Poll says 'yes' to King Charles

Public support for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles has shown a dramatic surge, according to an Evening Standard poll published today.

It shows that people believe Charles should be king and be allowed to marry Camilla - with more than half endorsing the idea of their marrying in church.

The poll confirms a growing acceptance of Camilla by the public, a strengthening of Charles's popularity, and - as the fifth anniversary of Diana's death approaches on 31 August - signs that the public devotion to the princess may be on the wane.

Royal and constitutional experts said the findings of the survey confirmed signs that had been emerging over the course of the year.

Ingrid Seward, royal author and editor of Majesty magazine, said: "Most people generally think that everyone has a right to happiness. Camilla makes [Charles] very happy and that is why there is an upsurge in support for him. She is obviously good for him. As far as William and Harry are concerned, she is pretty near as perfect a stepmother as you could get."

Royal biographer Philip Ziegler said support for Prince Charles reflected "widespread public recognition" that Prince Charles was "serious, hard-working and conscientious".

As for Camilla, he added: "The public have seen how she has handled the whole affair, with great dignity and discretion. What is most surprising is that the public did not come round to her earlier. I am sure that in five years even more people will support the idea of them marrying."

The YouGov poll found that 51 per cent of people believed Prince Charles should become king and be allowed to marry Camilla.

Rather more men, 54 per cent, supported this idea but, even among women - who have shown the most hostility to Camilla in similar polls - there was an almost even divide, with 49 per cent supporting Charles's accession and marriage.

Only 15 per cent of those polled said Charles should only become king if he didn't marry Camilla, while the same number supported the proposition that the crown be passed directly to Prince William.

In the under-30 age group, 21 per cent believed William should be king, against 47 per cent who still thought Charles should be allowed to marry Camilla and ascend the throne. Overall 17 per cent believed Britain should reject the monarchy and become a republic.

Evidence that support for Charles had grown since Diana's death emerged when people were asked: "If Prince Charles and Camilla now decide to marry, would you approve or disapprove if the new Archbishop of Canterbury allowed them to have a Church of England wedding?" - 60 per cent were in favour and, of these, 67 per cent were men and 53 per cent women.

A surprise finding emerged in questions about Charles's marriage to Diana. Among women polled, 80 per cent said it would have been better if he married Camilla in the first place. Among men the percentage was 63; the overall figure was 71 per cent. Only 16 per cent thought Charles was right to marry Diana.

Prince Charles was given an overwhelmingendorsement for his care of Prince William and Prince Harry, with 81 per cent believing he has been a good father. Only five per cent thought he had done a bad job. More women than men - 84 per cent to 76 per cent - thought he had been a good father to the princes.

And there was further heartening news for Prince Charles. To the question: "Since Princess Diana's death has your opinion gone up, gone down or remained about the same?", 32 per cent said their opinion of Charles had gone up, with 26 per cent saying it had gone down and 42 per cent saying it was unchanged.

There were surprising results to questions about Diana. Only 52 per cent felt the public outpouring of grief at the time of her death had been "heartfelt", while 46 per cent thought it had been "hysterical".

More women than men thought the expressions of grief were genuine, but 60 per cent of men and women aged under 30 thought it had been hysterical.

Just over half the number of people questioned, 56 per cent, believed Diana had a "profound and lasting effect on Britain" - 39 per cent did not feel the princess made a lasting impact on the nation - and a similar number, 55 per cent, felt the monarchy had grown stronger since her death.

On the question of preserving Diana's memory there was little enthusiasm for major commemoration projects. Only 19 per cent agreed with a suggestion that the Government should establish a new bank holiday called Princess Diana Day, while 75 per cent disagreed.

A proposal to turn her former home, Kensington Palace, into a museum and permanent memorial found little favour. Only 22 per cent agreed with this, while 66 per cent disagreed. People in the over-50 age group were most opposed to the commemoration ideas.

On the question of whether the royal family had done enough to preserve the memory of the princess, 51 per cent felt it had done too little, while 39 per cent disagreed. But Diana was given credit for "humanising the royal family" by 40 per cent of those polled on the topic of where she had the greatest influence.

By contrast, 26 per cent felt she had made her greatest impact on the landmines campaign, while 14 per cent chose the Aids issue.

The Queen, who attracted criticism over her treatment of Diana, was given a favourable rating - reflecting the triumph of her Jubilee year. Asked whether opinion of her had risen or fallen since Diana's death, 23 per cent said it had gone up, 15 per cent said it had gone down and 62 per cent said it had stayed the same.

The rest of the royal family, with the exception of Prince Charles, fared less well. Opinion on them went up for only seven per cent, 27 per cent said it had gone down and 64 said it stayed the same.

The results of the survey came as no surprise to constitutional expert Lord St John of Fawsley, who said: "Public support for Prince Charles has been growing for several years, in fact.

"It is due, I think, to a recognition of his very great qualities - particularly his kindness and the fact he acts not only from the head but from the heart. That is shown by the way he took control of the situation when the Princess of Wales died, and it was he who arranged the ceremony, got her body back from Paris and organised the lying in state at St James's Palace.

"Since then he has proved a wonderful father to his sons.

"On him marrying again, I think that, as people have warmed to Prince Charles, they would feel he should have some help in his life and the obvious person is Camilla Parker Bowles. But has it yet reached that point where it is possible for them to marry now? I don't think so yet. One has to wait and see but it looks as if the public is coming round - it won't ever be unanimous - but it will be a majority."

Royal author Hugo Vickers said: "I am not surprised that Prince Charles's popularity has increased.

"Although there was a hostile reaction to him when the Princess of Wales died there was also sympathy, and no one blamed him - you only had to look at him to see what he was going through.

"Camilla Parker Bowles appears much more frequently in public with him, and it is now accepted that is what she is going to do.

"We went through so much emotion at the time with Diana and, in a sense, we've gone through it and come out the other side in the grieving. It is quite a healthy thing that she becomes a historical figure and not just someone being endlessly resurrected on television."