We don't want you Charles, let Wills be the King

MOST Britons do not want Prince Charles to become king.

An exclusive YouGov/Sunday Mirror survey reveals for the first time how public confidence in the Prince has been eroded by a series of scandals.

The findings will comes as a crushing blow to Charles in the week that the running of his household was criticised by his own private secretary Sir Michael Peat.

The survey reveals for the first time how his standing has been badly damaged by the mishandling of the "palace rape" scandal, the selling of royal gifts and the collapse of the Paul Burrell trial.

The clear message from the poll - details on the right - is that Charles needs to get his act together, and fast, if he is to accede to the throne. Just 42 per cent of those polled last week said that Charles should succeed the Queen when she dies or abdicates, compared with 58 per cent just last April. William is rapidly emerging as the people's choice. His share of the vote on who should next take the throne increased from 20 to 32 per cent in the same period.

Among women support for William rises to 38 per cent, compared to just 40 per cent for Charles.

Though Charles escaped personal blame in Sir Michael's report, in the public's eyes he has been badly damaged.

Eighteen per cent said their opinion of the Prince had gone down as a result. A mere two per cent said it had gone up.

Only 39 per cent thought Charles would make a good king - down from a far more comforting 60 per cent last April. Forty-six per cent said he wouldn't - nearly double last year's 24 per cent.

Nearly half of those polled - 45 per cent - said the Peat report was "a whitewash and a cover-up", with just 22 per cent thinking it was "open and candid"."

A small crumb of comfort for Charles and his family comes from the fact that there appears to be no fresh groundswell of republicanism.

One in five (20 per cent) of those surveyed said Britain should have an elected president to succeed the Queen, the same figure as last year.

However, most people in the country now believe that though the monarchy should be retained, it should be slimmed- down dramatically in the next few years.

Fifty-one per cent voted for the smaller-monarchy option - up a significant 13 points on last year.

A royal source said: "This is the most damaging royal poll that has ever been seen. It makes extremely uncomfortable reading.

Copyright 2003 MGN LTD
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