Nobody does “pomp and circumstance” like the British. The life and death of Queen Elizabeth II after 70 years on the throne has brought this fact into stark relief. The process leading up to the Queen’s state funeral and the accession for now King Charles III included royal guards, horses, cannons, bagpipes, and palaces. As children, we may have pretended to be princes or princesses, but very few people in the world undergo the level of socialization necessary to learn the appropriate attitudes and behaviors within a culture of royalty. By using sociology to reflect on the passing of Queen Elizabeth, we can gain insights into her and how monarchy is viewed on the world stage.
One of the praises that have been pouring in for Queen Elizabeth is that while she was the monarch, she never voiced her personal opinion about political events. In fact, under the system of constitutional monarchy, a system of government in which a monarch is the Head of State and governed by a parliament, she wasn’t actually allowed to say much about such topics. Even though she met with the British Prime Minister weekly and received “red boxes” containing government briefing papers daily, she never publicly stated her views. Queen Elizabeth kept a clear distinction between her front stage, a person’s public life that they reveal to the world, and her back stage, a person’s private world that they choose not to reveal. Unlike many of the younger members of the royal family, she was adept at impression management, an effort to control the impression others have of us, and the embodiment of the motto “Keep Calm and Carry On.”
One interesting feature of Queen Elizabeth’s interaction with the public had to do with the rules of etiquette. Among other things, British subjects were supposed to bow or curtsey to her, refrain from speaking to her until spoken to, and stop eating when she finished, regardless of whether they were still hungry. Of particular sociological interest was the amount of space that was expected to be maintained between her and others. Quite simply, the rule was “Do not touch the Queen!” Truthfully, this distance zone rule was violated from time to time over the years. The most notable example was in 2009 when U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama put her arm around the Queen. While the British tabloids were aghast, the Queen let it be known that the gesture was warmly received.
Queen Elizabeth’s rise to the throne was unexpected because the death of her father, King George IV, occurred while she was on tour in Kenya. By comparison, the world has witnessed the Queen’s decline since the 2021 death of her husband Prince Philip. This meant that her heir, the newly crowned King Charles III, was afforded the opportunity for anticipatory socialization, the process of learning different behaviors or activities in an effort to aspire to group membership. This has included stepping in for the Queen at events such as the opening of Parliament and the Highland Games. What group is Charles aspiring to be a member of, you ask? The ultra-exclusive club of sitting kings.
