GB News’ Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker has provided his exclusive insight into why the British public crowned Prince William as the most popular royal, Princess Anne pulling out of a key engagement, and the Princess of Wales encouraging more girls to take up rugby.
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Why the public crowned Prince William as Britain’s most popular royal
The Prince and Princess of Wales have, once again, been crowned the most popular royals by the British public, with 74-77 per cent having a positive opinion of them.
New polling from YouGov suggests the figures are largely unchanged from last October, with a solid 64 per cent of Britons believing the UK should continue to have a monarchy.
This will come as a boost for the future King and Queen, with William in particular revealing details last year about what kind of King he plans to be.
“Change is on my agenda,” The Prince of Wales told Canadian actor Eugene Levy.
“I want to create a world in which my son is proud of what we do…a world and a job that actually does impact people’s lives for the better,” he continued.
It appears the majority of the public is on board with The Prince’s messaging, which didn’t go into great detail during the documentary on Apple TV+.
William noticeably carries out far less public engagements than his father, King Charles, but sources tell me that doesn’t necessarily mean he isn’t working as hard.
A lot of William’s work, I’m told, happens behind the scenes, away from the cameras.
He is actively involved in a number of strategic meetings, focused on his key areas of interest: ending homelessness; conservation and the environment; mental health and supporting emergency responders.
Prince William wants every public engagement he carries out, I understand, to have real, tangible impact.
In other words, far less emphasis on ribbon-cutting and far more emphasis on real social issues affecting ordinary people.
However, YouGov polling also found only half of respondents feel the monarchy is good value for money.
William’s vast Duchy of Cornwall estate, inherited from his father upon his accession, had been heavily criticised for continuing a “feudal-like” leasehold system where some residents faced ground rent increases, while being denied the right to buy the freehold.
The Duchy was also criticised for charging public bodies like the NHS, Ministry of Defence and schools to use its land.
In response, Prince William put an end to the centuries-old restrictions on land ownership and agreed to review rents for charities and grassroots organisations.
This approach, I’m told, is one he intends to adopt to the Royal Household when he is King and fully in charge.
I suspect William and his team will be looking to make efficiencies, and a number of publicly funded jobs may be on the line.
The latest Sovereign Grant Annual Report (2024-25) confirmed the number of full-time employees is 539, costing £34million.
Prince William is likely to question whether some royal practices and traditions are still fit for purpose.
In fact, he plans to “embrace” change – breathing new life into an ancient institution to try and make it fit for the 21st century.
However, I have also been assured that the unique selling points of the British monarchy (coronations, Trooping the Colour parades, etc.) will remain.
As public finances continue to suffer, and the economy grows at a glacial pace, will the public support a new cost-effective approach to monarchy, or will they worry the Royal Family is about to lose its shine?
Some 74-77 per cent of the public have a positive view of William and his wife, Catherine
| PA
Princess Anne pulls out of key engagement
The Princess Royal was due to visit one of the world’s leading yacht clubs on Thursday, but Her Royal Highness postponed her appearance unexpectedly.
Buckingham Palace said Princess Anne “will not now visit the Royal Motor Yacht Club at RMYCS Enchantress” in Dorset – an engagement that has already been published in the Royal Diary.
The King’s sister was carrying out an away day in and around Poole on Thursday, but appears to have postponed the specific engagement at the yacht club.
The Princess Royal is a keen sailor and has been President of the Royal Yachting Association since 1987.
She and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, regularly take sailing holidays off the West Coast of Scotland, exploring the Hebridean islands on their Rustler 44 yacht Ballochbuie – named after a forest on the Balmoral estate.
I understand The Princess’ absence was due to a weather and transport issue, and the visit will be rescheduled for a later date.
Princess Anne was forced to pull out of a royal engagement
| GETTY
The Princess of Wales has encouraged more girls to take up rugby
| PAPrincess of Wales encourage more girls to take up rugby
The Princess of Wales has suggested schools shouldn’t “pigeonhole boys and girls into particular sports too early” as she hosted a Windsor Castle reception, celebrating England’s women’s rugby team’s spectacular win last autumn.
As Patron of England Rugby, Catherine hosted a reception at Windsor Castle for the team, hailing their “amazing achievement” winning the Women’s World Cup last year.
In conversation with the players, she revealed her daughter “[Princess] Charlotte is playing rugby, but at home with the family, so she isn’t yet at school. I was asking how many schools are actually incorporating rugby [for girls]…not many are yet.”
“Rugby is so accessible,” she continued, “[Prince] Louis is playing touch rugby, and it’s such a great game, and actually they shouldn’t necessarily need to pigeonhole boys and girls into particular sports too early.
“Obviously, as they get physically stronger, [Prince] George now, if I play at home, I do not want to get tackled by him!”
Later, she told the winning team: “You’ve really inspired all the new generation [that] perhaps might not even have thought rugby was for them.
“I think it really showed how accessible rugby is to so many types of girls, in different parts of the country.”
A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport told GB News: “The Red Roses’ World Cup win on home soil was an incredible, inspiring moment for our country and a genuine game-changer for women’s rugby.
“Since before the tournament began, we’ve been working alongside the RFU and investing millions of pounds in the Impact ’25 legacy programme. It has supported 850 clubs and, in the year leading up to the World Cup alone, helped 37,000 women and girls get involved in rugby.
“We are also investing £400million in grassroots sports facilities to break down barriers and ensure sport is accessible to all.”