Two-thirds prefer Britain to remain a Monarchy

The latest Ipsos Political Monitor, taken 6 to 12 September 2023, explored public attitudes to the Royal Family and King Charles in particular.

Future of the Monarchy

Overall, when presented with a choice, 66% of Britons would prefer Britain to remain a Monarchy and 25% would favour a Republic (9% don’t know). Support for the Monarchy has increased 4 points from May and is now back at March levels.

However, support is weaker amongst younger age groups with around half (49%) of 18-34s preferring a Monarchy, 36% favouring a Republic and 14% saying they don’t know.

King Charles and Prince William

63% are satisfied with the job King Charles is doing as Monarch and 19% are dissatisfied. Satisfaction is unchanged from May but 6 points up from April (since April, ‘don’t knows’ have fallen by 11 points, while dissatisfaction is up by 4 points).

Again those aged 18-34 are less satisfied than the overall population, although more are satisfied (43%) than dissatisfied (32%). Overall, 7 in 10 think the King is performing his role as Monarch as expected (71%), with 14% saying he is doing better and just 5% saying he is doing worse than expected.

Prince William commands even higher satisfaction ratings with the general public (74%) and those aged 18-34 (58%). Just 10% are dissatisfied overall, rising to 18% amongst 18-34s.  Again views are little changed since May, though satisfaction is up 12 points since April, with ‘don’t knows’ down by 12.

Keiran Pedley, Director of Political Research at Ipsos, said, “King Charles and Prince William enjoy satisfaction ratings Britain’s politicians could only dream of, with support for the Monarchy overall continuing to be strong in the country.

“However, with one in four supporting a Republic, such sentiment can hardly be considered a fringe view, especially amongst younger Britons, so this will be a trend to keep an eye on in future.”