Prince William has received a vote of public confidence in his ability as a future monarch in a recent poll undertaken ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
The poll, conducted by Ipsos UK, found that 74 percent of 1,039 British adults surveyed think that William will do a "good job" as king, as opposed to 7 percent who responded that they thought he would do a "bad job."
The poll was undertaken as Britain prepares to celebrate the historic 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, who is the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history. The queen has surpassed her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, who reigned for 63 years and 216 days.
The British public's position on William as a future king comes as he was found to be the second-most popular member of the royal family in a recent round of polling by YouGov.
In a survey period from May 18-19, William received a total positive response of 75 percent over a total negative response of 16, accounting for a net positive score of 59.
Despite coming second only to the queen, who has a net positive score of 69 percent, William has seen his score decrease over recent months from 67 percent net positive in February to 61 percent in March and now 59 percent.
This fall could in part be attributed to criticism of the royal associated with the highly controversial tour of the Caribbean undertaken at the end of March.
The tour saw William and Kate Middleton face protests on each of their visits to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas, as well face calls to denounce the royal family's role in the transatlantic slave trade and open discussions surrounding reparations. These issues were accompanied by a series of PR blunders in the form of poorly chosen photo opportunities and engagements that were said to have colonialist undertones.
The Ipsos UK poll also surveyed Brits on their opinion as to whether Prince Charles will do a "good job" as future king. This saw 49 percent respond in the affirmative, against 20 percent who responded negatively.
Charles has seen public opinion on this matter altar dramatically over the last 30 years.
In a 1991, an Ipsos UK poll, a year before his separation from Princess Diana, the prince saw 82 percent of Brits say they believed he would be a "good king," which dropped to 41 percent in February 1996, the year the couple finally divorced.
According to YouGov's latest data, Charles is the fifth most popular royal behind the queen, William, Kate and Princess Anne.
Both Charles and William have seen increased levels of responsibility over the last year, taking on duties that have been delegated by the queen as a result of a series of health scares as well as what the palace has called "episodic mobility problems."
In March 2021, William saw the queen make him the Lord High Commissioner to the 2021 General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, where he represented his grandmother with an opening address.
In 2022, Charles has represented his mother at a number of high profile state ceremonies and commemorative services, including the commonwealth day service at Westminster Abbey in March and the Royal Maundy service at Windsor in April.
To date, the most high profile state event that both Charles and William have attended in the queen's stead was the State Opening of Parliament in May, at which both princes acted in their capacities as Counsellors of State.
As the monarch prepares to be celebrated with a central weekend of festivities over a special four day holiday weekend for her Platinum Jubilee, it's expected that William and Charles, along with other members of the royal family, may be asked to step in at any event the 96-year-old queen may be forced to withdraw from.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are included in the royals attending the jubilee festivities in what will be their first public visit to Britain since stepping down as full-time working royals in 2020 and the broadcast of their landmark interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Polling for Newsweek by Redfield & Wilton in May found that despite 47 percent of respondents saying they disliked the duchess, the British public still wanted her and Harry to be present for the jubilee. Some 59 percent said that the couple should attend, against 27 percent who said that they should not.
The central jubilee weekend runs from June 2-5 and will include a special Trooping the Colour ceremony and a Royal Air Force flypast, as well as a pop concert outside Buckingham Palace and pageant along The Mall featuring the Gold State Coach.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
