Spare.
During the enthronement, the Prince of Wales, 40, paid homage to his father, 74, as he became the 40th reigning monarch to be crowned at Westminster Abbey since 1066.
The poll found that far more older people are pleased with the way the King is doing his job, with a score of 77 per cent among the 65 and above age group, compared with 50 per cent for those aged 18 to 34.
Fifty five per cent of Londoners were satisfied with the King, and 18 per cent dissatisfied, with 27 per cent “don’t know”, though the regional sample sizes for the poll are small so are indicators rather than definitive findings. The region where he has the greatest backing for his performance was the South, outside the capital, at 73 per cent, with Scotland the lowest at 50 per cent.
More women than men voiced satisfaction in how William was doing as Prince of Wales, 76 per cent to 71 per cent respectively. He scored particularly highly among older people, at 83 per cent for those aged 65 and over, and 62 per cent for 18 to 34-year-olds.
His satisfaction rating was 64 per cent in London and 74 per cent in the wider South; the highest figure was in the Midlands at 80 per cent, the lowest, 61 per cent, in Scotland.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos UK, said: “Both King Charles and Prince William have seen improvements in their public satisfaction ratings after the Coronation, to levels that most politicians would be only too delighted to receive.” But he added that the rise in backing for a republic “reinforces the importance for the royals to reach out to those who are more lukewarm in their support — especially young people”.
The poll found a slight rise, from 25 per cent in March to 28 per cent, in the number of adults who would support the country becoming a republic, including four in 10 people aged 18 to 34, compared with 16 per cent of over-65s. In London,
45 per cent held this view, the highest figure among regions alongside Scotland, with the lowest being in the South at 21 per cent. Men were more likely than women to back a republic, by 32 per cent to 24 per cent.
Ipsos interviewed 1,006 adults in Britain by phone between May 10 and 16. Data are weighted.
