King Charles III’s Monarchy will continue to be blighted by a long-term decline in popularity, despite hopes of a Prince George bounce, a royal author told Newsweek‘s The Royal Report podcast.

Young people have become more opposed to monarchy in Britain in recent years, bringing overall popularity levels down.

Some hopes remain that Gen Z will fall back in love with the royals when they have princes and princesses of their own generation to follow.

And that point will arrive in years to come when Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis become adults.

Valentine Low has written a book, Power and the Palace, about the relationship between the royals and politics in Britain and told The Royal Report podcast he was not so sure.

“I think it’s much too overly optimistic,” he said. “People want to place great weight on the future hope of the royal family but future hopes become middle-aged.

“I mean, look at William. He was this fantastic young man, very good looking, now he’s basically a middle-aged chap, who’s lost his hair.

“I’m not saying William isn’t a good egg. I think he might have some interesting ideas about how the future royal family will function. But by the time he accedes to the throne he’s gonna be very much a middle-aged man if not possibly old.”

Low’s comments come as new polling by Britain’s National Centre for Social Research show the reputation of the Monarchy has slumped to its lowest in the decades the charity has spent examining public opinion.

The organization first looked at the issue in 1983 when 86 percent of U.K. adults said it was “very important” or “quite important” to keep the Monarchy.

This compares to 51 percent in new data collected in 2024 but released for the first time today, a drop of 35 points over 41 years. Meanwhile support for abolishing the Monarchy rose from three percent in 1983 to 15 percent in 2024, according to the data.

There was also a significant generational divide with 59 percent of 16 to 34 year-olds favoring an elected head of state. Among over 55s, however, 76 percent supported keeping the monarchy.

Low told The Royal Report that if the downward trend continued, it could also lead to debates about the Monarchy’s public funding which has risen sharply in recent years.

“It can be unpopular when too much money goes on the royal family,” he said. “But for the most part, while this country still supports the royal family, politicians are going to keep on giving enough money to keep the show on the road.

“It’s when that popularity begins to dip, the politicians might start thinking about that again, and there has been a long-term decline in support for the royal family.

“It’s way, way off crisis levels at the moment but if you look at the long term trend—it’s downwards. And I just wonder where that’s going.”

Financial reports for the 12 months up to April 2025 show the Monarchy was given £86.3 million [around $116 million] in public money, made up of £51.8 million [around $70 million] for the day to day costs plus a top up of £34.5 million to fund reservicing at Buckingham Palace. This compares to £35.7 million ten years ago in the financial year 2014-15.

Low was also asked how he thought it would play out if there ever was a push to abolish the Monarchy in Britain by a radical Government responding to growing unpopularity.

“In those circumstances,” he said, “you have the Monarchy’s supporters, the Daily Mail, the Daily Telegraph, vast sections of the Conservative Party, fighting very vociferously on the Monarchy’s part.

“I think the monarchy would, certainly as far as public perception goes, step back from the argument. They might quietly encourage their supporters, but no more than that. I think they would like to be seen as saying, well, it’s up to the country what system of government we have.”

Power and the Palace, by Valentine Low is out on Thursday, September 11, 2025, in hardback in Britain and e-edition in America, published by Headline.

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