Brits Back Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Decision in New Poll — But Think Funding Should Stop
British residents are weighing in on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s decision to step back as senior members of the Royal Family.
On Thursday, International research and data analytics group YouGov polled 1,327 people from the United Kingdom to see where they fell on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s headline-making news, later releasing the results to the media.
Of those questioned, a majority 45 percent said they supported the couple’s dramatic move. A quarter (26 percent) opposed the move, while 30 percent admitted they didn’t have an opinion on the matter.
Though most were on Harry and Meghan’s side, a whopping two-thirds of the public (or 63 percent) said that their income funding — which currently comes from the Duchy of Cornwall — should stop. Just 13 percent said they think they should be allowed to keep the funding.
Conservative voters are the strongest supporters of removing this income source, YouGov said, at 71 percent.
All in all, almost half of pollsters (49 percent, to be exact) didn’t think the Sussex’s decision would damage the Royal Family as a whole. Just a third (32 percent) worried it could spell trouble in the long run.
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RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Decision Is ‘Unprecedented in the Modern Royal Family’
On Wednesday, Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, revealed, in a statement on Instagram, their plans to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution.”
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen,” they said. “It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment.”
“We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages,” their statement continued. “This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.”
RELATED: Queen Summons Royal Family for Emergency Meeting: ‘This Is Happening Very Quickly’
Just hours after Harry and Meghan shared their plan, Queen Elizabeth reacted by saying the conversation is still in “early” stages.
While there was some idea of the couple’s desire to take a different route, as discussions have been confirmed to be taking place, insiders told PEOPLE that the 93-year-old monarch and senior members of the royal family, including Prince Charles and Prince William, were caught off guard by the release of the couple’s statement on Wednesday.
“There is a lot of hurt about this,” one royal source told PEOPLE.
In turn, the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William united, the source said, to tell their offices to work “at pace” to find a solution to Meghan and Harry’s desire to step away from frontline royal work. According to the insider, they have asked their teams to work with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s office and governments on both sides of the Atlantic on the issue.
“The Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke of Cambridge have directed their teams to work at pace with governments and the Sussexes’s office to find workable solutions and this is expected to take days, not weeks,” the royal source said.
It’s clear that the monarch, wants to get to a conclusion quickly.
“This has moved from shock and a range of emotions to something more constructive,” the source added. “It is complicated. This is happening very quickly. And the proof in that is the fact that this will take days and not weeks.”
