Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Politics
Chris McCall

Scottish support for the monarchy plummets as fewer than half now back the Royals

Support for the monarchy in Scotland has dropped with fewer than half of people now supporting the institution, a poll has found.

A survey commissioned by by the British Future thinktank found that only 45 per cent of Scots said they wanted to retain the monarchy – with 36 per cent saying the end of the Queen’s reign would be the right moment to create a republic.

Another 19 per cent either rejected either answer or said they didn’t know.

But support for the Royal Family remains high UK-wide with 85 per cent of respondents from across Britain believing the monarchy will still be in place in 10 years' time.

Almost six in 10 people across the UK want to retain the monarchy for the foreseeable future.

Prince William and his wife Kate - who are known as the Earl and Countess of Strathearn when in Scotland - were warmly greeted when the couple made a 48-hour tour of the central belt last week.

It comes as members of the Royal Family will make visits to all four home nations next month to mark the 70th anniversary of the Queen taking the throne.

Anne, the Princess Royal, will visit Scotland while Prince Edward and his wife Sophie will visit Northern Ireland over the extended bank holiday weekend of June 2 - 5.

Prince William and his wife Kate will visit Wales - but there will be no public roles for Prince Harry or Andrew, the Duke of York.

The four main events of the weekend – Trooping the Colour, the Party at the Palace, the Platinum Jubilee Pageant and a thanksgiving service – will all take place in London.

Royal correspondents in London have interpreted the visits to all four home nations as a push to emphasise "UK unity".

The Queen is strictly neutral when it comes to politics but her conversations are often scrutinised for indications of her thinking.

Comments she made in September 2014 - just days before the referendum on Scottish independence - were widely reported at the time as being a boost for the Union.

She told a member of the public outside Crathie Kirk - the church closest to her Balmoral estate - that she hoped Scots would "think very carefully about the future".

It came just one week after a bombshell poll found support for Scottish independence had edged ahead of those backing the Union for the first time.

The Queen's comments were viewed as being part of an orchestrated plan to show support for the Union.

SNP policy is the Queen would remain head of state if Scotland were to vote for independence in the future.

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.