THERE is glum holiday reading today for the royal family gathered at Balmoral, as a survey shows support for the monarchy has plunged to an all-time low.
Three years ago, popular support for the royals stood at 70 per cent. Now, only 48 per cent think the country would be worse off without them.
This is more than a minor glitch; it smacks of a sea-change in the public's attitude and reflects the damage done to the royals' standing by the recent years of soap-opera revelations.
The media may carry some of the blame, but, for all the tabloid excess, they have followed a script that the royals themselves have written.
If then, the royal family is today looking down a slope today towards the monarchy's eventual demise, history may find that it was they who greased the path.
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