The Royal Family’s Popularity Poll Has a New No. 1 — and It’s Not William or Kate

New YouGov figures show just how much Britain lives on nostalgia.

Britain has a new favorite royal, dethroning Prince William and Kate Middleton from a position they had held for some time. A new YouGov poll, released ahead of what would have been her 100th birthday on April 21st, has placed the late Queen Elizabeth II at the very top of the royal popularity rankings. With an 81 percent approval rating among Britons, the beloved monarch — who passed away in September 2022 — remains more popular than any living member of the family she left behind.

In second place sits another royal who is no longer with us. Princess Diana holds a 77 percent approval rating, nearly 29 years after she died in a Paris car crash. That figure alone speaks to how fondly the public remembers her and to how enduring her connection with ordinary people remains. Nostalgia, perhaps. But also something more genuine than that. 

The living royals follow close behind. Prince William secured third place with 76 percent, and Middleton came in fourth at 75 percent.  The Waleses had held the top spot among living royals in YouGov's January rankings, and they have now been nudged down the overall list by two women who are no longer alive. Princess Anne, long regarded as the most diligent working royal, came in fifth with 70 percent, and King Charles followed with 60 percent. 

Then there's the other end of the table — and it makes for considerably grimmer reading. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sits at the very bottom, with just three per cent of Britons holding a positive view of him. The number itself is staggering, even by the standards of a man whose reputation has been in freefall for years. The former Duke of York has had a catastrophic 2026, with fresh revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein leading to his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. And three percent in this context feels very generous. 

Not far above him sit the Sussexes, whose numbers will make uncomfortable reading for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, even after undertaking a so-called 'faux royal tour' in Australia. Markle received a positive rating from just 20 percent of Britons, placing her second from the bottom. Harry fared only slightly better at 30 percent, putting him third from last. Both figures represent all-time lows for the couple in YouGov's tracking — the lowest approval ratings they have ever recorded.