Talking Of The Royal Family

TALKING OF THE ROYAL FAMILY The unprecedented reaction of the general public to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales has created an upsurge of interest in the Royal Family from psychologists and other social scientists. Talking of the Royal Family was the first serious full-length study of public attitudes towards the Royal Family, recorded at a crucial time for the monarchy. Now reissued with a new preface, the book remains relevant today in the light of the current public debate about the future of the monarchy and the Royal Family’s declared interest in public opinion. When people talk about the monarchy, they are not just talking about royal issues. They are talking about central matters of modern life—about privilege, equality, nationality, morality, family life, parenting, divorce, the media and more. Michael Billig has captured the voices of the speakers themselves. As they talk, important themes flow through the seemingly trivial chatter, revealing the part the Royals play in contemporary consciousness as a keen and comprehensible focus for wider social issues. Acutely observed and vividly reported, Talking of the Royal Family will be of interest to students of modern culture and to anyone perplexed by one of the oddest phenomena of today—the persistence of the monarchy in the modern age. Michael Billig is Professor of Social Sciences at Loughborough University. TALKING OF THE ROYAL FAMILY Michael Billig London and New York First published 1992 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2003. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Reissued with new preface 1998 © 1992, 1998 Michael Billig All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-203-41491-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-72315-5 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-06746-4 (Print Edition) CONTENTS Preface Preface to the reissue Acknowledgements vii ix xix 1 INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM OF MONARCHY 2 THE ENVY OF THE WORLD 25 3 THE CONTINUING MYSTERY 56 4 IDENTIFYING WITH ‘THEM’ 86 5 SETTLING ACCOUNTS 116 6 DESIRE, DENIAL AND THE PRESS 144 7 A WOMAN’S REALM 172 8 THE HERITAGE OF THE FUTURE 202 Appendix References Name index Subject index 224 232 240 243 v 1 PREFACE Why listen to ordinary families talking about the British Royal Family? There must be more sensible ways for social scientists to spend their time. If you’ve got to listen to people talking, then surely to goodness there are other topics more worthy of investigation. So might a serious social scientist object to the project on which this book