Princess Anne receives good news – at the expense of nephew Prince William


King Charles' sister has surpassed the Prince and Princess of Wales as the most popular British royal


Princess Royal, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend the National Service of Thanksgiving to Celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen at St Paul's Cathedral on June 3, 2022 in London, England. The Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II is being celebrated from June 2 to June 5, 2022, in the UK and Commonwealth to mark the 70th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. © Getty Images
Alexandra Hurtado
Alexandra HurtadoUS Royal News CorrespondentNew York
53 minutes ago

The Prince and Princess of Wales have been dethroned - on a list - by the Princess Royal. Prince William's aunt, Princess Anne, has been crowned the most popular member of the British royal family. 

King Charles' sister, 76, tops YouGov's "The Most Popular British Royal Family" list, receiving a positive opinion rating of 67 percent.

The popularity number is the percentage of "people who have a positive opinion of a British Royal Family." YouGov Ratings "measures the popularity and fame of anything and everything, based on millions of responses from the public," and does so by "publishing nationally representative popularity scores for thousands of things."

Last month, Anne received an honorary degree from the University of Lincoln, and over the summer, she was the proud mother of the groom as her son Peter Phillips married Harriet Sperling.

Princess Anne, Princess Royal attends the wedding of Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling at All Saints' Church on June 6, 2026 in Kemble, England. Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, Princess Royal and eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, will marry NHS Nurse and writer Harriet Sperling during a ceremony at All Saints' Church in Kemble today.© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Princess Anne is the most popular British royal, according to YouGov ratings

While 67 percent of the public have a positive opinion of Anne, she is, however, disliked by seven percent. 

Majesty Magazine's Managing Editor, Joe Little, has previously told HELLO!: "The Princess Royal, with more than half-a-century of duty and experience under her belt, is regarded by her brother the King as the ultimate pair of safe hands.

"Her no-nonsense attitude and work ethic, which even in her 70s shows no signing of waning, has won her a lot of praise – not that she would seek it – from the media and the public over the years."

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Patron of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Patron of the Royal College of Midwives, visit the headquarters of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) on April 27, 2022 in London, England. The Princess Royal and Duchess of Cambridge are visiting the headquarters to hear about the ways in which the RCM and the RCOG are working together to improve maternal health care, ensuring women are receiving the safest and best care possible at one of the most significant times in their lives.© Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
The Princess of Wales came in second place behind the Princess Royal

The Princess of Wales followed Anne in second place with a popularity rating of 64 percent, while Prince William came third with 62 percent. King Charles ranked fourth with 53 percent.

The Duke of Edinburgh claimed fifth place, followed by the Duchess of Edinburgh in sixth and Zara Tindall in seventh. Queen Camilla ranked eighth, the Duke of Kent ninth and Prince Harry tenth with 29 percent. Princess Eugenie came in at 11th, followed by Lady Louise Windsor in 12th, Meghan Markle in 13th, Princess Beatrice in 14th, Princess Alexandra in 15th, the Duchess of Gloucester in 16th and the Duke of Gloucester in 17th. 

Sarah Ferguson also made the list, taking the 18th spot with a positive opinion rating of 11 percent, just ahead of Lady Margarita Armstrong-Jones, who scored 10 percent.

 Princess Anne, Princess Royal smiles during the viewing of The Queen Elizabeth II Garden on April 21, 2026 in London, England. © John Phillips/Getty Images
While she is currently the most popular royal, Anne was dethroned as the hardest-working member of the royal family in 2025

While Anne claimed the top spot in the popularity rankings, she lost her title as Britain's "hardest-working royal" to her older brother, King Charles, last year. Anne ranked second with 478 engagements, followed by her brother Prince Edward in third place with 313.

In an ITV documentary to mark the Princess Royal's 70th birthday, Peter described his mother as "tenacious." Meanwhile, the royal's daughter Zara noted: "I don't think you can sum her up in one word," adding: "It's a bit stingy." Though she did call her mom professional, caring and honest.

Mike Tindall has also praised his mother-in-law in the past, remarking on The One Show in 2020: "She's just an incredible woman in terms of how much work she can get through in the year."

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