Advertisement

Poll: Large majority of Scots 'do not care about coronation'

King Charles <i>(Image: PA)</i>
King Charles (Image: PA)

Almost three quarters of people in Scotland do not care about the forthcoming coronation of the King, according to research.

The YouGov poll also found that less than half (46%) think that Britain should continue to have a monarchy in future, while 40% said it should have an elected head of state instead and 14% do not know.

The poll of 1,032 people in Scotland, carried out between April 17 and 20, found that 44% of respondents have a positive view of the royal family in general while 47% have a negative view and the remainder said they do not know.

The Princess Royal and the Prince and Princess of Wales were the most popular royals, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke of York were the least popular.

Princess Royal
Princess Royal

The survey suggests the majority of people north of the border will not be getting out the bunting for the forthcoming coronation on May 6.

Just over four in 10 (41%) Scots said they do not care at all about the event and 31% said they do not care very much, meaning 72% in total were not much bothered about the event.


READ MORE: The Proclaimers 'Removed from King's playlist'


Only 6% said they care a great deal, while 19% said they do “a fair amount” and the remainder do not know.

Lukas Paleckis, senior political researcher at YouGov, said: “This new polling shows that the mood in Scotland is less favourable towards the monarchy than Britain as a whole, with 46% of Scots saying Britain should continue with a monarchy vs 40% who would opt for an elected head of state.

“Our latest polling with Britons overall puts the figure who want to continue having a monarchy at 61%.

READ MORE: The English love a royal party so why don't Scots?

“Unsurprisingly, younger groups in Scotland are feeling especially out of touch with the monarchy, with only 20% favouring a continuation of the monarchy.

“With the King’s coronation fast approaching we may see less celebration around Scotland, as 72% of the public say they don’t really care for it.”

Royal visit to Glasgow
Royal visit to Glasgow

When questioned about the institution of the monarchy in general, 41% said they had a positive view of it while 47% had a negative view and the remainder did not know.

Among people who voted Yes in Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum three in 10 (30%) had a positive view of the monarchy compared with six in 10 (60%) of those who voted No, with the rest saying they did not know.


Save on a full year of digital access with our lowest EVER offer.

Subscribe for the whole year to The Herald for only £24 for unlimited website access or £30 for our digital pack.

This is only available for a limited time so don't miss out.

Click here to subscribe


The majority of respondents had a positive view of the Prince of Wales (59%), with 29% expressing a negative view, while for his wife it was 59% positive and 24% negative.

Support for the King was lower, with 46% expressing a positive opinion and 42% negative, while for the Queen Consort it was 35% positive and 49% negative and the rest were do not knows.

The Princess Royal was the most popular member of the royal family, with 67% expressing a positive opinion about her and 16% negative, while 45% had a positive opinion about the Duke of Edinburgh and 31% a negative one.

The Duke of York was the least popular, with only 5% saying they had a positive opinion about him and 88% expressing a negative view.


READ MORE: Special Scottish service planned for King Charles' coronation


Support for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex also appeared low.

Just under a quarter (23%) expressed a positive view about Harry and 66% were negative, while for Meghan a fifth (20%) had a positive opinion and 67% had a negative one.