Prince William
 
Britain favors Prince William over his father Charles as its next monarch¹, with widespread approval for William's girlfriend boosting his ratings, a poll shows.

More than half of 1,000 people polled said they would prefer the second-in-line to be the next to take the throne.

Prince William's popularity is greatest among the younger generation, with 70 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds favoring him as the next king, compared to just 47 percent of 55- to 64-year-olds.

The groundswell of support appears to have been helped by his rekindled² romance with Kate Middleton.

Only 18 percent of those surveyed think she would not make a good addition to the royal family.

The nation is, however, split on whether Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall makes the grade, according to the survey for the Discovery Channel.

Just 42 percent regard Camilla as a good ambassador for the Royal family.

Although a third feel more warmly towards her since her marriage to Prince Charles, 68 percent said they preferred the late Princess Diana.

Former royal correspondent Jennie Bond said: "Prince Charles does seem to have a real image problem.

"Even though he is undoubtedly³ the best-trained heir to the throne we've ever had, the public seem reluctant to accept him as king.

"The damage to his image caused by the break-down of his marriage to Diana seems irreparable.

"I think it's sad; we should be more forgiving as a nation and accept that Charles is a far wiser head than a boy of 25 who still has much to learn and do."

The Discovery Channel will launch "History Night" on Wednesday, beginning with the "Monarchy⁴" series.

一项民调显示，威廉王子的支持率超过父亲查尔斯王储，成为英国民众最欢迎的下任王位继承人。英国民众对威廉女友的广泛认可是威廉王子赢得支持的主要原因。

在一千名受访民众中，超过一半的人表示更希望王位第二继承人威廉王子能够成为下一任君主。

威廉王子在年轻人中最受青睐，在18岁至24岁之间的年轻人中，有70%的人希望威廉能成为英国的下任国王，而这一比例在55岁至64岁的受访者中仅为47%。

威廉王子与女友凯特•米德尔顿重燃爱火可能是他赢得高支持率的主要原因。

仅有18%的受访民众认为凯特不可能为王室增光添彩。

然而，据该项由《探索》频道开展的调查发现，民众对于康沃尔公爵夫人卡米拉的评价则是褒贬不一 。

仅有42%的民众认为卡米拉是个“不错的”王室亲善大使。

三分之一的民众称，卡米拉嫁给查尔斯后，对她的看法有所改善，但68%的人称他们更怀念已故的戴安娜王妃。

前任王室事务记者珍妮•邦德说：“看来，查尔斯王储的公众形象确实存在问题。”

“查尔斯王储无疑是王室历史上最训练有素的王位继承人，但民众似乎不太乐意接受他成为国王。”

“查尔斯与戴安娜婚姻的破裂似乎给他的形象造成了不可弥补的损害。”

“我觉得这是个悲哀。作为一个国家来说，我们应该更加宽容，并且应该认识到：与一个仍需要多加历练的25岁男孩相比，查尔斯要老练得多。”

《探索》频道将于下周三推出“历史之夜”节目，并将首播“君主”专题系列。

Vocabulary:

rekindle:to light again（重新点燃）

make the grade:成功；达到规定目标