Prince Charles and the Future of the Monarchy
MORI poll for the Sun, August 1997
- MORI interviewed 600 adults aged 18+ across Great Britain.
- Interviews were conducted by telephone on 7-10 August 1997.
- Data are weighted to the profile of Great Britain.
- An asterisk (*) denotes a figure between zero and 0.5%.
- Base: All respondents, unless stated.
Q1 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way the Government is running the country? Q2 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Mr Blair is doing his job as Prime Minister? Q3 Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way Prince Charles is doing his job as Prince of Wales?
Satisfied | Dissatisfied | Don't know | |
% | % | % | |
Government | 54 | 24 | 22 |
Blair | 70 | 16 | 14 |
Prince Charles | 42 | 46 | 12 |
Q4 On balance, do you think Britain would be better off or worse off if the monarchy was abolished, or do you think it would make no difference?
% | |
Better off | 16 |
Worse off | 50 |
Make no difference | 31 |
Don't know | 3 |
Q5-7 Looking to the future, do you think Britain will or will not have a monarchy ...
Will | Will not | Dont' know | |
% | % | % | |
Q5 ... in ten years? | 80 | 15 | 5 |
Q6 ... in fifty years? | 35 | 48 | 17 |
Q7 ... in one hundred years? | 20 | 58 | 22 |
Q8 On balance, do you think Prince Charles will make a good king or a bad king when he comes to the throne in future?
% | |
Good | 50 |
Bad | 37 |
Don't know | 13 |
Q9 Do you think Prince Charles should or should not give up his right to be the next monarch in favour of his eldest son, Prince William?
% | |
Should | 44 |
Should not | 48 |
Don't know | 8 |
Q10 Which member of the Royal Family, if any, do you think has done the most damage to the Royal Family's reputation?
% | |
Prince Charles (The Prince of Wales) | 32 |
The Duchess of York (Sarah Ferguson) | 28 |
Diana, Princess of Wales | 18 |
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | 2 |
The Queen | 1 |
Prince Andrew | 1 |
Princess Anne | * |
Prince Edward | * |
Other | 3 |
None | 8 |
Don't know | 7 |
Q11 Now thinking about the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, do you think ...?
% | |
They should continue their relationship privately, | 34 |
be completely public about it | 48 |
or split up | 8 |
Neither / Don't know | 10 |
Q12-13 Assuming they do stay together, do you think ... ?
% | |
They should get married, | 53 |
or continue their relationship outside marriage | 28 |
Neither / Don't know | 19 |
% | |
Camilla should | 51 |
or should not be allowed to live with Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace or other royal residences? | 40 |
Neither / Don't know | 9 |
Q14 If Prince Charles were to marry Camilla Parker-Bowles, do you think he should still be allowed to become King, or not?
% | |
Should | 45 |
Should not | 52 |
Don't know | 3 |
Q15 And do you think Camilla should become Queen at his side?
% | |
Yes | 15 |
No | 78 |
Don't know | 7 |
Q16 Since her divorce from Prince Charles, do you think that Princess Diana has been badly treated by the Royal Family as a whole, or not?
% | |
Yes | 49 |
No | 41 |
Don't know | 10 |
Q17 Do you think Princess Diana should be free to choose whomever she wishes as friends, or should she be careful that her friendships do not reflect badly on the Royal Family?
% | |
Free to choose friends | 69 |
Should be careful | 29 |
Don't know | 2 |
Q18 As you may know, Princess Diana recently went on holiday with Dodi Al-Fayed, the son of the owner of Harrods. Do you think it is good or bad for the image of the Royal Family for Princess Diana to go on holiday with Dodi Al-Fayed, or does it make no difference?
% | |
Good | 3 |
Bad | 21 |
Makes no difference | 74 |
Don't know | 2 |
Q19 If Princess Diana were to remarry, do you think she should drop out of public life, or should she continue to carry out public engagements and charity work?
% | |
Should drop out of public life | 23 |
Should continue to carry out public engagements and charity work | 73 |
Don't know | 4 |
Q20 Earlier in the week, George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that Prince Charles should not become head of the Church of England if he marries Camilla Parker- Bowles. Do you think Prince Charles should or should not be allowed to become head of the Church of England, or do you have no opinion on the matter?
% | |
Should be allowed | 19 |
Should not be allowed | 45 |
No opinion on the matter | 36 |
Technical details
The voting intention figures exclude those who say they would not vote (7%), are undecided (3%) or refuse to name a party (2%). All figures are in percentages. Where percentages do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, the exclusion of don't knows or computer rounding. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure between zero and 0.5%.