As part of’a vast survey commissioned by the Government175,000 Britons were invited to share their opinion on the royal family and the role of the monarchy. This survey requested by the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sports and carried out by the Verian polling institute was launched in May 2023 and will continue until the end of March 2024. As recognition, participants will receive a £10 voucher. The cost of this initiative is estimated at £1.75 million. Before carrying out this in-depth investigation, the Government conducted, over the last two years, more modest investigations, each bringing together 33,000 participants and including a question on the role of the monarchy. This new study is more than five times more important. The results will be presented to the King in the summer of 2024, according to information from Mirror.
In this survey, only one question was asked of the 175,000 respondents: “In your opinion, what should be the main role of the monarchy in the United Kingdom ?“ The options, from which participants can choose, are: “Assume a constitutional role as head of state (like the opening of each new session of Parliament)“, “Support and encourage the public service and charitable sectors” Or “Recognize and support the armed forces”. Among the latter, the respondents cannot choose only one. Other possible choices include: “To be the supreme governor of the Church of England”, “To provide a sense of continuity and act as the center of national identity, unity and pride”, “To promote the United Kingdom to the ‘stranger” or finally “Recognizing outstanding achievements by awarding honorary awards.” It therefore remains to be seen what the Crown will do with the results of this investigation, but there is no doubt thatthey risk shaking Buckingham!
A family experienced in studying
The final season of the series The Crown broadcast on Netflix depicts how the royal family commissioned a poll on public opinion of the monarchy after the death of Princess Diana. In reality, approximately 2,000 people were interviewed in March 2001. It was reported, at the time, that Queen Elizabeth II had welcomed the results by a leaden silence during their presentation, as did other members of the royal family, including Prince Philip and Prince Charles, at Buckingham Palace. According to a leak, less than one in four people considered that members of the royal family were workersand only one in ten thought they were worth their priceat least in terms of the cost borne by the taxpayer to maintain the institution.
Article produced in collaboration with 6Médias.
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