Support for the monarchy in Britain is at its highest level for decades thanks to Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee and last year's royal wedding, according to a new poll published Saturday. Some 80 percent of Britons want to remain subjects of the queen, while just 13 percent are in favour of a republic, according to the poll of more than 1,000 adults carried out by Ipsos MORI and published in the Daily Telegraph.
Shortly before the April 2011 wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, now known as the Duchess of Cambridge, 75 percent of Britons supported the monarchy. The rise in support is attributed to the fact that the queen is touring the country to mark her 60th year on the throne, and that the popular duchess has increased her public appearances.
Simon Atkinson, deputy chief executive of Ipsos MORI, said: "Support for the royal family has always been consistently high, but the queen will enter her jubilee celebrations with support for the monarchy running at record levels. "Given the choice, 80 percent of Britons want to see Britain remain a monarchy, a jump of five percentage points, which could be attributed to the increased coverage of the royal family because of last year's royal wedding and this year's diamond jubilee celebration."