Prince William favoured for British crown


Gulf Daily News

11 April 2005

LONDON: Britons would prefer having the crown skip Prince Charles and go to his elder son Prince William when Queen Elizabeth II dies, new polls showed.

The polls, one showing a clear majority for the 22-year-old William and the other giving him just an edge, were published a day after the wedding of Prince Charles and his long-time love Camilla Parker Bowles in the town of Windsor, west of London.

A YouGov survey published by the Sunday Times found that 58 per cent of Britons wanted Charles to give up his claim to the throne in favour of his son William, against 25pc who say he should not.

By a majority of 60pc to 21pc, those surveyed said they expected William to make a better king than Charles, 56, with women preferring the young prince by a margin of 68pc to 18pc.

A separate Mori poll for The Observer and Sunday Mirror found that 42pc of Britons wanted William to become the next king, compared to 40pc for Charles. Only 16pc of people polled by YouGov think that Camilla, 57, should one day be queen, though 24pc believe she will eventually be queen.

The prince's residence Clarence House said she will describe herself as Princess Consort if Charles accedes to the throne, but it is likely a law would have to be adopted to prevent her officially assuming the title of queen.

The Mori poll suggested that the royal wedding had failed to make any impact on the public's resistance to Camilla becoming queen if Charles ascends to the throne.

Some 63pc said she should not do so in the poll conducted this week, compared to 62pc in a similar survey in May 2002.

The same poll found 22pc support for Britain becoming a republic, which has changed little from the 18pc recorded as long ago as 1969.

In a finding that confirms widespread public support for yesterday's wedding, the poll found 64pc believed the couple should marry, although a substantial 21pc said they neither knew nor cared.

YouGov questioned 1,552 adults online for the Sunday Times between April 7 and 9. The Mori poll for The Observer and Sunday Mirror was based on a sample of 1,004 people over the same dates.

Meanwhile, Britain's Prince Charles and his new bride Camilla were welcomed by a small crowd of cheering fans following church services yesterday in the Scottish Highlands where they are spending their honeymoon.

The couple, who married in the southern English town of Windsor on Saturday, emerged from the service later to cheers and applause from around 100 people, many of whom were waving flags.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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