Royal Family haemorrhages support in 12 months since Queen’s death, polls show

It is almost one year to the day since the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Right up until her death, the late Queen held the title as the most popular royal, holding a dear place in the nation’s hearts for decades.

As soon as her death was announced, her eldest son Charles became King with his reign marking the start of a new royal era.

Since the late monarch’s death, the monarchy has continued to largely hold a strong amount of support from people across the UK – but how has it fared over the last 12 months?

Here, Express.co.uk delves into how the popularity of the Royal Family fares in the present day, with King Charles as monarch.

Royal Family’s popularity over the years

In April 2011, at the time of the Prince and Princess of Wales’s wedding, 69 percent of people that took part in a YouGov survey agreed that a monarchy should continue.

The figure fluctuated over the years, rising to 70 percent in October 2020 – undoubtedly influenced by the Royal Family’s bid to raise morale during the coronavirus lockdown.

By the time of the Queen’s death in September 2022 the figure was at 67 percent.

In the 12 months that followed, the popularity of the Royal Family has dropped to 62 percent. This marks a five percent dip in popularity since King Charles ascended the throne. While this statistic alone isn’t that worrying, the generational divide paints a bleaker picture.

Generation split

Over the course of the YouGov polls, the results show a vast split between the generations – particularly those aged between 18 and 24 and those aged over 65.

In 2011, 59 percent of 18 to 24 year-olds were in favour of having a monarchy, while 73 percent of over-65s were keen on the monarchy remaining.

The latest survey shows a staggering 80 percent of over-65s now vote in favour of the monarchy, with this being the only age bracket to show an increase.

Similarly, the 50-64 year old age bracket showed 71 percent in favour in 2011, compared to 67 percent in August 2023.

Almost two thirds (65 percent) of 25-49 year olds favoured having a monarchy in 2011, as opposed to only 56 percent now in 2023.

But 18-24 year olds appear to be turning their backs on the monarchy as just 37 percent want Britain to remain a monarchy, a significant drop of 22 percent in 12 years.

It is also a marked fall since the month of the Queen’s death, when 47 percent of the age bracket backed the monarchy.

This is a worrying statistic for the Royal Family, as the younger generation could well be the ones that determine their fate.

King Charles’s popularity then vs. now

In 2019, when he was still the Prince of Wales, 34 percent of people believed that Charles was doing a good job.

This increased dramatically at the time of the late Queen’s death, with 63 percent stating that Charles was doing a good job just a matter of days into his reign.

Almost one year on, in August 2023, only 59 percent feel as though King Charles is doing well in his position as monarch.

In 2019, 30 percent believed that Charles was not fulfilling his royal duties to an accepted level but, by the time he became King, only 15 percent still held this view.

Now, in August 2023, only 17 percent feel as though Charles is doing a bad job in his role as King.

What was Queen Elizabeth’s popularity – does anyone match this now?

The late Queen was always very popular amongst those in the UK.

In July 2019, 56 percert of those polled by YouGov stating that she was doing a ‘very good’ job as monarch.

This had only increased by the time the Queen was set to celebrate her 70-year reign in May 2022.

The poll conducted on how well she was doing in her role showed that 58 percent felt like she was doing a ‘very good’ job.

According to most recent YouGo poll, Prince William is the most popular royal.