Support for Royals rises

Thousands wished the Queen Mother a happy 100th birthday

Public support for the Royal Family has jumped during the past five years, according to an opinion poll published on Friday.

The MORI poll for The Times newspaper found satisfaction with the monarchy had risen from 41% in 1995 to 51% today.

The poll, carried out last weekend, only a short time after celebrations for the Queen Mother's 100th birthday, revealed that the percentage of people "very satisfied" with the monarchy had risen by six points to 13%.

Those "fairly satisfied" with the way the Royal Family perform its constitutional role rose four points to 38%.

Young princes

Support for the monarchy during the 1995 survey was low following the break-up of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Prince William has won new fans

But the Royal family has enjoyed a relatively stable period with Prince William and Prince Harry bringing a younger focus for the family.

The poll revealed that the highest support for the monarchy existed amongst pensioners at 70% and Conservative Party supporters at 74%.

Those dissatisfied with the constitutional role of the monarchy remained unchanged from five years ago at 20%.

'Out-of-touch'

The MORI poll, which examined the public's attitudes to Britain's institutions, also revealed that a large proportion of people are unhappy with the way the court system operates.

The proportion of people dissatisfied with the system rose from 35% in 1995 to 47% today, an increase of 12%.

Apparently lenient sentencing, an out-of-touch judiciary and the slow pace of justice are thought to have caused the dissatisfaction.

MORI interviewed 1,014 adults aged 18 and over between 17 - 21 August.