Earlier this year, to commemorate Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee and 70 years of her reign, we asked you, our beloved GLAMOUR subjects, your opinions on the Royal family. The opinions from the 3,400 respondents were strong and divided, but whatever you thoughts on the monarchy and its place in today’s society, its faults, successes, legacies and more, there was one thing you could all agree on was The Queen. Admiration and respect for the the UK's longest-reigning monarch was clear, with over 50% of you placing her as your favourite royal and describing her positive impact as a ‘role model for society’. However, that's where the consensus ended.
Perhaps it is that the last few years that have rocked the royal family, spawning a cultural rethink , on our monarchy and how it operates. It hasn’t, after all, been a smooth ride for the Windsors; from Megxit and Prince Andrew to the colonial overtones of the Cambridge’s latest Royal tour and Meghan's allegations of racism.
On the topic of succession, you had differing thoughts on who should sit on the throne after The Queen's death. Nearly half of you (44%) of you disagreed with the natural succession of the now King Charles III, with a whopping 57% of you preferring the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate to be monarchs. Kate, in fact, seems to be the driving factor behind this decision. In our ranking of your favourite royals of all time she came third (after the Queen and Princess Diana) scoring higher than her husband and higher – dare we say it – than her sister-in-law Meghan Markle.
Speaking of, where did you stand on the controversy around Meghan and Harry’s 2020 departure? One aspect of Megxit which did appear to unite you, was how it has raised a conversation about race, and how that reflects on the Royal Family’s colonial past and links to slavery. The majority of you (51%) believe the family should apologise for its role in the slave trade and colonialism (for those of you 18-34, this rises to 62%). But Harry and his wife still proved quite decisive. In our favourite royals’ league table, you ranked them squarely in the middle and this was reflected in your opinions. There was a more even split between those of you who strongly agreed and strongly disagreed that racism played a part in Megan and Harry’s decision to quit the UK (though 54% of 18-34 year olds do not think claims of racism have been adequately handled) and, overall, 46% of you agree that they should have been stripped of their HRH titles.
When considering Meghan Markle’s position and whether she is a role model for change, the dominant response (41%) was that Meghan is not a role model for change, though – fascinatingly- this statistic totally switched once we look only at the 18-34 age bracket, where 52% of you think she is a role model for change. Gosh, you are a confusing bunch…
So what of another controversial Royal spouse? On the question of Camilla, Queen Consort, the majority of you disagreed with her new title (despite the fact Her Majesty The Queen issued a statement in February 2022 to announce that it was her “sincere wish” that Camilla will be named thus). It seems we are still not over Charles and the former Mrs Parker Bowles extra-marital “there were three of us in this marriage” affair, when ranking your favourite royals, because Charles’s iconic first wife, Princess Diana, was undisputed second. Charles and Camilla- across all age groups- came joint last. Oh dear.
However, it can hardly be said Camilla is the most controversial royal. Though Prince Andrew was not included in our popularity rankings, the most overwhelming result of our entire survey was in relation to whether he should have lost all titles and privileges following the sexual abuse allegations which arose against him during the Jeffery Epstein scandal. A huge 70% (rising to 74% among 18-34 -year olds) of you strongly agreed with the removal of his titles, with 50% of you agreeing that the comparative vitriol dispensed at Harry and Meghan over Megxit and their subsequent Oprah interview was disproportionate compared to Prince Andrew.
Our anti-royalist views can – and should – co-exist with our grief.
On where monarchy stands in our society, and what part it should play, you were more conflicted. Though 22% of you thought it should NOT continue after the Queen’s death, 35% of you expressed your full support of the British monarchy and while the majority of you agree that the charitable endeavours established by the Royals are beneficial, you clearly think some changes are in order. 57% of you do not think we should be paying for the monarchy with our taxes and 11% of you were actually pro-abolition. However, this percentage changes once we filter results for age. Turns out, those of you between 18-34 (that’s 1,300 of total responses) are 3% more likely to favour abolishing the monarchy. It comes as no surprise that 20% of you strongly feel that the monarchy does not fit into modern-day Britain in its current incarnation.
So, what do you think should happen next? When we asked you to explain the future of the monarchy, you were once again fairly divided. Yet common themes did emerge. Many of you saw the monarchy as elitist, outdated and out of touch. The dominant issues of discontent were the treatment of Meghan and Harry and the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew. If you believe the monarchy should continue, there is a split between those of you who view The Firm as merely a tourist attraction and those of you who genuinely praise the royals’ charity work and view them as role models. Key among these was the raising awareness of climate change, the ongoing efforts of the Prince’s Trust and the younger royals’ campaigning around mental health.
So, whatever becomes of the Royals in the days, weeks and years to come, there's one common thread that unites us, we lived to witness the ending of the second Elizabethan age and you crowned Queen Elizabeth II as your favourite royal.
