University of Banja Luka

College of Philology
Department of English Language and Literature

Milorad Ilišković

Representations of the British Royal

Family in the British Media

Supervisor: Banjaluka
Svetlana Mitić 2014
Table of Contents

1.INTRODUCTION......................................................................................1

2.SIGINIFICANCE OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY..........................1

3.MASS MEDIA IN BRITAIN.....................................................................2

3.1.Tabloidization of the British media......................................................3

4. QUEEN ELIZABETH II...........................................................................4

5.PRINCESS DIANA...................................................................................5

CONCLUSION.............................................................................................5

REFERENCES..............................................................................................ii

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 1.INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this seminar paper is to present the image of the British Royal Family
that the British media serve to its nation. The term media, in this case, encompasses the
press, internet media, broadcasting (television and radio) and cinema. This paper is a
result of research conducted by investigating a number of books, research papers,
internet sources, opinion polls and other materials which are related to this topic. This
research focuses on the time period after the 1950's, which saw the early beginnings of
the mass media, such as the television.
In the first chapter I will point out the significance of the Royal Family to its
nation, mainly as a family with which they can identify.
The second chapter provides some general information about the media in
Britain and the present process of tabloidizaiton as a cause of the media obsession with
everything containing the word 'royal' in its name.
The last two chapters give examples of the media-influenced images of Queen
Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, perhaps the two most talked about members of the
Royal Family.

2.SIGINIFICANCE OF THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY

According to Bogdanor and Shawcross (as cited in Palmer, 2008) “the British monarchy
is not only the oldest in Europe it is also the oldest European institution of any kind
except for the Papacy“ ( p. 1). It has survived for over one millennium. Despite the fact
that hereditary monarchies around the world are already extinct or in the process
thereof, in Britain it is quite the opposite. The British Monarchy, especially the Royal
Family, has never been more popular and important in the lives of its people than it is
today (Brunt, 1992, p. 285).

As evidence of the previously mentioned popularity, here are the results of a

detailed Gallup Poll from December 1988:

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 82 per cent of adult Britons said they favoured the monarchy in its present
form in preference to an elected head of state. Furthermore, 48 per cent of
respondents felt the Queen should have more power to influence affairs of
state, compared with 40 per cent who felt it should be less. Asked what was
their ‘strongest felling for the Royal Family’, exactly half the sample replied
‘respect’, followed by ‘admiration’ and ‘indifference’ at 20 per cent each
(Brunt, 1992, p. 285).

So, what is the reason for such popularity and significance that the British Royal
Family have among its people? The easiest explanation, perhaps, lies in the word
‘family’. The Royal Family is, after all, a family like any other in Britain. What
separates them from the rest of the families is that they don’t have the same problems,
such as finances, making career choices and the fact that they are the most recognizable
family in the world. Nevertheless, the British people can still understand and relate to
the Royal Family because of what it represents and stands for, and that is the British
identity, the very essence and symbol of British nationhood.
Palmer (2008) notes the importance of the advancement in technology at the
beginning of the 20th century, especially photography and the early beginnings of what
would be known as mass media, in carrying the image of the Royal Family into every
home in Britain, thus strenghtening the family feeling and affection towards the Bitish
royalty (p. 11). Brunt (1992) claims that “there are, of course, many currents of anti-
monarchical opinion and no citizen can be unaware of 'the case against' in terms of
wealth and inherited privilege. But what is striking about any expression of republican
sentiment is that it remains at the level of moaning and takes no organizational form“ (p.
285).
Since this popular image of the Royal Family, with Queen Elizabeth II on the
throne of popularity, was elevated largely by the media in Britain, it is important to
analyze the nature of the media and its portrayal of the British Royal Family.

3.MASS MEDIA IN BRITAIN

Negrine (as cited in Zaperta 2008) refers to the phenomenon of mass media by saying
that “the mass media, generally considered to be the major sources of information about
current world events and about political and social affairs, have immense potential

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power and influence to represent the world in particular ways, and, in turn, to contribute
to the formation of specific attitudes and opinions among the public” (p. 8).
The most popular media in the United Kingdom is the press. It can be divided
into two distinct categories, the more serious one is the 'quality' press, also called the
'broadsheets' due to their large size, and the 'tabloids' or the 'popular' press, which are
less serious and focus on celebrity stories.
Among the broadcasting media in Britain the BBC is probably the best known
non-commercial radio and television system, formed by royal charter in 1927 (BBC-
Wikipedia, n.d.). It is a state-owned public service broadcaster with four radio channels
and two television channels, BBC 1 and BBC 2.

3.1.Tabloidization of the British media

“In the last twenty years the lives and behaviour of the royal family have been
documented with relish by the media in all its forms, both in UK and abroad (Palmer,
2008, p. 18).“ This royal mania is so strong that it has managed to occupy pages of the
more serious-minded and republican newspapers, such as 'Independent' and 'The
Guardian'. Numerous television documentaries about the Royal Family such as BBC's
1969 'Royal Family' and especially the more recent 'Britains Royal Weddings 1923-
2005' provide a deep insight into the lives of the members of the Royal Family and
made these private family affairs into pompous and grand ceremonial occasions.
Sampson (as cited in Mooney, 2008) claims that as tabloids have changed over
the years so too have broadsheets and the line that separates them has vanished since the
1980's and the broadsheets are becoming more tabloid-like (p. 7). This process is
known as tabloidization (Mooney, 2008, p. 7). Brookes (as cited in Mooney, 2008) notes
that as a result of this process, serious, objective journalism is being replaced with a
cultural form which is less about serious issues of concern and instead focuses on
entertaining, thereby appealing to a mass market (p. 4).
Tabloidization explains, partially, the growing interest of media, especially the
press, in the Royal Family members, with Queen Elizabeth II as its most prominent and
famous member. Also, the events surrounding the life and death of Diana, the Princess

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of Wales, are a topic among the media circles even nowadays. In the following chapters
I will focus on the media interest in these two public figures.

