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Princess Diana beats the Virgin Mary to top poll of 'ideal mothers'

Princess Diana was voted the most ‘ideal mother’ in a Church of England poll [Photo: Getty]
Princess Diana was voted the most ‘ideal mother’ in a Church of England poll [Photo: Getty]

Princess Diana has beaten the Virgin Mary and her daughter-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge in a poll to crown the ‘ideal mother’.

Respondents were asked: “Thinking of well-known mothers, either fictional or real, or from the past or present – what one person would you name as the ideal mother?”

Five per cent chose the mother of Prince William and Prince Harry, making Diana the most popular choice.

Surprisingly, the Virgin Mary only came eighth on the list, with one per cent of the vote, falling behind ‘my own mother’, Mother Teresa, The Queen, Michelle Obama, Molly Weasley and Mary Poppins.

The Duchess of Cambridge was beaten to the top spot by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana [Photo: Getty]
The Duchess of Cambridge was beaten to the top spot by her late mother-in-law Princess Diana [Photo: Getty]

A number of mothers came in joint fifth place with 1 per cent of responses, including Michelle Obama, Victoria Beckham and the Duchess of Cambridge, who is currently pregnant with her third child.

The survey, involving 2015 UK adults, also people asked about the most important things mothers had done for them.

Click below for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s best family portraits

A third of people said offering readily available support was the most important thing their mother had done for them.

Almost a fifth (18 per cent) cited teaching them to do the right thing, 11 per cent claimed she had taught them the value of hard work, and the same figure said they had provided for everything they need.

Seven per cent said their mother had been a positive role model.

Victoria Beckham and Michelle Obama also made the top ten in the poll about ideal mothers [Photos: Getty]
Victoria Beckham and Michelle Obama also made the top ten in the poll about ideal mothers [Photos: Getty]

Commenting about the results, the Revd Dr Sandra Millar, head of life events at the Church of England, told the Telegraph: “It’s great to hear that people appreciate mums way beyond stereotypes of cooking and cleaning.

“Being there for you, teaching and modelling good values and working hard are qualities that inspire and shape lives.”

The ComRes poll comes as research released earlier this week revealed that all most mums really want this mother’s day is to be left alone.

Though you might think mums want all the spoiling, a new poll by Mumsnet found that 85% of mums would actually like more than an hour of ‘me-time’ on the day.

However, when asked about their Mother’s Day last year, the survey found that most mums didn’t get their wish, as three quarters didn’t even get a full hour of time to themselves.

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