As Queen Elizabeth II approaches her platinum jubilee, the first British monarch to do so, the royal family is also facing a difficult time. Headlines on the upcoming trial of the Duke of York are competing with plans for the jubilee.
Meanwhile, news coverage suggests that the queen and other royals, notably the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, remain popular and much loved.
The history of the British monarchy shows that ebbs and flows of popularity were not unusual, especially in the last 200 years – an era when the royal family began to be presented to the public via the mass media.
