June 21st was Prince William’s 44th birthday AND Father’s Day. On their social media, Kensington Palace released this Matt Porteous photo of William and Princess Charlotte to celebrate, with the message: “Happy birthday and Father’s Day to the best Papa in the World! We love you very much. C, G, C & L.” My first thought was… oh, William has noticed how many photos the Duchess of Sussex has posted of Prince Harry and Lili. Like, you can really tell that Lili is a daddy’s girl, and Harry barely lets Lili’s feet touch the ground. The message seems to be: “Being a girl-dad is MINE, Harold!”
This photo wasn’t the only birthday present for William. We knew it was coming and here it is: a brand new emotional-support poll. While the headline is pretty negative – support for the monarchy has dropped to a 30-year low, lmao – they made sure to say that William is still the most popular member of the family.
Public support for the Royal family is at its lowest level in more than 30 years of polling. The number of British people who still want the country to be a monarchy has dropped by 11 percentage points in the past three years, to 55 per cent.
The figure, which reflects diminishing support for the monarchy in younger age groups, is the lowest in 33 years of Ipsos polling on the Royal family.
The public reported a 69 per cent approval rating in 1993, the year after Elizabeth II had spoken of her “annus horribilis”, which marked a devastating fire at Windsor Castle and the end of three of her children’s marriages. It reached a high of 80 per cent support at the time of the late Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee, after which it dropped gradually to 60 per cent in the year before she died in 2022. In 2021, the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor scandal was ongoing and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had undertaken their Oprah interview and Netflix documentary.
Now, six in 10 of those surveyed say the monarchy has an important role to play in the future of Britain, while 30 per cent believe it does not. The number of respondents who would prefer a republic was 27 per cent.
Six in 10 people believe the King is doing a good job, with 71 per cent reporting the same of the Prince of Wales.
The Ipsos poll of 1,062 British adults was undertaken in March 2026, shortly after the arrest of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The polling company pointed out that it has changed its methodology since June 2025, using an online random probability panel instead of a quota telephone survey, adding that “comparisons with previous waves need to be made with caution”.
The most significant fall in support has been among young people. The poll found that 33 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds support a monarchy today, compared with 74 per cent in 2013. Just over half of 35 to 54-year-olds support the Royal family as an institution, compared with 74 per cent of the over 55s.
Gideon Skinner, senior director of UK Political Research at Ipsos, said: “Ipsos’s latest research on public attitudes to the monarchy reveals an ongoing trend that the Royal family should not ignore. The monarchy still has its strengths, and King Charles and especially Prince William remain personally popular with satisfaction ratings that most politicians could only dream of. But to turn this trend around will require convincing young people in particular that the monarchy still has an important, relevant role to play in the future of the country.”
The idea of more British people thinking that William does a better job than Charles is pretty wild. Of course, the timing is important here – this poll was conducted in March, which was a pretty low point for the institution, especially as Prince Andrew’s arrest was pretty fresh, as were the revelations in the Epstein Files. But no, I don’t believe that 70% of Britain thinks that William does a good job or supports him as Scooter King. We call them emotional-support polls for a reason, because the reality never matches the numbers. If William had that kind of support, he wouldn’t be wandering past empty barricades wherever he goes, and he wouldn’t be getting booed and heckled so consistently either.
Happy birthday and Father’s Day to the best Papa in the World! We love you very much. C, G, C & L 💕 pic.twitter.com/17KWQ3VBIp
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 21, 2026
Happy Birthday to The Prince of Wales! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/gS9eXvqTkN
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 21, 2026
Photos courtesy of Kensington Palace, Matt Porteous for KP, Cover Images and Avalon Red.
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- London, UK, 13 June 2026. The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping The Colour Buckingham Palace, London, UK.,Image: 1109905858, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lee Floyd/Avalon
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- London, UK, 13 June 2026. The Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace following the King’s Birthday Parade, Trooping The Colour Buckingham Palace, London, UK.,Image: 1109908220, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no , Credit line: Lee Floyd/Avalon
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- 17/06/2026, Ascot, UK. The Prince and Princess of Wales attend Day Two of Royal Ascot.,Image: 1110823825, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no , Credit line: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- 17/06/2026, Ascot, UK. The Prince and Princess of Wales present the trophy to the winners of the Prince of Wales Stakes on Day Two of Royal Ascot.,Image: 1110823844, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: © Kensington Palace. This image is free for use but may only be used for news or editorial reporting purposes. This image must NOT be used for any commercial or other use, save for news or editorial reporting and cannot be altered or amended in any manner or form whatsoever. All rights reserved., Model Release: no , Credit line: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace/Avalon
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- Royal family on the balcony during Trooping the Colour 2026 ceremony in celebration of King Charles III’s official birthday Featuring: William Prince of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Catherine Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince Louis Where: London, United Kingdom When: 13 Jun 2026 Credit: Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR HELLO MAGAZINE**
That photo looks awkward to me – it’s super posed, not at all natural, almost like Egg doesn’t know how to hug his child. Totally different vibe from photos of good King Harry with his son and daughter.
I agree. Charlotte’s body language is off – she seems stiff with her shoulders hunched.
And posing for a “family” type photo in full dress uniform? Yeesh. They couldn’t find ANY other photo of the two of them that was more casual?
My first thought was it looked AI, but I suppose wills could just as easily be so uncomfortable with his own daughter that it simply looks fake.
