Prince William Most
Admired Royal
Most think he should be next King
In a random sampling
of public opinion taken by the Forum Poll™ among 1326 Canadian adults, Prince
William tops the list of the most admired members of the Royal Family with one
quarter selecting him (25%). This is just less than the proportion of Canadian
voters who don’t admire the Royal Family (29%). In second place among favourite
royals is the Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton (20%). Third place
belongs to the dashing Prince Harry (13%). Few other royals are admired (Prince
Charles - 6%, Prince Philip - 4%, Prince George and Princess Charlotte - 2%
each).
Admiration for
Prince William is common to the oldest (42%), females (29%) rather than males
(21%), and among Liberals (29%). Admiration for his wife is common to young
middle age groups (35 to 44 - 25%), females (26%), not males (13%), among Green
party voters (25%) and moms (34%). Admiration for Prince Harry is
characteristic of the least wealthy (20%), mid income groups ($60K to $80K -
17%), New Democrats (19%) and those from eastern European backgrounds (19% -
caution: small base size).
One third will follow royal visit closely
In total, about one
third of Canadian adults will follow the royal visit next week closely (36%),
but just one tenth will follow the visit “very closely” (10%). Two thirds won’t
follow closely, or at all (62%). Following the visit of the Duke and Duchess of
Cambridge very closely is characteristic of the least wealthy (16%), those in
BC, where the visit will take place (20%), those from the British Isles (16%),
southern European (15%), eastern European (16%) and South Asian backgrounds
(17% - caution: small base sizes).
Close to half disagree Prince Charles should succeed
Close to one half of
Canadians disagree Prince Charles should succeed his mother as Head of State in
Canada (45%) and just one third agree he should (32%). As many as a quarter
don’t have an opinion (23%). This stands in contrast to just two months ago,
when more than half disagreed he should succeed (54%), and just fewer than
3-in-10 thought he should (29%). Those who agree he should succeed to the
Canadian throne include males (36%) rather than females (29%), residents of
Ontario (37%), the prairies (39%) and BC (43%), but not Quebec (19%). among
Conservatives (40%), Anglophones (37%) rather than Francophones (19%), the
least and best educated (37% each.
Prince William seen as best King of Canada
Close to 4-in-10
pick Prince William as the best choice to be Canada’s next King and Head of
State (38%), and this is just more than the proportion who do not offer a
choice (35%). His father and brother have each the support of about one tenth
(11% each).
Even split on whether Canadian monarchy will last until King
George VII
Just more than one
quarter believe Prince George will one day be Canada’s monarch and Head of
State (27%), and an identical proportion think he will not (28%). Close to half
don’t care to look that far in the future (45%).
Vast majority say opinion of monarchy hasn’t changed or has
grown better
Almost all adult
Canadians (85%) say their opinion of the monarchy hasn’t changed in the past 5
years (61%) or that it has grown better (24%). Just one sixth say their opinion
has grown worse (15%), and this is common to those in mid-income groups ($60K
to $80K - 20%), the Atlantic provinces (24%), among New Democrats (20%) and
Greens (23%), among the best educated 19%), southern Europeans (32%) and South
Asians (19% - caution: small base sizes)
“Canada loves its
Royal Family, despite the republican grumblings of a slight minority. Its just
that Canada doesn’t love all its royal family members equally. It seems clear
that the appearance of Prince William and his glamorous wife on the scene, and
their impending trip here, has galvanized popular interest in the succession
again, with the predictable result that most Canadians want to skip a royal,
something for which there is no historical or constitutional precedent. It is
curious to note, however, that while close to a third say they do not admire
the royal family at all, only about a tenth say they will not follow the royal
visit at all” said Forum Research President, Dr.
Lorne Bozinoff.
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
