What Most People Believe About Prince William
People tend to have strong opinions about the British royal family and that's very true when it comes to Prince William's words, actions, and potential. The public also had definitive thoughts in 2021 when they were asked about who should be the next king of England. Frankly, the answers are not exactly straightforward and might surprise you.
For a little background, it's helpful to know that the royal succession isn't simply based on who's the oldest of the next generation when it comes to the Windsor-Mountbatten family (i.e. Queen Elizabeth's offspring). According to the British royal family's website, "The basis for the succession was determined in the constitutional developments of the seventeenth century, which culminated in the Bill of Rights (1689) and the Act of Settlement (1701)."
While there are various requirements for taking the throne, the current line of succession would see Prince Charles become king when his mother dies or steps down. He's followed by his eldest son, Prince William, and then the Duke of Cambridge's little ones, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis come next. As of this writing, Prince Harry is in the sixth spot, and his son, Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, is seventh.
However, if the queen thinks it's best, she can ignore the expected succession and choose who she wants to be the next ruler. That's why the public was asked about who they thought should be king and they made some intriguing choices when it came to the possibility of William's potential time on the throne as well as that of his father and brother.
Will Prince William be the next king of England?
When Queen Elizabeth is ready to hand off her crown, she'll likely pass it off to her oldest son, Prince Charles. However, when Deltapoll conducted a survey of 1,590 adults during the period between March 31 and April 1, 2021, they found that the "British public would prefer Prince William be crowned as the next monarch — instead of his dad, heir apparent Prince Charles," per Page Six. In fact, a whopping 47 percent think that William is best suited to take the throne next (and 55 percent of women, BTW). While DeltaPoll director Joe Twyman acknowledged that this "is obviously not [something that's officially] decided by the British public, ... Prince William is the top choice, by some distance."
As for Charles, only 27 percent of survey takers are keen on him being the next king, and only "5 percent of those ages 18 to 24" are interested in seeing him take the crown. Prince Harry is the more popular option for younger people, taking 23 percent of the votes from those under 24 years old, while they gave William 21 percent. Granted, following the Megxit situation, Harry only nabbed 8 percent overall and just 1 percent with folks over 65.
It should be noted that the "youngest age group polled also showed the most support for abolishing the monarchy altogether," which is something that the queen should perhaps keep in mind if she intends to choose a successor who will help the royal family keep the crown.