Nearly 3 in 4 Britons support introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession

• Nearly three in four (73%) Britons support introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession.
• Britons are now split on whether the Royal Family are good (35%) or bad (35%) value for money for the UK taxpayer.
• Two in five (41%) think there has been too little scrutiny from Parliament over how the Royal Family spend money that they receive from the taxpayer.
• Half (50%) think the Royal Family has a positive impact on Britain overall, but 63% say it makes little difference to their lives personally.

Ipsos in the UK has released new polling results regarding attitudes toward the Royal Family among the British public. Fieldwork was conducted from the 24th – 26th of February – so after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor that week.

• Removing Andrew from the line of succession: Nearly three in four (73%) of Britons support introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession, compared to just 7% who oppose.
• Value for money of the Royal Family: The public are now divided as to whether the Royal Family are good or bad value for money for the UK taxpayer. This marks a 9ppt decrease in those saying they’re good value for money compared to November 2025. Britons aged 18-34 are the most likely to consider the Royal Family bad value for money (44%), falling to 27% of those 55-75 who hold the same view.

• Scrutiny of funds given to the Royal Family: Two in five (41%) Britons think there has been too little scrutiny from Parliament over how the Royal Family spend money received from the taxpayer. The public are more divided as to the extent of the scrutiny currently given from the media, with one in three (33%) thinking there’s too little, and nearly one in four (23%) thinking there’s too much.

• Extent to which the Royal Family is considered to be in tune with the public: Britons are split on whether the Royal Family has become more in tune with the public (34%) or whether there hasn’t been any change (34%) since Charles III became King (26% say they have become more out of touch). This marks a decrease of 7ppts in the share of those thinking the Royal Family has become more in tune since November 2025.
• Divisions within the Royal Family: Half (50%) of the public think the Royal Family has become more divided since Charles III became the King, in line with attitudes expressed in November 2025 (15% think they have become more united).
• Transparency within the Royal Family: Just over one in three Britons (35%) think the Royal Family has become more transparent since Charles III became King, a 5ppt decrease since earlier in February, prior to the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.  35% say there has been little change, and 21% that they have become more secretive.
• Impact of the Royal Family on Britain: Half of the public (50%) think the Royal Family has a positive impact on Britain overall, with a similar share each saying their impact is positive on the British economy (46%) and British society (43%). However, just one in five (20%) say the Royal Family has a positive impact on their lives personally, with the majority (63%) saying it makes little positive nor negative difference.

Commenting on the findings, Gideon Skinner, Senior Director of UK Politics at Ipsos, said:

The latest findings show that against strong support for action to remove Andrew from the line of succession the Royals still receive positive ratings overall, but despite improving public approval ratings for the way they are handling the situation, there is a perception that the monarchy is more divided than it was before Charles became King.  Furthermore, there are other ongoing issues for the monarchy to address in public opinion too.  Although they are seen as a net benefit for the country as a whole, most don’ t think they make a big difference to their day-to-day lives, and some of the progress they have been seen to be making in transparency and becoming more in touch has slipped away.  And especially on value for money the British public is now split on the return they get from the Royal Family for taxpayers’ money. As societal values evolve, the monarchy’s ability to adapt and address these concerns will be pivotal in maintaining its relevance and support.

Notes to Editors: 

• For media queries, please contact Jordana Moser at [email protected]
• Ipsos interviewed a representative sample of 1,005 adults aged 18-75 across Great Britain. Polling was conducted online between 24-26 February 2026.  
• Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. All polls are subject to a wide range of potential sources of error.