Princess Kate no longer the most popular royal: Poll
The Princess of Wales has been knocked off her perch as the most popular member of the British royal family – but she’s unlikely to be too concerned.
Source: Wimbledon
New data shows Kate is now runner-up to husband Prince William as the public’s favourite royal.
The survey, by the British branch of global public opinion and data company YouGov, revealed 74 per cent of Brits have a favourable opinion of William – compared to 71 per cent for the princess.
Kate has regularly topped surveys for popularity since marrying William in 2011. In 2024, amid her cancer battle, she received a standing ovation when she appeared at Wimbledon and, as recently as February this year, she still held the No.1 spot.
William has also long been a popular royal figure. But a new side of him was revealed last year as he dealt with the illnesses of his wife and his father (the King is still being treated for his cancer), and took on more solo engagements.
The survey also confirmed the most unpopular royals.
Languishing in bottom spot, with just 5 per cent approval, is the King’s brother Prince Andrew. The survey came as a new biography paints a deeply unflattering portrait of the scandal-plagued Duke of York — alleging everything from a violent altercation with his nephew, Prince Harry, to lurid behaviour involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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YouGov head of data journalism Matthew Smith said Andrew’s deep unpopularity had changed little since his disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019. It was a significant moment in the late Queen Elizabeth II deciding her second son must quit public duties.
Other royals to get the cold shoulder from the British public included the California-based Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Prince Harry and wife Meghan continue to be disliked by much of the public. Only 28 per cent have a positive opinion of the Duke of Sussex, with fewer still saying the same of the Duchess (20 per cent),” Smith said.
“Across the board, these results are little different from our previous survey in May, although Meghan Markle’s figure does remain the joint-lowest on record.”
Overall, the results were good for the royals, with most Britons having a positive view of the family. Some 59 per cent of those polled said the monarchy was beneficial to Britain, 54 per cent considered the family good value for money, and 47 per cent said they were proud of the monarchy.
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The King’s performance is perhaps best described as solid, with support from 59 per cent of the public.
He was trumped by his sister, the Princess Royal, who took out third place with a popularity score of 70 per cent. Princess Anne, who turns 75 on Friday, has long been considered the hardest-working member of the royal family.
In 2024, she stepped up her workload even further to allow the King time to recover after his cancer diagnosis.
At the weekend, the royal family released a portrait of Anne and husband Sir Tim Laurence, taken in honour of her upcoming birthday – and the first new official shot in years. Rather than a party to celebrate her milestone, she and Laurence will reportedly be sailing around the islands of western Scotland.
Earlier, Anne invited hundreds of charities and organisations to a gathering at Buckingham Palace to help mark the occasion.
“She’s incredibly kind, and her human approach comes across. You feel as though you’re talking to someone who really cares and understands,” Tanya Curry, the chief executive of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, of which Anne has been patron since 2008, told HELLO! magazine.
Moazzam Malik, Save the Children’s chief executive, also had warm words for the Princess Royal: “She’s low-key, she’s self-effacing, she doesn’t want to take the limelight, but she’s very committed. You can see that she cares about the state of Britain and the state of the world.”
YouGov found that, beyond the individual royals, the British public remained clear in its support of the royalty.
“Six in 10 Britons have a positive view of both the family as a whole (62 per cent) and the underlying institution of the monarchy (58 per cent),” Smith said.
“This is roughly double the number of Britons holding the opposing views, with three in 10 (30 per cent) holding a negative opinion of the ruling family and 32 per cent sceptical of the monarchy.”
The survey also found that 65 per cent of the public backed a monarch while only 23 per cent wanted an elected head of state.
