6 in 10 say Prince Harry should be invited to the coronation of King Charles III

• Prince William, King Charles and Princess of Wales remain among most popular Royals
• 64% want to keep the monarchy

New research from Ipsos reveals that 60% of Britons think Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, should be invited to the coronation of King Charles in May (40% say he definitely should, 20% that he probably should).  Thirty per cent think he should not (21% say definitely not).  A clear majority (69%) of under 55s think he should be invited, although older people are not quite so sure – 47% of those aged 55+ think he should be invited, 42% think not.

When asked which two or three members of the Royal Family they like the most, Prince William has the broadest appeal (mentioned by 50%), followed by King Charles (32%) and Catherine, the Princess of Wales (29%).  Prince Harry (17%) and Princess Anne (16%) come next.  This compares with January 2018, just before Prince Harry’s wedding, when he and his brother were both at the top of the list (at 58% and 62% respectively), followed by the Queen at 47% and Catherine at 21%.  Prince William was also top ten years ago on 62%, with the Queen second on 48% and Harry third on 36% (followed by Catherine on 23% and Charles on 21%).

Again there are age differences on this topic, with older people more likely to mention most of the core working Royals, while younger people have a slightly different view – they are more likely to choose none of the Royals and just not to have an opinion at all, but among those who do Prince William and Prince Harry are equally liked (both mentioned by 30% of 18-34 year olds).  The Princess of Wales is also particularly popular among women (36% say she is one of their favourite Royals, compared with 22% of men). 

Looking at views towards the institution as a whole, most Britons, 64%, remain in favour of keeping the monarchy, while 22% want a republic and 13% don’t know.  Looking at age figures, 73% of over 35s want to keep the monarchy, but younger people are more divided (38% of 18-34 year olds want Britain to become a republic, 43% say keep the monarchy).

Support for the monarchy is roughly in line with the figures over the last two years (in May 2022 68% favoured a monarchy vs 22% republic, in November 2021 60% said keep the monarchy vs 21% republic), though is slightly below the long-term average support for the monarchy from the previous thirty years of just over 7 in 10.  Support for the monarchy reached its peak during the 2010s - for example, in 2016 76% wanted to keep the monarchy (17% were in favour of a republic), and was at its highest during the Diamond Jubilee of 2012 at 80%.

Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said:

Despite not being as popular as he once was, most Britons still think Prince Harry should be invited to the coronation in May, which suggests that some do hope for reconciliation.  Looking to the future, the majority still want to preserve the monarchy, and the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the King, remain among its most popular members.  But support for the institution is not quite as high as it was in earlier decades, and this data points to the need for the monarchy to build support among younger people in particular. 

Technical Note

Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,001 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 18-25 January 2023 . Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.