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ISSUES: Citizenship
Chapter 3: Politics in the UK
How important is the monarchy to British
people?
F
or more than 30 years, NatCen’s
British Social Attitudes survey
has been asking the British
public their views on themonarchy. The
2015 BSA report highlights important
changes in attitudes towards the royal
family.
First of all, regardless of when we asked,
most people said having a monarchy
was very important or important for
the country. But the size of this majority
has decreased significantly in the past
30 years. In 1983 more than four-fifths
of the population (86%) were in favour
of the monarchy. This figure fell to 66%
in 1994 and it remained stable until
2011. This period of lower consensus
coincided with allegations of Prince
Charles’ infidelity and his subsequent
separation from Diana.
By 2011 the tide of public opinion rose
again: the percentage of those who
supported the monarchy reached 74%
of the population. Indeed, this increase
has been sustained and in 2015 almost
three in four people (73%) remained
in favour of the monarchy. This strong
rise in support is likely to be due, in no
small part, to the royal milestones that
took place during this period, such as
William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, the
Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and
the birth of two Royal babies in 2013
and 2015. The high level of support in
the early 1980s also followed a royal
wedding and another royal baby:
Prince William.
But, despite the majority declaring
themselves in favour of the monarchy,
support is not consistent among all
groups of society. Older people were
more likely to say the monarchy is
important. In 2015, thosewhowere over
55 were almost twice as likely to say this
compared to those aged 17 to 24 years
old. But, while older people’s attitudes
have remained relatively stable over
time, the proportion of young people
saying the monarchy is important
increased from 57% to 67% between
1994 and 2015. Again, this resurgence
of interest on the part of young people
is likely to be thanks to the young royals
such as William and Kate.
Gender seems to have an influence
as well on attitudes towards the
monarchy. Although between 1994 and
2011 positive opinions for both genders
tended to crystallise around 65%,
women always tended to be slightly
more supportive. This was evident in
1983 when nine in ten women (90%)
and just over four-fifths of men (83%)
thought the monarchy was important.
But the most significant difference was
highlighted in 2015: 79% of women and
66% of men said the monarchy was
important to Britain, a difference of 13
percentage points. This is probably due
to some recent royal events resonating
more with women than with men.
Overall, it is clear that although less
of the British public considers the
monarchy important than they did in
1983, on the whole we still regard the
monarchy as important for our country.
As the Royals’ popularity seems to be
enjoying a boost, are we undergoing a
process of increasing trust and general
satisfaction with the monarchy? Will
this growth in positivity continue in the
coming years? The only thing we can
do is wait and see.
8 February 2016
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with kind permission from NatCen
Social Research. Please visit
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information.
© NatCen Social Research 2017