4. QUEEN ELIZABETH II

The Queen's sixty-year-long relationship with the media started back in 1953 with her
corronation, which was the first televised corronation in Britain. Mortimore and
Robinson (as cited in Zaperta, 2008) said that this event marked the beginning of the
television era in the UK (p. 37). The Queen is truly a popular figure and there are
numerous opinion polls to back this up. For example, in 2012, the year of her Diamond
Jubilee, the Queen received an approval rate of 90 per cent and in 2014 a YouGov poll
awarded her with the title of the most admired person in the UK (Personality and image,
n.d.). However, in 1997, she and other members of the Royal Family received a
negative publicity for not joining the public display of grief over the death of Princess
Diana (Personality and image, n.d.). During the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, a
YouGov poll showed that, despite her ill-received behaviour following the death of
Princess Diana, the large majority still thought highly of their Queen and considered her
hard-working.
She is also the subject of many songs by British musicians, such as 'Her Majesty'
by Paul McCartney from The Beatles' 1969 album 'Abbey Road'. The most famous is
the controversial hit single 'God Save the Queen' by 'Sex Pistols', with the lyrics saying
'she aint no human being' (Personality and image, n.d.). On the silver screen the Queen
was portrayed by Helen Miren in 2006 'The Queen', which was critically the most
acclaimed film of the year.
Even the least important events in the life of the Queen are reported by serious
television broadcasters such as the BBC, which did a report in October 2014 about the
Queen's first sent tweet, titled 'The Queen sends first tweet to launch Science Museum
gallery' (Celan-Jones, 2014).

5.PRINCESS DIANA

Princess Diana, both before her death in 1997 and even more after, has always been the
centre of media attention. The BBC's article 'The Princess and the Press' (n.d.) states
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that “The Princess had an ambivalent relationship with the media. At times she would
complain about media's intrusion, accusing photographers and journalists of making
normal life impossible for her. At other times, however, she seemed to crave the
attention of the press.“
She also knew how to manipulate media for her own causes. As a member,
patron and president of numerous charities and organizations, she was known for her
fund- raising work and she often used the media attention to promote these causes.
In the 2002 'Great Britons' poll by the BBC she was voted 3rd by the British
people, and in another poll that same year her death was voted the most important event
in the country's last hundred years.
Her death in a car accident in 1997 was always surrounded by controversy.
Many conspiracy theories were created, such as the one according to which MI6 had
arranged Diana's assassination by the orders of the Royal Family.
There are, also, several movies about her life. For instance, the 2001
documentary 'Princess Diana: The Uncrowned Queen' and 'The Murder of Princess
Diana' depict the events that surrounded the tragic death of the princess.
Perhaps, the best evidence for her popularity was her funeral. Extraordinary
public expressions of grief were displayed at her funeral, with around 3 million
mourners at Westminster Abbey and around 2.5 billion people that watched the
television coverage.
From her engagement with Prince Charles, to alleged affairs and even after her
death Princess Diana was and still is often mentioned in the media circles, perhaps more
than the Queen herself.

CONCLUSION

This paper shows that the British nation is 'crazy' for the British Royal Family. Some
people love them for their charitable work, others idolize the family because it
represents a symbol of the British nation, but mostly because of the propaganda that the
media feeds them with. I also share the opinion that this popular image of the Royal
Family is the result of media publicity. This publicity is overly positive, as most news
organisations treat the Royals with a great deal of respect, making sure nothing they

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publish might offend the family. However, some media organisations try to degrade the
royal family and invade their privacy, as is the case with Princess Diana.
Perhaps it is not the people that are obsessed with the Royal Family but the
media. This media interest is, to some extent, the result of the ongoing process of
tabloidization of media in the United Kingdom. As a result, serious political issues of
great concern are replaced by stories dealing with superficial issues in the lives of
celebrities.

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REFERENCES:

Palmer, C. (2008) ‘Royalty, national identity, heritage and tourism’, in

Long, P., and Foster, N. (eds.) Royal Tourism: Excursions around Monarchy. Channel
View Publications: Clevedon.

Brunt, R. (1992.). A ‘divine gift to inspire’? Popular cultural representation, nationhood

and the British monarchy. In D. Strinati & S. Wagg (Eds.), In Come on down?: Popular
media culture in post-war Britain. London: Routledge.

Zaperta, E. (2008). The British media and the monarchy Elizabeth the Dutiful or
Elizabeth the Last? The press perception of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK 1997-2007.
Berlin: Humboldt Universität zu Berlin Centre for British Studies.

M. Mooney, A. (2008). Tabloidization and the Irish Press Media An analysis of how the
Irish Independent reacted to the introduction of Irish versions of British tabloids. Leeds:
University of Leeds.

Personality and image of Queen Elizabeth II. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 5,
2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_and_image_of_Queen_Elizabeth_II

Celan-Jones, R. (2014, October 24). The Queen sends first tweet to launch Science
Museum gallery. BBC. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29754628

The Princess and the Press. (n.d.). BBC. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/diana/press.html

BBC. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC

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