‘Vampires, sucking my blood’: Support for King Charles III and monarchy plummets. Here’s what polls show

In less than 24 hours, King Charles III will officially take over as the British king. On May 6 (Saturday), the United Kingdom will crown the King. Even as dozens of royal fans have started camping out in Central London ahead of King Charles III's coronation, not everyone is excited about the upcoming event. Multiple polls conducted recently have found that the excitement levels are subpar at best.

For some Britons, Saturday's event is a "once in a lifetime" event, for others it is a welcome occasion for the day off from work it comes with. However, for many, the huge event and the royal family are akin to a vampire sucking the blood of its victim. 

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Talking to Reuters, Philip Nash, a street sweeper in Whitechapel, a more run-down area of east London, said, "They (the royals) just take everything from me. They never do a day's work."

"I'd like to see one of them come out here, come sweep this street. Have you known any of them to do a day's work? They are like vampires, sucking my blood," he added. 

His sentiments are shared by many Britons who believe that a spectacular ceremony for the royals seemed inappropriate when many are dealing with high inflation that has topped 10 per cent and has sent the cost of energy and food soaring.

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A YouGov poll published on May 4 found that only about one-third or 35 per cent of those asked about the coronation cared about it. A whopping 62 per cent were divided between caring 'not at all' and 'not very much'.

Another YouGov poll conducted last month found that around 48 per cent of those surveyed were not likely to participate in the coronation or even watch it on TV.

Yet another poll found that King Charles III's approval ratings have taken a dip. The poll by Ipsos released in April found that the British King's approval rating fell from 61 per cent in September 2022, to 49 per cent in April 2023. 

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Compared to him, Kate, the Princess of Wales — who came out on top, her husband and heir to the throne, Prince William, "any of the king's grandchildren", and Charles's sister Princess Anne emerged as the public's favourite royals.

A Mirror UK poll found that the support for monarchy as an institution has also declined from 62 per cent to 58 per cent. 

Another survey from the National Centre for Social Research found that while 55 per cent of the British public consider the monarchy to be important, those who say that its retention is “very important” stood at just 29 per cent, the lowest proportion on record.

The origins of the coronation on Sunday date back around 1,000 years and it is slated to be the biggest ceremonial event since the one staged for King Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth in 1953. The event as per Reuters, will include a display of pageantry and a huge military procession.

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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