King Charles' Approval Rating With Young People Struggling

King Charles III is disliked by most Britons aged 18-24 as many of the country's young people say they feel embarrassed by the monarchy.

The 74-year-old was in Scotland, preparing to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's death on Friday, when polling agency YouGov on Monday released new data suggesting a significant problem in his relationship with Gen Z.

While Charles is popular overall in Britain, his net approval rating among Gen Z stands at minus 24, making him significantly less popular with the 18-24 age bracket than Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Fifty-two percent of people in this age group disapproved of Charles versus 28 percent who had a positive view of him.

Britain predominantly sided with the royal family after Harry and Meghan's bombshell allegations on Netflix and in his book Spare.

However, among Gen Z the picture is far less clear, with both the Sussexes marginally into positive numbers, Harry on plus 6 and Meghan on plus 3.

And its not just Charles, Queen Camilla also has a net approval rating of minus 27 among the youngest age group sampled, despite basking in the PR glow of the coronation.

Camilla was given the title "Queen Consort" after years in which it was thought she would only be known as "Princess Consort" out of respect for Diana and was crowned alongside her husband on May 6.

However, the boost did not appear to change the minds of Britain's younger generation who continue to view her negatively.

Only 37 percent of this age group wanted to continue with monarchy, down from 47 percent in September, 2022, when Charles took over from the queen.

Prince William and Kate Middleton were, however, popular with all age groups, and among Gen Z the Prince of Wales had a net approval rating of plus 25 while the Princess of Wales' was plus 34.

Meanwhile, 33 percent of Gen Z felt embarrassed about the monarchy compared to 25 percent who felt proud and 47 percent felt it was bad value for money compared to 34 percent who said it was good value for money.

And 30 percent of 18-to-24 year olds said the monarchy was good for Britain, which is broadly consistent with polls since Harry and Meghan quit royal duties but comes in stark contrast to previous attitudes, with 61 percent backing the royals in 2015.

Charles is liked far more by older Brits, however, meaning he remains popular when the whole adult population is viewed as a whole.

In total, 62 percent of Brits want to keep the monarchy compared to 26 percent who would abolish it.

Charles is liked by 60 percent of U.K. adults and disliked by 32 percent while Camilla was liked by 47 percent and disliked by 42 percent.

YouGov polled 2,000 adults between August 26 and 28

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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