And The Most Admired Person in Britain is...HM The Queen

     Queen Elizabeth II emerged as the most admired person in the United Kingdom according to the results of a YouGov poll that was released earlier today.
 

The Queen is most admired in Britain and 17th most admired in the world.

     The poll consisted of 13,895 people from thirteen countries, including the US, UK, India, Australia, and Germany, and featured a mix of internet and mobile phone surveys.

     With 18.74% of the vote, the Queen was by far and head the most admired person in Britain, followed by US President Barack Obama at 8.57% and Pope Francis at 3.66%. Prince William was in ninth place with 2.06% and the Duchess of Cambridge was 19th with 0.80%.

     The Queen also made the top ten lists in other countries, including Australia (2nd), Germany (8th), Nigeria (5th), and Russia (9th).

     In terms of the worldwide admiration, Microsoft founder Bill Gates took the top spot with 10.10% of the vote, followed by President Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Pope Francis. The Queen is the most admired woman in the world - coming in 17th on the overall list, and in company with renowned figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, and Hillary Clinton.

     My home country, the USA, gave Pope Francis top billing with nearly a quarter of the vote, followed by President Obama, evangelist Billy Graham, former President George W. Bush, and Bill Gates. (If the poll results had been extended beyond the top ten, I'm confident that the Queen would have appeared.)

     It is interesting to note that none of the elected leaders from the major political parties in the UK made the poll. Prime Minster David Cameron (Conservative), Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats), and Opposition Leader Ed Miliband (Labour) were nowhere to be found, indicating a lack of admiration for those placed into power by the people. On the other hand, the Queen - the very symbol of hereditary power and the class system - came out on top, and it was not even close. (For that matter, it appears the UK public has more admiration for overseas leaders than their own elected officials). 

     In many ways, it shows that people trust the Queen and look to her as being the embodiment of everything good and decent about Britain.

     Three cheers for Her Majesty the Queen!

Photo Credit: Birmingham Culture via Flickr cc