The Blessing of the People

Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

     

     The Queen’s full official title in the UK is, Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

     Ever since Henry VIII, the titles of monarchs has included the phrase “by the Grace of God”, and Elizabeth II, being the devout Christian she is, believes that being on the throne is a God-given duty. But she also knows that in this day and age, it’s not enough to receive the blessing of God to be proclaimed as monarch, because the modern monarchy needs the blessing of the people in order for it to exist. So if a new ComRes survey by the Sunday Telegraph is any indication, the monarchy has the blessing of the public in abundance going forward in the future. 

Polling regarding the monarchy in general

• On the question of whether Britain is better off as a monarchy or a republic, 66% of respondents said “Yes” and 17% each responded “No” or “Don’t know.” 
• When asked if Britain would be better off or worse off without the royal family, 53% responded “Worse off”, only 14% responded “Better off”, 23% responded “Makes no difference”, and ten percent responded “Don’t know.”
• On the issue of royal finances, 43% of respondents agreed that the monarchy was good value for money (£36.1 million – about $55 million this year) and 40% disagreed, while 17% were not sure. 

Polling on individual members of the royal family

• According to the survey, nearly three-quarters of respondents believed that the recently-born Prince George will be king one day. Only 9% believed of total respondents believed that he would not be king because by then, Britain will have become a republic. 
• The Queen was ranked as the most liked member of the royal family at 26%, while Prince William was second at 19%. Following him were Prince Harry, Kate (Duchess of Cambridge), Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, and Camilla (Duchess of Cornwall), in that order. 
• On the issue of succession, 42% believe that Prince Charles ought to ascend to the throne upon the death (or very unlikely abdication) of his mother, while 38% would prefer to see Prince William directly succeed his grandmother. Only 14% believe that Britain should become a republic with an elected head of state. 

Opinion and Analysis

     

     So what do these numbers mean? They show that overall, that the monarchy does indeed have the blessing of the people – and by wide margins. Amongst people of all ages and backgrounds, as well as among genders and throughout the regions of the UK, the 

The Diamond Jubilee was a moment of national
celebration for the United Kingdom. Here, the Thames Pageant
consisted of over 1,000 vessels and was attended by an
estimated one million people along the banks of the river.

monarchy enjoys substantial support. There have been some republicans (anti-monarchists) who have remarked that large events such as the Royal Wedding in 2011, the Diamond Jubilee celebrations last year, and the birth of Prince George actually present the best opportunities to them to get their message out. They usually say that their exposure in the media goes up, or that they receive more traffic on their Facebook pages during royal events, which in their eyes means that there is a burgeoning republican movement that will soon displace the monarchy. But in my estimation, these new numbers discredit such a notion. It may be true that some people get tired of the wall-to-wall media coverage, but that does not necessarily mean that they want to abolish the monarchy. Indeed, with nearly three-quarters of respondents believing that Prince George will be king, it can be suggested that there is a sense among British people (including some republicans) that the monarchy will continue for at least the remainder of this century. Even among the group thought likely to hold republican views – 18-24 year olds – support for a republic is at a lowly 18%.

     With regard to the personal popularity of individual members of the royal family, it’s not surprising that the Queen is ranked ahead 

The Queen's personal popularity remains
high as she has steered the monarchy
through difficult waters in the course of her reign.
This mosaic is by Helen Marshall.

of everyone else. After all, she is the reigning monarch and has been a pillar of British society and culture virtually since the day she was born in 1926. It is interesting however, that Prince Charles is outranked by his father, sons, and daughter-in-law, even though he is the heir to the throne. I will tackle the issue of Charles’ popularity in a later section of this posting, but what I will say here is that it is clear that William and Kate (as well as Harry, apparently despite his Vegas escapade last summer) have made their mark as the young and modern faces of the monarchy. They have helped to make the ancient institution less stuffy and formal, and more approachable, relaxed, and dare I say, cool.

     But the survey also found that the public have mixed attitudes towards royal finances and the matter of the succession.

     The issue of royal finances has always been tight-rope for the monarchy. For republicans, it’s one of their main talking points on why the monarchy ought to be abolished. Following the fire at Windsor Castle in 1992, the public reacted negatively towards the notion that taxpayer money should go towards the restoration of the heavily-damaged building, and it does not help the case for funding the monarchy when escapades such as Prince Harry’s romp in Las Vegas are exposed to the public. But there’s more to royal finances than meets the eye, and I intend to tackle the issue more comprehensively in a later posting. For now, I can say that polls continuously show that while the British public support the monarchy, they are lukewarm towards providing money for its 

Finances can be a tender issue for the monarchy.

operation. But a case could be made that people feel much the same way towards many things: they like it, but don’t want to pay for it (for example, it has been said that Americans like Norwegian-style benefits, programs, and services, but do not want the Norwegian-style taxes necessary to pay for them). Even so, while the British public is split on whether the monarchy represents good value for money, they do seem to appreciate the pomp and pageantry it provides. And of course, few decline an invitation from the Palace, and many appreciate royal visits to their towns and cities.

     With regard to the succession, Prince Charles has done much to improve his standing with the public (especially after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales). From championing causes such as the environment and improving opportunities in the inner cities, he has 

The Prince of Wales has waited longer than any royal heir
in history, but he is less popular than his sons,
and some critics have questioned his fitness to be king.

shown himself to be useful in areas where politicians dare not venture. He has raised tons of money for his various charities, and takes a personal interest in their success. But the prince still has some negatives. There are some people who will never forgive him for his conduct during his marriage to Diana, and for what eventually happened to her in 1997. More critically, he is seen as being too much of an advocate for his causes, which has raised concerns that he is “meddling” in the affairs of government by expressing his personal views to government ministers on issues that are important to him. In an interview he gave to Robert Hardman of the Daily Mail prior to his 60^th birthday in 2008, Charles hinted that he will likely have to curb many of his advocacy activities when he 

In most opinion polls, the Duke of
Cambridge outranks his father.

succeeds his mother, but his critics are not convinced that he will not use his position as king to influence government policy in such a way which may go beyond his powers as a constitutional monarch. Prince William on the other hand, is seen as a “safe bet”, who will stick to the light-touch monarchy of his grandmother. Also, being Diana’s son, there are those who see him as the only inheritor of her legacy (the People’s Prince), and as such, look much forward to his succession to the Crown and not Charles’. William is also seen as younger, fresher, more in tune with the times, and in partnership with Kate, has made the monarchy popular to the present and upcoming generations. Nevertheless, the fact remains that unless Charles predeceases the Queen, he will be king before William.

     In the final analysis, it’s clear that the monarchy is riding a tide of high public support and confidence. Despite lukewarm feelings on royal finances and the current succession, the public have given their blessing for the continuance of the monarchy for generations for come, and this is in no small part to the monarchy being a continuously evolving and modernizing institution that appeals to all virtually walks of British society. Yet this public blessing cannot be taken for granted, and the monarchy must continue to work hard to win over the trust and support of the people it serves. 

     The full results of the ComRes survey, including break-downs on gender and regional attitudes can be found here.


Photo Credit: Sodacan via Wikimedia Commons cc, Defence Images via photopin cc, Abuk SABUK via Wikimedia Commons cc, Images Money via photopin cc, Dan Marsh via Wikimedia Commons cc, Carfax2 via Wikimedia Commons cc

Sources:

• Hardman, Robert. Her Majesty: Queen Elizabeth and Her Court. New York: Pegasus Books. 2012. Print (Page 333).