The huge problem facing the Royal Family when the Queen dies

The Royal family face a problem when the Queen dies and it's all to do with the popularity of the monarchy, according to one royal expert.

Tim Ewart, ITV News' former royal editor tells Yahoo UK's The Royal Box: "The reality for the monarchy is that when the Queen dies, one of the reasons for the monarchy's popularity will be gone.

"A large part of the popularity of the monarchy is based on the popularity of the Queen. Will that transfer to her son? Open question, we don't know, but there are suggestions that he's not as popular as she is."

A poll by YouGov in November 2018 saw Prince Harry pip his grandmother the Queen to the post as the most popular royal, with 77 per cent of people polled.

Her Majesty was just behind her grandson, in second place, with 74 per cent favouring the UK's longest serving monarch.

But when it came to the heir to the throne, Prince Charles was in seventh place, behind his eldest son William, his daughters-in-law Kate and Meghan and his father Philip.

Charles has marked some milestones in the past year, including his 70th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his investiture as the Prince of Wales.

But despite him taking over more royal duties from his mother, a poll by BMG Research for The Independent last year found that 46% of Brits would like to see Prince Charles pass the crown to son William.

【ギャラリー】Queen visits new Palace exhibition14

The longest-serving heir apparent has been criticised in the past for his views on topics such as the environment or architecture, dubbed as meddling by critics.

But in a BBC documentary which aired last year to mark his 70th birthday, Charles said he wouldn't speak out on issues he feels strongly about when he becomes king.

He said: "I'm not that stupid. I do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign. So of course I understand entirely how that should operate."

- This article first appeared on Yahoo