The poll, conducted by the research firm YouGov, revealed on Friday that 41 percent of British youngsters aged between 18 and 24 thought there should be an elected head of state compared to 31 percent who opted for a king or queen.
The survey showed a reversal of sentiment from two years ago when 46 percent preferred the monarchy to 26 percent who wanted it replaced.
The poll, which was carried out among 4,870 adults, found that 53 percent of those aged between 25-49 supported keeping the monarchy, down by five percentage points from a similar poll in 2019, while support for an elected head was up by four points.
Among those Britons over 65 years old, 81 percent backed Queen Elizabeth’s monarchy, almost unchanged from two years ago.
The British monarchy traces its history back to William the Conqueror who invaded England in 1066, though royals ruled the patchwork of kingdoms that stretched across what became England, Scotland and Wales for centuries before that.
The YouGov survey came as the Windsors have been reeling from the death of the Queen’s 99-year-old husband Prince Philip in April and the crisis that followed the interview by Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, with US chat show host Oprah Winfrey in March.