Prince William has been dethroned as UK’s favourite royal by his own wife Kate Middleton as she took the top spot in new poll.

The Prince of Wales is said to be happy to see the crown of the most favourite royal on cancer-stricken Princess Kate’s head.

“William, who’s himself aware of the popularity of the future Queen, loves to be beaten by his wife Kate,” a friend of the couple gave a hilarious reaction to the survey.

According to the latest Savanta polling on the UK’s favourite royals, the heir to the British throne was overtaken by Kate by just one per cent.

Prince William loses his crown of Britain’s most popular royal to Princess Kate

The mother-of-three, who is currently undergoing treatment for an unspecified form of cancer, emerged as the nation’s favourite with a favourability rating of 62 per cent. She was seen in a “strongly favourable light” by 36 per cent of the respondents.

Meanwhile, the future King came just shy of Kate’s rating, attracting a “strongly favourable” view of 34 per cent.

Additionally, the polling published by the Independent found Prince Andrew as the UK’s least favourite royal. Just 14 per cent of UK respondents saw him in a favourable light.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were also featured in the poll with the now-America-based couple scoring poorly among British respondents.

Harry had a favourability rating of just 29 per cent, with his wife Meghan trailing just behind on 25 per cent. Just nine per cent placed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the “strongly favourable” category.

Chris Hopkins Political Research Director at Savanta said: “Despite a clearly turbulent year for the Royal Family, they remain as popular as ever with the public.

“The Princess of Wales in particular enjoys a level of support that any politician would be jealous of.”

“The King returns to royal duties this week knowing his standing with the public continues to remain high.”