Princess Anne overtook Prince William and Princess Kate as Britain's most popular royal in new survey data released by a respected U.K. polling agency.
The Prince and Princess of Wales usually top the list of favorite royals but William's aunt, Anne, got a bounce in the third quarter of 2026, according to YouGov Ratings data. All three royals were substantially more liked than disliked, giving them positive net approval ratings.
Why It Matters
Royals are not subject to elections, meaning polling data has less urgency than it would for a U.S. presidential candidate, for example. However, the monarchy must still work to preserve its popularity and legacy for the future.
King Charles III has long pursued a slimming down of the monarchy, creating debate about how long the list of working royals should be. Anne's popularity in Britain serves as an indication there remains affection for family members beyond the direct heirs to the throne.
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Prince William and Princess Kate's Ratings
In the first three months of 2026, Kate was liked by 75 percent and disliked by 10 percent, giving her a net rating of plus 65 in a survey conducted throughout the quarter as part of YouGov Ratings.
YouGov Ratings obtains opinions throughout the year and presents the results quarterly, while most polls are based on fieldwork carried out over several days meaning they offer a snapshot in time.
Over the following six months, Kate's rating dropped leaving her with a favorability score of 64 percent and an unfavorability of 8 percent, with a balance of plus 56 between the two. That still leaves her deep in positive territory with a substantial fanbase and few critics.
Prince William's popularity followed a similar arc, with 74 percent of people feeling positive about him and 9 percent negative in the first quarter of the year. By the third, positive responses had dropped to 62 percent and negative to 12 percent, with a balance of plus 50. Again, as long as the curve levels out or bounces back in the coming months the dip will pose few concerns for Kensington Palace as polling numbers do fluctuate.
Princess Anne's Ratings
Over the same time period, however, Princess Anne saw an increase in support. Over the first quarter of 2026, she was liked by 62 percent and disliked by 7 percent, putting her on plus 55.
In the third, she was liked by 67 percent and disliked by 7 percent giving her a net approval rating of plus 60, four points higher than Kate and 10 points higher than William.
King Charles III experienced a boost over the same time period, taking him from 47 percent positive and 26 percent negative in the first quarter to 53 percent positive and 22 percent negative in the third. That represented a jump from a net approval rating of plus 21 to plus 31 over a six month period.
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Analysis
Since the 1980s, support for the monarchy in Britain has softened and support for becoming a republic has grown, though it remains a minority perspective.
Changing attitudes among young Brits are often held up as an explanation and Newsweek has been told that there are hopes that "Generation Alpha" will offer a resurgence in support for the royals once Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are older.
Princess Anne is not only older generation but represents a more traditional approach to monarchy. In a 2020 Vanity Fair interview, she said: "I don’t think this younger generation probably understands what I was doing in the past and it’s often true, isn’t it?
"You don’t necessarily look at the previous generation and say, ‘oh, you did that?’ or, ‘you went there?’ Nowadays they’re much more looking for ‘oh, let’s do it a new way’. And I’m already at the stage [of] ‘please do not reinvent that particular wheel. We’ve been there, done that. Some of these things don’t work. You may need to go back to basics.’"
Of course, the possibility remains that the Waleses could return to the top of the popularity list in the future.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly and Tony Phillips.