2 in 5 (38%) Britons think the Royal Family have handled the situation with Andrew well following arrest
Following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on 19 February, Ipsos in the UK collected new data regarding perceptions of the Royal Family among the British public. Fieldwork was conducted from the 20th – 23rd of February.
- 2 in 5 (38%) Britons think the Royal Family have handled the situation with Andrew well following arrest, an increase of 10ppts compared to the week before the arrest (28%)
- More than half (55%) think King Charles III is doing a good job as King, an increase of 9ppts compared to earlier in the month
- Favourability towards leading Royals has similarly rebounded
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
- Continued criticism of the Royal Family’s overall handling of the situation: 2 in 5 (38%) Britons think the Royal Family have handled the situation with Andrew well following arrest, an increase of 10ppts compared to the week before the arrest (28%)
- Continued low approval ratings for Andrew: 78% of Britons have an unfavourable opinion of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor with just 9% favourable (-4ppts from Nov ’25).
Overall attitudes towards the monarchy are down slightly
- A larger share think King Charles III is doing a good job: More than half (55%) think King Charles III is doing a good job as King, an increase of 9ppts (46%) compared to earlier in the month prior to the arrest.
- Favourability ratings for the Royal Family outside of Andrew Mountbatten have all grown slightly since before his arrest:
- The Prince and Princess of Wales remain the most popular royals. 66% of Britons have a favourable opinion of the Prince of Wales (+3) and 66% have a favourable opinion of the Princess of Wales (+4).
- They are followed by Princess Anne at 59% +6).
- 50% have a favourable opinion of King Charles III (+2ppts)
- 49% of Britons have a favourable opinion of the Royal Family as a whole (+2 ppts).
- One in three (34%) are favourable towards Queen Camilla (+4).
- Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, hold favourability ratings of 30% (+4) and 23% (+6) respectively.
- Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has a favourability rating of 14% favourable (+6)
- Support for the monarchy overall shows signs of rebounding: 40% of Britons believe abolishing the monarchy would be worse for the country (+3 compared to earlier in February). 24% think it would be better (-1), and just over a quarter (27%) see no difference (N/C). Optimism about the monarchy’s long-term longevity has also seen a small boost, with more than half (56%) of Britons thinking it is likely that Britain will have a monarchy 50 years from now (+5). 7 in 10 (72%) think it will still exist in 20 years’ time and 8 in (77%) think it will exist in 10 years’ time.
Commenting on the findings, Keiran Pedley, Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said:
Our latest findings suggest that the Royal Family’s handling of Andrew’s arrest has helped them recover some of the declines in support we noted earlier in February. The public are more likely to think the Royals are handling the issue well, with a halo effect on all other members of the family beyond King Charles III – even extending to non-working Royals like Prince Harry, Meghan, and Sarah Ferguson.
Notes:
- Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 923 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between the 20-23 February 2026.
- Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.
