58% of Britons have a positive opinion of King Charles, the lowest level since he ascended to the throne
Key takeaways
- While 58% of Britons see King Charles positively, his latest net favourability rating of +24 is his lowest since he became King
- The Prince and Princess of Wales remain the most popular royals, with 72-74% of Britons having a positive opinion of them
- Opinion towards Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has become more negative since the summer, with Meghan’s latest net rating of -48 the lowest recorded by our tracker to date
- 64% of Britons believe the UK should continue to have a monarchy, while just 25% would rather the UK had an elected head of state instead
With King Charles III reaching four years on the throne and the Sussexes returning to the UK, it’s been a busy few months for the royal family. But has this changed opinion towards them?
The King himself continues to be largely popular, though opinion towards him has fallen slightly since the July edition of our royal family tracker series. While nearly six in ten Britons (58%) have a positive opinion of Charles III, this is down four points since the summer, and is the lowest level since he ascended to the throne. This is against the proportion of Britons seeing him negatively rising three points to 34%, the joint highest proportion under his reign.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales remain the most positively viewed royals, with nearly three quarters of Britons (72-74%) seeing the Waleses in a positive light, figures largely unchanged over the last few years. Positivity is similarly high and unmoved towards Princess Anne, with two thirds of the public (68%) holding a favourable opinion of the Princess Royal.
The public also tend to be fond of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, with 51% of Britons having positive opinions of Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, compared to only 20% and 13% respectively holding negative views.
Queen Camilla is more divisive, with the public split between the 42% with a positive view of the Queen and the 45% with a negative view of her.
The Sussexes are still viewed in a negative light, with opinion even less favourable now than it was prior to their decision to return to the UK. Just 29% of Britons have a positive opinion of Prince Harry, down four points since July, while roughly twice as many - a full 60% - view the Duke unfavourably.
Only 20% of Britons have a positive opinion of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, while 68% see her critically, up three points since the summer and leaving the American princess with a net favourability rating in October of -48, the lowest recorded by our tracker to date.
Less popular still is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew), who retains his status as one of the most unpopular people in the country. Our latest figures show a mere 4% of Britons hold a positive view of the one-time Duke of York, while nine in ten (89%) see him in a negative light.
What do Britons think of the monarchy, October 2026?
Attitudes towards the family and monarchy as a whole remain mostly positive, with clear majorities of the public (55-58%) seeing the royal family in general and the institution of the monarchy in favourable lights, though a persistent 34-35% see both negatively.
Most Britons (52%) additionally feel that the monarchy is good value for money, even if 31% feel that the country is seeing a poor return from the Sovereign Grant, while the public are much more likely to describe themselves as feeling proud of the institution (44%) than embarrassed (18%).
Overall, desire to see the monarchy come to an end remains a minority view, with an unchanged 64% of Britons believe the UK should continue as a Kingdom, consistent with the 61-67% who have felt so throughout Charles’s four-year reign. A quarter of the public (25%), however, would rather the UK had an elected head of state.
How does opinion towards the royal family vary by age?
Support for the monarchy is, however, not uniform among all Britons, with younger Britons noticeably less in favour of the institution. While over 65s support Britain continuing to have a monarchy by a decisive 81% to 14%, less than half of 18-24 year olds (46%) favour maintaining the royal family, with a third (33%) instead saying they would prefer an elected head of state.
Indeed, for this younger generation, the monarchy is as likely to be a source of embarrassment (26%) than pride (31%), a noticeable contrast to the situation among older Britons, with 61% of over 65s saying they are outright proud of Britain’s monarchy, relative to only 9% feeling ashamed of it.
This generational difference extends to individual members of the royal family. Whereas nearly nine in ten over 65s (87-88%) have a positive opinion of Prince William and wife Catherine, only a little over half of 18-24 year olds (51-55%) feel the same, with as many as 20% seeing Prince William negatively.
Likewise, while the older generation see the King favourably by 76% to 22%, he divides younger Britons, with 18-24 year olds split 38% to 39% in their opinion of Charles.
Harry and Meghan are, however, exceptions. Although 18-24 year olds still tend to see them negatively, they are more likely than over 65s to have positive opinions of either the Duke (34% vs 19%) or Duchess of Sussex (25% vs 10%), with only 41-42% of the younger generation seeing either negatively, compared to 78-84% of older Britons.
Methodology
- Sample size: An online survey of 2,116 adults aged 18+ living in Great Britain
- Fieldwork: 22 to 23 October 2026
- Commissioned by: YouGov
Click here for more information about how we carry out research
Interested in taking YouGov surveys? What do you think about King Charles III, the monarchy in general, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
Interested in commissioning YouGov research? We connect in real-time with real people around the world to gather their thoughts, behaviours, and opinions, to ensure that our research data is powered by reality. Explore our survey services here.
Photo: Getty
