Shock poll shows six out of 14 nations would vote to remove Charles as their ... trends now
Nearly half of the King's realms – including Canada and Australia – would vote to become republics if a referendum was held tomorrow, a bombshell poll has found.
Research by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft reveals the true scale of the challenge Charles faces abroad.
It found that of the 14 overseas countries where he is head of state, six – Australia, Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Solomon Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda – would vote to ditch the monarchy.
Of those surveyed, 42 per cent of Australians were for a republic with 35 per cent against, while 47 per cent of Canadians wanted change with just 23 per cent for the monarchy.
Nearly all the other eight nations with Charles as head of state – New Zealand, Belize, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu – hang in the balance.
Research by former Conservative deputy chairman Lord Ashcroft reveals the true scale of the challenge Charles faces abroad
It found that of the 14 overseas countries where he is head of state, six – Australia, Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Solomon Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda – would vote to ditch the monarchy
Only Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Tuvalu have significant majorities in favour of maintaining the status quo, according to the survey of 11,251 people.
It stands in stark contrast to Lord Ashcroft's landmark study on attitudes in the UK, published in the Daily Mail yesterday, which found support for the monarchy at home is rock solid.
But in a possible signpost to the future of Charles' reign, the in-depth analysis found that all the realms overwhelmingly want to remain part of the Commonwealth. Most also said the monarchy gives them 'more stability'.
We don't get any benefits, so why are we part of it?
Nearly all agreed that the Royal Family 'needs to modernise in order to have any chance of surviving' and only three disagreed that The Firm 'should be scaled down and its cost significantly reduced'.
As Lord Ashcroft surmises, while at home 'the institution looks secure for now', looking abroad 'the picture is much more mixed'.
His survey found:
Reasons for ditching the monarchy are varied, with Caribbean countries citing colonialism while others see the monarchy as distant and no longer relevant; Most of those who want a republic believe this would 'bring real, practical benefits' to them; The Sussexes are believed over the rest of the Royal Family by ten out of the 14 countries, with most feeling that Meghan's treatment exposed 'racist views'; Canada is among four countries arguing the monarchy is a 'racist and colonialist institution and we should have nothing to do with it'; In nearly every country, the majority of people said 'in an ideal world we wouldn't have the monarchy, but there are more important things for us to deal with'.A pattern emerged from focus groups that showed the Royal Family's waning grip in the popular imagination of the 14 Commonwealth realms.
One Australian said: 'Britain is just like a distant memory. If anything, we're just following in the footsteps of whatever the US is doing.'
And a Canadian respondent remarked: 'The story of the monarchy is beautiful, but it's no longer real to the modern day.'
Some 61 per cent of Australians and 54 per cent of Canadians agreed that the monarchy was good for them in the past, but no longer makes sense.
In Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Jamaica, over 75 per cent of people agreed that 'in an ideal world we wouldn't have the monarchy, but there are more important things for us to deal with'.
The increasing apathy towards the royals comes after Barbados voted to become a republic and some critics described William and Kate's tour of the Caribbean as a PR disaster.
There is a growing republican movement across the Caribbean – particularly in Jamaica – but even most New Zealanders agreed that the monarchy no longer makes sense for them. Many countries seem to be upset that they get no tangible benefits.
A Jamaican respondent told Lord Ashcroft's pollsters: 'To top it all off, even to travel to England we need a visa. We don't get any benefits, we don't get to travel to the UK visa-free, so why are we even part of it?'
In the Bahamas one person noted Britain's absence while the US and Canada helped with relief after Hurricane Dorian.
And one New Zealander said that, while the royals 'probably work hard' in the UK, they 'honestly don't know what they do' in their own country.
However, most countries agreed that 'the King can unite everyone in my country, no matter who they voted for', with the exceptions of Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand and the Solomon Islands.
Most agreed that the Royal Family 'care a lot' about their country and that it 'might seem a strange system in this day and age, but it works'.
