Prince William favoured to take over from Queen

More people in Canada, Britain and Australia would rather see Prince William become their monarch than have Prince Charles take over from Queen Elizabeth, an Angus Reid public opinion poll suggests.

About half of the survey respondents in the three countries (47 per cent of Canadians, 52 per cent of Australians and 51 per cent of Britons) said they would like Prince William to become king after Queen Elizabeth.

Only 17 per cent of Canadians, 31 per cent of Britons, and 13 per cent of Australians said they would prefer to see Prince Charles ascend the throne.

The online survey also suggests that Prince William and Kate Middleton have surpassed the Queen to become the most liked members of the Royal Family.

In Australia and Canada, about a third of respondents (36 per cent and 33 per cent respectively) said they would prefer their countries remain a monarchy.

Thirty-seven per cent of Canadians surveyed said they favoured an elected head of state, while the proportion of Australians who want to see their country become a republic was 28 per cent.

In Britain, respondents said they prefer the monarchy to an elected head of state by a four-to-one margin, with one in four voicing indifference on the matter.

Prince William and his brother Prince Harry were more popular than their father among survey participants.

Prince William is seen favourably by 77 per cent of Canadians, 83 per cent of Australians and 82 per cent of Britons, according to the survey.His wife, Kate Middleton, is now second on the list of most popular royals with similar ratings (73 per cent in Canada, 79 per cent in Australia and 77 per cent in Britain).

The Queen is viewed favourably by seven in 10 respondents in the three countries, and the ranking is similar for Prince Harry. Prince Philip is regarded in a positive light by half of Britons and Canadians, and 45 per cent of Australians, according to the survey.

The lowest rated members of the Royal Family are Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who will visit Canada later this month. The heir to the throne got a positive review from 45 per cent of Britons, 34 per cent of Canadians and 33 per cent of Australians. Camilla is viewed favourably by only three in 10 Britons (31 per cent), and her rating drops to 21 per cent in Canada and 16 per cent in Australia, according to the survey.

Angus Reid conducted the online public opinion poll among 1,506 Australian adults between Feb. 21-29; 2,019 Britons on Jan. 26-27; and 2,005 Canadians on March 7-8. All of respondentsare members of polling panels.

The results are considered accurate within 2.5 percentage pointsfor Australia, and 2.2 percentage pointsfor Britain and Canada.