Younger Brits Turn Away From The Royal Family Ahead of King Charles' Coronation
Exclusive poll finds only a minority of under 40s still want to keep the Royals, with only limited public enthusiasm found for the upcoming coronation
Brits under the age of 40 would prefer to switch to an elected head of state rather than keep the Royal family, according to an exclusive new poll for the Byline Supplement, which found only limited public enthusiasm for King Charles’ upcoming coronation.
Pollsters Omnisis asked voters whether they would prefer to have an elected head of state, or retain the current system of a hereditary monarchy.
Among all voters just 43% said they definitely wanted to keep the Royal family, compared to 30% who would prefer a head of state.
However the number preferring an elected head of state rose to 37% among under 40s, compared to just 33% who wanted to keep the current system.
Despite some coverage suggesting widespread public enthusiasm for next week’s coronation of King Charles, our poll found only limited enthusiasm for the occasion.
Asked to rate their excitement on a scale of one to ten, with one being not excited at all and 10 being very excited, just 10% of voters put themselves right at the top of the scale, compared to 25% who put themselves right at the bottom. Overall, the average voter put themselves at just 5 on the scale.
The findings also suggest that many Brits will simply ignore the coronation altogether.
Just 42% of Brits plan to watch the event live, compared to 43% who say they won’t bother.
Young Brits Say Media Treatment of Meghan Markle is Racist
The apparent dissatisfaction among younger Brits with the Royal family may be at least partly driven by the treatment of Harry and Meghan.
Asked whether the couple had been unfairly treated by the media, a plurality of Brits said that they hadn’t, by 46% to 35%.
However, among voters under 40, the situation was reversed, with 43% saying they had been treated unfairly, compared to 35% who said they hadn’t.
Young voters had an even stronger response to the question of whether the coverage of Meghan Markle had been racist. Among all voters, a plurality said it hadn’t been, by 44% to 35%.
However, almost half (49%) of under 40s said some of the coverage had been racist, with just 31% disagreeing.
King Attenborough
Omnisis also asked voters who they would like as the UK’s elected head of state, were the UK to ditch the Royal Family.
Asked to pick between a selection of well known public figures and politicians, David Attenborough was the most picked, with 22% saying they would like him in the role.
Labour leader Keir Starmer was the next most popular pick, with 8% of voters saying they want him as head of state, followed by Rishi Sunak with 7%.
Former Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was the next most popular choice for head of state, with 5% of voters.
Clock is Ticking For the Royals
The findings are the latest sign that public enthusiasm for the Royal family may be beginning to wane in the UK.
While overall support for the Royals remains among the population as a whole, the generation of voters under 40 appear to be increasingly looking for an alternative.
Revelations over the treatment of Harry and Meghan by the Royal family, and parts of the British media, may well be a driving factor in the growing disillusionment among younger Brits.
However, even among older voters there appears to be a substantial minority, who would like the UK to switch to an elected head of state.
And if the generational shift found in this poll continues, then public support for the current system could continue to shrink over the coming years.