Sorry, Charles! Prince William urged to leapfrog his father to become King – new poll

A new poll has looked into what voters in four different EU countries think of the Royal Family and the monarchy. And over half of the Europeans who took part in the survey, 56 percent, said they would prefer Prince William to become the next British monarch rather than the Prince of Wales.

Only 18 percent of the surveyed chose Prince Charles when asked who they would like to see succeeding the Queen on the throne.

This survey was carried out on a total of 6,000 people – including 1,500 adults eligible to vote and living in France, 1,500 Spaniards, 1,500 Italians and 1,500 Germans.

The interviews were conducted online on June 7 with people based in France, Italy and Spain and on June 8 with German adults.

The research was conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies and commissioned by Euronews as part of its new ‘Feel Connected to Europe’ initiative.

These results appear to show Europeans sharing a similar sentiment with Britons when it comes to who should become King next.

A survey carried out by Deltapoll for the Mirror between 31 March and 1 April on 1,590 people showed nearly half, 47 percent, of the respondents want Prince William to ascend to the throne after the Queen.

Only 27 percent of the British adults polled named Prince Charles, who was invested Prince of Wales in 1969.

Moreover, 18 percent said there should be no monarch after the end of the Queen’s reign.

READ MORE: Kate listed as ‘Princess’ on birth certificates: ‘Not born a royal’

The Euronews survey also looked into the popularity of the most prominent members of the Royal Family.

Much like in the UK, the Queen is, on average, hugely beloved across the European countries considered for the poll.

Her Majesty gathered a 52 percent “favourable rating”, while Prince William came in second at 48 percent.

DON’T MISS 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were popular among those polled, coming in third and fifth at 46 percent and 39 percent respectively.

Kate came in fourth in the European favourability rating at 45 percent.

When breaking down the preferences of each country analysed, the Queen was clearly the favourite British royal in Italy, where 62 percent of the polled named her as their most loved British royal, France and Germany (with both placing her at 54 percent).

On the other hand, she came after Harry and Meghan among Spaniards, who ranked the Duke first at 43 percent and Meghan second with a 39 percent favourable rating.

Prince William is second in line to the throne and is set to inherit Prince Charles’s Duke of Cornwall’s title after his father becomes King.

In preparation for this new role, the Duke of Cambridge has been taking an interest in how his father has been administering the Duchy of Cornwall.

In a 2019 ITV documentary ‘Prince Charles: Inside the Duchy of Cornwall’, William spoke about how he had started to think about inheriting the Duchy, how he would administer it and the importance of family.

The Duke’s discussions over the succession reduced Prince Charles to tears, the Prince of Wales himself confessed during the documentary.

Asked what it made him feel to see his son speaking about it, Charles replied: “I saw it and I couldn’t believe it. I was deeply touched and moved by what he said.”

While William and Kate will automatically become the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall when Prince Charles ascends to the throne, the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales won’t be inherited.

Rather, it will be up to Charles to decide whether or not to hand them down to his son and daughter-in-law.