God Save the King: The Declining Popularity of the British Monarchy
Image Credit: MARCA
Contrary to the expectations of some, it turns out that Queen Elizabeth II was not immortal. The United Kingdom has a new king, and the British national anthem has been updated, with bank notes, coins, and stamps soon to follow. But amid all the media attention surrounding this historic event, little seem to touch upon the fact that the monarchy is now statistically far more unpopular than it ever was. While Charles may have been delighted to see thousands of Brits outside Buckingham Palace welcoming him as their new monarch with cheers (and, to my mild disgust, kisses), what the polls reveal may be a hard pill for him to swallow.
According to YouGov, a prominent research company that publishes opinion polling based on millions of responses from the British public, Queen Elizabeth II was by far the most popular public figure in the UK, with a 75% approval rating as of the second quarter of 2022. In stark contrast, King Charles III (then Prince Charles) has a relatively dismal rating of 42%, even bested by Alan Sugar, a billionaire best known for being the host of the British counterpart to The Apprentice. Meanwhile, Bill Gates, the 15th most popular public figure, ranks higher than Queen Consort Camilla (then Camilla Parker Bowles) at 16th place. When the guy who faced conspiracy theories accusing him of planting chips through the COVID-19 vaccine is more liked by the public than the king’s wife, the royals don’t seem so majestic anymore.
With their widely-admired matriarch gone, the monarchy is scrambling to maintain a positive image, especially amid controversy regarding Prince Andrew. The younger brother of Charles resigned from public duties and was stripped of royal patronages after being accused of sexually abusing a 17-year old girl, trafficked to him by the notorious Jeffrey Epstein. On September 13th, while Andrew and his siblings walked behind their mother’s hearse in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of a funeral procession, a heckler yelled out, “Andrew, you’re a sick old man.” The man (the former, not the latter, unfortunately) was quickly led away from the street by police. A similar incident occurred during the proclamation of King Charles III, when Oxford history tutor Symon Hill was arrested for shouting, “Who elected him?” after coming upon a crowd of people waiting to see their new monarch take the throne.
Although one may disregard these acts as the tantrums of a disaffected minority, that minority is steadily growing. As of September 2022, YouGov reports that 20% of all Brits believe the monarchy should be replaced with an elected head of state, and only a third of 18-24 year olds think the monarchy is good for Britain. Generally, aside from the controversies surrounding individual members of the royal family, many youths dislike the institution of a monarchy itself and view it as outdated and elitist. Especially in a time when the UK is undergoing a severe natural gas crisis due to diminished supply from Russia and soaring gas prices worldwide, seeing the royals all comfortable and cozy in their opulent palaces while a quarter of citizens are planning to keep heating off this winter to save costs can certainly paint a terribly unjust picture.
On the other hand, supporters of the monarchy argue that the royal family acts as a source of reassurance and solidarity in times of turmoil, pointing to their extensive charity work (the Queen alone was a patron of more than 500 organizations) as the quintessence of service to the country. Furthermore, they claim that the royals are of significant value when it comes to attracting tourists. According to VisitEngland, the country’s official tourist board, the royals generate up to £500 million ($567 million) every year in tourism revenue. However, detractors note that this figure is not backed by solid evidence, and that even then it’s merely a tiny fraction of the £127 billion ($144 billion) that the world’s 10th most popular travel destination generates in tourism annually.
Regardless of your stance, one thing is for certain: times are changing, and future generations may not maintain the staunch loyalty to the monarchy that we see amongst the British public today. If enough people express a desire for structural reform, a referendum could be called (the most successful one so far received 7,506 out of the 10,000 necessary signatures to get a response from the government), which would decide the ultimate fate of a remarkable and tumultuous monarchy that has survived for well over a millennium.