A NEW YouGov poll shows a majority of Britons (52%) are not interested in the King Charles’s coronation, with just 15% “very interested”.
The poll also shows a large majority (73%) believe the royals should pay for some or all of the coronation – with 37% saying they should pay for the entire coronation and 36% saying they should pay for the procession and ceremony while the UK Government should fund police and security.
If given the choice, 61% would not contribute their taxes to fund the event.
Campaign group Republic, who commissioned the poll, welcomed the results and called on broadcasters to do better in reflecting the diversity of views on the monarchy and the coronation.
Speaking for the group, Graham Smith said on Tuesday: "When only 15% are enthusiastic about the coronation and - according to other polls - more than 30% want the monarchy abolished, it's hard to claim this is a national celebration. Or that we're a nation of royalists."
"Of course, it's easy to be fairly interested even if you're also fairly indifferent to the monarchy. It's a big event that's being endlessly promoted with few critical voices being heard on TV and radio. But that's a far cry from the national enthusiasm and celebration being projected by some in the media."
"The picture is clear: we are not a nation gearing up to celebrate the coronation - and that's a good thing. Most of us aren't that interested, and most of us think the royals should pay. A growing number of us want the monarchy abolished."
"Sadly, this won't change the fact that the coronation will be trumpeted as a national event and the taxpayer will still pick up the £100 million bill."
The YouGov results also found that an even larger majority Scots (57%) were not interested in the coronation.
A subset of the total sample size of 2,002 adults polled by YouGov, 45% of those surveyed said the royal family should pay for the entire coronation and 24% said they should pay for the procession and ceremony.
SNP MP Tommy Sheppard said the figures suggest a “significant change in attitude among the general public”.
He added: “This calls into question the relevance of the monarchy in a 21st century modern democratic system.
“And obviously at a time when there's a cost of living crisis, it's not a good move to be lavishing millions of pounds of taxpayers money on pomp and circumstance.”