I have a cousin that’s just like William, in the fact that neither one can take a good picture to save their lives. She looks fine, has a normal smile, but put a camera on her and she gets the weirdest grin or smile on her face. She can’t help it and every time I see ANY picture of this man, I think the same thing….can’t take a good picture if his life depended on it.
The strange thing about him taking photos is that he has t always been this way. I would even say that he isn’t this way with other people. His photos with Jason Knauf or even with Sophie Wessex seem more genuine and comfortable, than with his children or wife.
I have a child like that, point a camera at him and he pulls an awful face, he did learn a bit of control after he had a couple of children, but he still seems to revert on occasion, the worse thing is he pulls a face while the children look normal and he sends it to us. He must be camera blind.
We have seen enough photos of Charlotte to know that isn’t true. She always looks fine in photos but they both look uncomfortable in this one. They look like they just met. It’s just a weird photo.
That photo is so much Hide the pain Harold. Was it taken during the Windsor lunch they snubbed? On another note I quite like the picture BP chose.
This isn’t a natural loving relationship… that’s what is showing that makes both dad and daughter look so awkward, this is an eggshell relationship and Willy is not the comforting parent.
So setting the record straight by the sussexes on the Oprah show is the same as Andrew who got arrested . So sickening. No mention of Andrews I can’t sweat interview and the law suit his mother paid off.
So, wait — the royal family account wished a happy fathers’ day to Prince William. But did William wish his father (the King) a happy Father’s Day? ….i’m guessing the answer is, no. FWIW, William looks eerily like those monarchs who were teetering on the edge of the abyss in about 1912 / 1913. Who puts on dress uniform for his own birthday???? Like it’s a costume party? This is where William just appears out of touch, hopelessly.
Willy didn’t wish Kate Happy Birthday or Happy Mother’s Day this year, either, so there’s that. And he has social media people whose literal job is to check the calendar, find an old picture and sign his name to a short message, so he must have told them to stand down.
Looks like the photo was taken on Trooping. It matches what they were both wearing that day.
That makes this photo even more sad and questionable because where are his other two children and why wasn’t there a more relaxed and celebratory photo to choose from. He essentially used the celebration of his dad’s birthday party to take a photo with only one of his children to use as his Father’s Day and birthday photo but didn’t bother to wish his father a happy Father’s Day at the same time.
Weren’t WanK sycophants saying that on Father’s/Mother’s Day people are meant to honour their respective parent on social media and not their spouse? Why didn’t WanK honour their respective fathers?
PoW only turned up for 57 events for the past 6 months and trousers £23miliion a year for his “efforts!” Repeat this poll stating this FACT and ask the question whether he is value for money and he would score appropriately!
Maybe those superfans on comments sections,voted the ones who say scooter will be a great king
He looks like an awkward rodent
IPSOS is a much more reputable polling company than YouGov, so I tend to trust them more. I suppose that Charles’ numbers are lower than Willy’s, even though Charles works much harder, because of the sordid history with Camilla and Diana.
And Willy has a hammerlock and super-injunctions on the press, who can’t report on his luxury vacations, marriage and laziness, so instead they dutifully write puff pieces about how being a good dad to school-age kids still means not working. Will the press ever be able to report truthfully on Willy?
Scooter called Diana paranoid and he is always in a snit over the sussexes. He is no role model
Yeah. I can see this. A lot of people are just reading the puff pieces and probably think William actually does a lot.
Idk, it depends on the questions being asked. Would a poll like this actually ask, “Do you think William is doing a better job than Charles?” It’s probably a “favorable/unfavorable” choice, which doesn’t say anything specific about performance.
It’s the polling of a little more than a thousand people that is the issue for me. Even in a city of roughly 100,000 people where I live, I would feel that’s an inaccurate poll to represent the masses. So when we are talking about millions of people who all pay to fund this family, that seems a horrible ratio for polling.
His daughter looks like she just met him for the first time like she was forced to take a photo with a distant uncle. Weird as shit.
This photo is yet more evidence that for the Waleses, a smile almost never reaches their eyes, at least in public. It’s disturbing enough for Kate and William but to see the same in Charlotte is just sad
Huh. Honestly, I’m so used to seeing all three of the kids in these types of royal pictures that it’s actually throwing me off that it’s just Charlotte here. Are we gonna get one of just William and Louis next year? If they posted more photos of their kids where we saw them all together or one on one more often, I don’t think it would feel so different.
This is to compete with the photos of Harry and Lili which were posted by M earlier this year. It’s not working. The contrast is so glaring.
But the hilarious thing is that the derangers who criticised H for being pictured with just their daughter and pedalling furiously to praise and make excuses for William being pictured with just his daughter.
Yes but the thing is Meghan posts photos of the kids somewhat regularly so we’ve seen ones of all of them together, just Harry and Archie or just Harry and Lili. So it’s not that odd. But here, it comes across as odd to me bc it feels abrupt to just include Charlotte this time. But sure?
I’m not surprised William polls better than Charles. William’s whole image is how he’s so much better than Charles. It’s why anything less than perfect about him is quickly shut down in the press – especially talk about his marriage. Can’t have the guy who’s supposed to be better than Charles acting like Charles.
And no I don’t think William is better. I’m just saying why the numbers may look like that.
I would find it a turn off for the heir talking about when he is king when his father is still alive. I would never give scoots a favorable rating.