Cancer-Stricken Kate Middleton is Now Britain’s Most Popular Royal: Poll
The Princess of Wales recently announced her diagnosis after a weeks-long absence and an edited photo of her sparked global conspiracy theories.
After a shocking video statement in March from Catherine, the Princess of Wales, announcing her cancer diagnosis, a new poll indicates that she is now the British public’s favorite royal.
Some 76 percent of more than 2,000 Britons surveyed by YouGov say they have positive opinions of Kate Middleton, up six points since the beginning of this year. Her husband, William, Prince of Wales, also is seen positively by the public, with 73 percent of survey respondents expressing a favorable opinion.
The same poll notes that Prince William has a higher negative rating overall, with 21 percent holding negative opinions of him while only 15 percent said the same of Ms. Middleton.
The princess’ weeks-long absence following an abdominal surgery — as well as a digitally altered photo of her — sparked a firestorm of conspiracy theories about her whereabouts earlier this year. Those were largely quelled after Ms. Middleton released a video in March explaining her absence.
“In January, I underwent major abdominal surgery in London and at the time it was thought that my condition was noncancerous. The surgery was successful, however, tests after the operation found cancer had been present,” she said in the video statement, adding that she is undergoing chemotherapy. “This of course came as a huge shock and William and I have been doing everything we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family.”
In addition to Ms. Middleton and her husband, other popular royals in the survey include Princess Anne, with 71 percent of respondents viewing her favorably, and King Charles, with 63 percent.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are far less popular, with only 31 percent and 26 percent favorability, respectively. The least popular of the whole royal family is Prince Andrew, with 6 percent viewing him positively and 86 percent negatively.
Younger Britons have more negative views of the royals overall, the survey found. While Britons overall support monarchy, the support varies widely by age — 79 percent of those more than 65-year-olds support it and only 32 percent of 18-24 year olds say the same.
