Duchess Camilla's popularity soars after 'Queen' announcement, shows new poll

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, has become more popular with the public since it was announced that she will receive the Queen Consort title when her husband Prince Charles becomes king of the United Kingdom. However, public opinion of Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle have plummeted, a new poll has claimed.

A survey conducted soon after Queen Elizabeth II expressed her wishes for Camilla to be called the Queen found that Britons back her decision by a margin of two to one. The survey conducted for The Mail by pollsters JL Partners revealed that 55 percent of the total 1,000 adult voters supported the move, almost double the 28 percent opposed.

About half of the people from all age groups also expressed a great deal or a fair amount of respect for the Duchess of Cornwall. However, the public still strongly believes that the late Princess Diana would have made the better Queen. 58 percent voted in favour of Prince Charles's ex-wife, while only 16 percent chose Camilla. Their personal attributes were also rated, where Diana won over Camilla on beauty, compassion, dignity, diplomacy, and sense of humour, but lost out on brains.

On another note, a huge majority of people blamed Charles for his divorce from Princess Diana rather than any of the women.

The majority agreed that the monarchy should not skip Prince Charles as the king and directly jump a generation to Prince William when the Queen passes away. However, the younger generation of 18 to 44-year-olds narrowly believe that Camilla would not make a good queen and that Charles's and her reign would not be an asset to Britain. 68 percent of voters said that Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton would be the better king and queen.

Most of the members of the royal family registered a big increase in their personal ratings in the poll as compared to last year, with the Queen gaining a personal rating of plus 75, up 11 points from last year. The popularity of the royal family as a whole has also soared as the 95-year-old marks 70-years of her reign this year.

However, Prince Andrew, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle did not do well at all. The popularity of the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex, who quit their royal duties in 2020, had plunged in 2021 as well, with Harry dropping "into the red" for the first time. Meghan's popularity had sunk even lower. By three to one, people said Harry and Meghan had not given the Queen enough support over the last year

Meanwhile, Andrew's popularity has reduced by a huge margin owing to the sex abuse case against him in a US court, which also led to the Queen exiling him from royal duties and stripping him of his HRH (His Royal Highness) title.