Prince William should be the next monarch instead of his father, Prince Charles, according to nearly half of the respondents in a new survey about the British royal family.
The poll, conducted by Deltapoll, revealed that 47 percent of the 1,590 respondents think the Duke of Cambridge should be the king while only 27 percent said that the line of succession should be strictly followed as Charles is rightfully the next in rank to Queen Elizabeth.
The rest of the respondents, on the other hand, prefer that there should be no monarchy in Britain anymore. However, eight percent of the respondents think that Prince Harry should sit on the throne.
Joe Twyman, the co-founder of Deltapoll, said that the results should concern the royal family as the person who stands to inherit the queen's throne is less popular than his heir. Twyman sees a rising problem in the monarchy's future, as far as public opinion is concerned, as only a quarter of the British people will support a new king.
Deltapoll's results is similar to the survey results conducted by The Times Redbox in March, which revealed that 51 percent of the respondents want Prince William to bypass Charles and take the crown. Only 31 percent supported the Prince of Wales' ascension to the throne once his mother dies.
YouGov has been tracking the popularity of the members of the royal family and William has consistently been at the top of the list over Charles. As it currently stands, William leads the popularity rankings by a slight margin over his grandmother as well.
However, it will be close to impossible to have William sit as the next king over Charles because it's against the 1701 Act of Settlement. Only Parliament has the power to change this law, which can take years to pass.
Charles has been training to be the next in line to the throne since he was a child. Now at 72, he is the most qualified person to succeed his mother based on his birthright and his experience. He could, however, decide to give up his right to rule as king in favor of his son. However, many royal experts believe that Charles will not give up right as it could impact the monarchy in significant ways.
Like his father, Prince William will have to wait his turn to fulfill his destiny. The only thing that could prevent the Duke of Cambridge from becoming the king is premature death.
