Over the weekend, Labour MP Graham Stringer said: “Prince Andrew has done more for republicanism than anyone since Oliver Cromwell. Queen Elizabeth II ensured the Royal family had almost universal support during her reign — even among some quiet republicans. Prince Andrew has damaged that. He has almost completely undone that work.” It’s true, but I also think it’s unfair to put this entirely on Andrew. The endgame is upon us because of Sarah Ferguson, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and the Princess of Wales as well. If anything, I put more of the blame on Charles. So just how bad has October been for the Windsors? Hilariously, support for monarchy has now dipped below 50%, and a solid majority of British citizens believe that the institution knew about Andrew’s depravity and turned a blind eye.
A poll has said support for the monarchy in the UK has fallen below 50%. The survey carried out by Savanta suggests just 46% of the public back keeping the royal family, with 39% saying they oppose it. This is down from 60% in a similar Savanta poll carried out in June.
Graham Smith, CEO of anti-monarchy group Republic, says it shows the monarchy is in “serious trouble” on the back of a torrid week in which Prince Andrew was forced to drop his remaining titles following further allegations around his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Other key findings in the poll included 71% saying they do not believe Andrew’s claims of innocence, 77% saying he should face a criminal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse, and 70% saying police have not taken enough action against him.
The poll also asked if people believe the royal family knew about Andrew’s alleged behaviour before it was publicly reported, to which 61% said yes.
Smith said: “The monarchy is in serious trouble. This isn’t just about Andrew, it’s about all of them, the whole institution. No wonder the public don’t believe Andrew, but it’s worrying for the royals that people believe William and Charles knew about the allegations before they broke in the press. People clearly want a wider inquiry, and the authorities need to deliver. We need to know who knew what, and when. It is devastating in a democracy to have so many believe we’re not equal in law and this is possibly part of the reason support for the monarchy has fallen below 50%. Our politicians are completely out of touch with public opinion on this. Clearly the loss of titles was never going to be enough of a punishment. We now need a full inquiry, criminal investigation and a national debate about the monarchy and why it is so obviously corrupt.”
Elsewhere in the poll, which was commissioned by Republic, a whopping 76% said the royals are not treated equally to the general public when it comes to breaking the law. Almost 60% of those asked also said the late Queen Elizabeth did too much to protect her son.
Royal biography Andrew Lownie telegraphed all of this last week, repeatedly saying that the public was way ahead of the monarchy, Downing Street and Parliament on the Andrew issue, and that the establishment has really failed to get ahead of these issues and deal with them properly. We still see that right now, with the hand-wringing about where Andrew and Fergie will live. They *should* be retired to the closest prison, Andrew especially. The monarchy should be leading the charge to demand a criminal investigation into Andrew. But that’s just it – it’s not like Charles and the rest of them are protecting Andrew out of loyalty or love. They’re worried that Andrew’s blatant criminality will be used as a Trojan horse to investigate and change the larger issues within the monarchy.
Charles was out today and he got heckled and protested by Republic.
BREAKING NEWS: Charles has just been heckled in Lichfield about his complicity in covering up accusations against Andrew. Time to investigate Andrew. Royal Epstein Inquiry NOW. #NotMyKing #AbolishTheMonarchy #Epstein pic.twitter.com/HrxBsT8FIq — Republic (@RepublicStaff) October 27, 2025
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
