Two-thirds of Brits would approve of a same-sex royal wedding
LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 15: Prince Harry chats to Queen Elizabeth II on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the annual Trooping the Colour Ceremony on June 15, 2013 in London, England. Today’s ceremony which marks the Queens official birthday will not be attended by Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh as he recuperates from abdominal surgery and will also be The Duchess of Cambridge’s last public engagement before her baby is due to be born next month. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
66 percent of Brits would not mind a royal same-sex wedding, according to a new Ipsos Mori poll for King’s College London.
The survey of 1,681 people, published on Friday, records the “biggest shift” in public opinion regarding same-sex marriage in the last 40 years, according to Ipsos Mori chief executive Ben Page.
73 percent of respondents said they did not object to same-sex marriage in general, although 8 percent still think it should be banned, and 13 percent disapprove of it but do not wish to ban it.
However, the poll shows that people are more concerned about a same-sex union than other types of marriages, such as marrying someone from a different ethnic background or a divorcee.
Only 6 percent of people would ban or disapprove of interracial marriages, 5 percent would ban or disapprove of marriage between people of different religion, and 4 percent would ban or disapprove of divorcees remarrying.
The royal family at Buckingham Palace. (Chris Jackson/Getty)
The poll also found that people would be more concerned about a same-sex marriage or a child born out of wedlock if it happened in the royal family than in their own lives.
Only 15 percent of people said they would be “very concerned” if a member of the royal family were to marry someone from the same sex, but only 10 percent would be it if one of their friends or family member were to do so.
According to Ipsos Mori’s research, 40 percent of respondents believe that, “In return for the privileges they receive, we are right to set stricter standards of behaviour for the Royal Family than we do for ourselves.”
“In the 1970s only one person in six thought same-sex marriage should be legal, and as late as the 1990s half the public believed that homosexual sex was always wrong,” said Professor at King’s College London Roger Mortimore.
“Now most people have no objection at all, even to a member of the Royal Family marrying somebody of the same sex,” he added.
“Nevertheless, the public holds the Royal Family to stricter standards than they hold themselves.”
Two men hug as they wait for the start of the WorldPride 2017 parade in Madrid on July 1, 2017. (PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP/Getty)
These poll results are very different from the ones published by YouGov right after Prince Harry made his engagement to Meghan Markle official: Almost half of the respondents (48 percent) were opposed to a gay royal wedding.
The YouGov poll, showed that only 52 percent of people would not mind a same-sex royal union. Only 29 percent of Brexit voters were in favour of a same-sex royal union, while 63 percent of remainers approved.
