55% of Britons still prefer a monarchy, but this has fallen to 33 year low as young people become more republican

• 55% of Britons say they would favour Britain becoming a monarchy, 27% a republic, and 18% don’t know.
• While monarchists outnumber republicans 2:1, this is the lowest level of support Ipsos has recorded for the monarchy since the series began in 1993 (the previous low was 60% in 2021)
• This is particularly driven by a change in views among young people.  Just 33% of 18-34 year olds support a monarchy, compared to 45% who prefer a republic.  Older people remain staunchly monarchist, with 74% of those aged 55+ supporting a monarchy, just 14% a republic.
• However, satisfaction with the way King Charles and Prince William are doing their jobs remains high, at 60% and 71% respectively, and 60% still believe the monarchy has an important role to play in the future of Britain.
   

Monarchy or republic?
Since 1993 Ipsos has asked the British public whether they would prefer Britain becoming a republic or remaining a monarchy.  Every time we have found that a majority of Britons favour a monarchy, but this year at 55% is the lowest level of support we have recorded in that series (the previous low was 60% in November 2021, against a long-term average of 71% support).  Still only around 1 in 4, 27%, want a republic, but this also matches the previous high of 28% in May 2023, and is above the long-term average of 19%.  18% say they don’t know. 

There are also clear age differences, with young people today much less supportive of the monarchy than young people in the past:

• 18-34 year olds: 33% support a monarchy, 45% a republic, 22% don’t know.  This 33% support for the monarchy is less than half the peak of 74% support among people aged 18-34 in 2013 just after the Diamond Jubilee, and even lower than young people nearly 20 years ago when 58% of 18-34s then supported the monarchy.
• 35-54 year olds: 51% support the monarchy, 28% a republic, and 21% don’t know.  Again this is down from the high levels of support during 2012-13 when 78% of middle-aged people then backed the monarchy, and slightly lower than the 60% support 21 years ago in 2005.
• Those aged 55+: 74% support the monarchy, 14% a republic and 12% don’ t know.    While this is also slightly lower than the peak of 86% in 2012, unlike other age groups older people today are as supportive as 55+ year olds back in 2005, when 75% supported the monarchy.

Satisfaction with the way that King Charles and Prince William are doing their jobs remains high.

• King Charles: 60% say they are satisfied with the way Charles is doing his job as Monarch, broadly in line with his ratings since he became King (24% are dissatisfied).  However, these ratings are lower than Queen Elizabeth II used to get, who averaged 79% satisfaction between 1992 and 2022.  Satisfaction stands at 38% among 18-34s, 59% among 35-54s, and 76% among those aged 55+.
• Prince William: Satisfaction with Prince William is even higher at 71%, with just 14% dissatisfied (although this is still lower than his peak as Duke of Cambridge in 2012 when 89% were satisfied with the way he was doing his job).  Satisfaction stands at 47% among 18-34s, 73% among 35-54s, and 87% among those aged 55+.

Looking to the future
Six in ten (60%) of Britons still say the monarchy has an important role to play in the future of Britain, while 30% does not.  While this still shows a majority expect the Royal Family to be an important part of British life, this is slightly lower than previously recorded in 1999-2000, when an average of 67% felt the monarchy had an important role to play in the future.   Again there are differences by age, with only 4 in 10 (38%) of 18-34 year olds believing the monarchy still has an important role to play, rising to 62% of those aged 35-54 and 74% of those aged 55+.

Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Political Research at Ipsos, said:

Ipsos’ latest research on public attitudes to the monarchy reveals an ongoing trend that the Royal Family should not ignore.  While the majority of the country remains pro-monarchy, and outnumbers republicans by 2:1, support for the institution is the lowest we have measured for 33 years.  This is underpinned by a growing age gap in views, with younger generations now more republican than monarchist, and even middle-aged people much less supportive than at the peak of the Royals’ popularity in the Diamond Jubilee year of 2012.

The monarchy still has its strengths, and King Charles and especially Prince William remain personally popular with satisfaction ratings that most politicians could only dream of.  But to turn this trend around will require convincing young people in particular that the monarchy still has an important, relevant role to play in the future of the country.

Technical notes:

• For media queries, please contact Jordana Moser at [email protected]
• For the full findings, please visit the Ipsos website. 

Ipsos interviewed a representative probability sample of 1,062 British adults aged 18+, via the Ipsos UK KnowledgePanel. Data was collected between the 5th -11th  March 2026. Panel members are recruited via random probability sampling, by sending letters to randomly selected addresses, which invites them to join an online panel. This approach means every household in the UK had a known and non-zero chance of being selected to join the KnowledgePanel. 

Those who are digitally excluded are provided with a tablet and free, restricted data connection. A sample of 2,226 adults aged 18+ were invited to take part in the survey. The sample was stratified by nation, age, qualifications and vote at the 2024 general election (as collected immediately after the election). The achieved sample was weighted in two stages:

• Design weights were applied to correct for the unequal probabilities of a person being selected for a survey, notably residents in smaller households have a higher chance of being selected.
• Calibration weights were applied through rim weighting to correct for differential non-response. Data was weighted to the adult population profile on age and gender, Government Office region, ethnicity, qualifications, work status and work sector (public sector/other), social grade (office coded), number of cars in household, constituency type, and newspaper readership (print and digital). Population targets were obtained from the 2021/22 Census, ONS population estimates and other large-scale probability surveys.
• All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.  Note that this is a new methodology implemented since June 2025. It involves a new form of data collection (online random probability panel instead of quota telephone survey), and an updated weighting scheme.  This means that comparisons with previous waves need to be made with caution.