Poll shows that British support for the monarchy is at an all time low

With just over a week to go until King Charles’ coronation, a new poll has revealed that only three in 10 Britons think their monarchy is “very important” – the lowest proportion on record.

The survey, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), showed public support for the monarchy is at an all time low, with 45% of respondents saying either it should be abolished, was not very important, or not at all important.

That figure was 35% among respondents to a similar poll in 2022, the year of the late Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee.

NatCen’s data is based on 6,638 interviews and adds to 40 years of information collected for the annual British Social Attitudes survey. It also shows the number of people who say the monarchy is “very important” has fallen to 29% from 38% just last year. In fact, the number of those answering “very important” is at the lowest level since data collection began in 1983, reflecting a significant trend of declining support for the British monarchy.

2022 was an exceptional year for royal approval, thanks to a bump in popularity the family tends to receive during showpiece events like jubilees, births or weddings, like the Queen’s diamond celebration last year.

It’s a worrying result for soon-to-be-crowned King Charles and his wife Camilla ahead of their joint coronation at Westminster Abbey in London next Saturday (6 May).

Guy Goodwin, the chief executive of NatCen, explained: “Whilst we are observing a downward trend in support for the monarchy, it is clear from the data that important national events and celebrations, such as jubilees, marriages and births, have a clear and positive effect on society’s views towards the monarchy.”

“Throughout the 2010s, we saw an increase in support for Britain to continue to have a monarchy, which coincided with the marriage of HRH the Prince of Wales, and the queen’s diamond jubilee celebrations,” he added. 

Although it seems that attitudes have changed across the board, there is one group of respondents that have remained steadfast in their opinions: a quarter of those questioned said the monarchy was “not at all important / should be abolished” – and that proportion has remained unchanged since 2021.

Age also appears to be a factor in opinions on the royal family: just 12% of 18-to-34-year-olds view the monarchy as “very important”, compared with 42% of those aged 55 and older.

Goodwin says this is a concerning trend: “The challenge going forward will be for the monarchy to deliver its relevance and appeal to a younger generation to maintain this support”.