Personality and image of Queen Elizabeth II

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Queen Elizabeth II [2] has rarely given press interviews, and her views on political issues are largely unknown except to those few heads of government in her confidence. Conservative in dress, she is well known for her solid-colour overcoats and decorative hats which allow her to be seen easily in a crowd.[1] She attends many cultural events as part of her public role. Her main leisure interests include horse racing,[2] photography,[3] and dogs, especially her Pembroke Welsh Corgis.[4]

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[edit] Public image

Always a popular figure in the UK, not to mention other countries, opinion polls have almost always shown that she has an excellent approval rating, currently over 80%;[5] and often significantly higher than that of her elected Prime Ministers. Since she has little political power in the day-to-day running of the country outside of her traditional ceremonial and advisory duties, she is unlikely to be held responsible for unpopular policies followed by elected politicians. In 2002, the Queen was ranked 24th in the 100 Greatest Britons poll. However, in 1997, she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived in the British tabloid press as cold and unfeeling when they did not participate in the public outpouring of grief at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Some people[citation needed] deny that Elizabeth held negative feelings towards Diana and cite as evidence of this the Queen bowing to Diana's coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace, something unprecedented and unexpected (although commentators have pointed out that it is more likely that she was, in actual fact, bowing to the Royal Standard draped over the coffin, as protocol dictates - rather than the coffin itself or contents thereof). She also gave a live television broadcast paying tribute to Diana.[6] These actions redressed tabloid opinion.

Elizabeth's public image has noticeably softened in recent years; although she remains reserved in public, she has been seen laughing and smiling much more than in years past, and she shed tears during emotional occasions such as at Remembrance Day services[7], the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral for those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and in Normandy, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where she addressed the Canadian troops.

[edit] Personality in diplomacy matters

In matters of diplomacy, Elizabeth is formal, and royal protocol is generally very strict. Though some of the traditional rules for dealing with the Monarch have been relaxed during her reign (bowing is no longer required, for example), other forms of close personal interaction, such as touching, are discouraged by officials. At least five people are known to have broken this rule, the first being Alice Frazier who hugged the Queen in 1991 during her 13-day United States visit, when Elizabeth, accompanied by Barbara Bush and Jack Kemp, visited a government housing project in Washington.[8] The second was Paul Keating, Prime Minister of Australia, when he was photographed with his arm around the Queen in 1992 (and was afterwards dubbed the "Lizard of Oz" by the British tabloid press). The third was the Canadian cyclist Louis Garneau, who did the same thing ten years later, for a photograph with the Queen.[9] However the Queen appeared to take no offence at their actions, and Keating stayed as the Queen's guest in her private Balmoral home. The fourth was John Howard, Paul Keating's successor as Prime Minister of Australia. In 1997 during the Cabot 500 celebrations of Newfoundland and Labrador, the then Premier Brian Tobin placed an arm behind her while walking up a staircase, this was frowned upon in the news regarding to Tobin breaking the royal rule, but the Premier said that he placed his arm around her as an effort to help an elderly woman climb the stairs.

[edit] Media perception

Elizabeth's first appearance on live television in Canada was in Prescott, Ontario, in 1959 when, as Queen of Canada, she opened the Saint Lawrence Seaway.[10] She has given an annual Christmas Message to the Commonwealth every year apart from 1969 since she became Queen; in 2001 the Royal Christmas Message was webcast on the Royal website for the first time, and in 2006 it was made available as a podcast.

The journalist and BBC Radio 4 presenter John Humphrys has long stated that his career ambition is to get the first full interview with the Queen. In 2006, the Queen came close to an orthodox interview when she agreed to be portrait-painted by the popular Australian artist and personality Rolf Harris, who engaged in small talk with her, on film, and with Palace permission. It was shown on the BBC, CBC and ABC. However, their conversation ventured little beyond previous portraits of the Queen and Royal art history in general, and the Queen's responses to Harris's conversational overtures were notably crisp and monosyllabic. The 1992 BBC documentary on the Queen, Elizabeth R, directed by Edward Mirzoeff on the fortieth anniversary of her accession, attracted record audiences for a factual programme.

The BBC, however, along with RDF Media Group, became the target of Her Majesty's lawyers, Farrer & Co, after the broadcaster aired a documentary trailer which was edited in such a way as to make it appear as though The Queen had stormed out of a photo shoot with photographer Annie Leibovitz. The BBC had earlier apologised for the misrepresentation, which was fuelled by BBC1 controller Peter Fincham describing the Queen as "losing it a bit and walking out in a huff," but the Queen and Buckingham Palace were not satisfied with the results and pushed to sue for breach of contract.[11]

The Queen is the subject of "Her Majesty", written by Paul McCartney and featured on the Beatles' album Abbey Road (1969); McCartney played the song at the Party at the Palace concert during the Golden Jubilee in 2002. In 1977, The Sex Pistols issued "God Save the Queen", which became a controversial hit single, inspiring the punk rock movement with its lyrics suggesting there was "no future" and comparing England to a "fascist regime." The Smiths released the song and album The Queen Is Dead in 1986. The Pet Shop Boys have a track called Dreaming of the Queen. The Queen also plays detective in the Her Majesty Investigates series of mystery novels by C.C. Benison, which includes Death at Buckingham Palace and Death at Windsor Castle.

In 2006, the film The Queen starring Helen Mirren takes an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the interaction between Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, to reach a compromise between treating her death as a private tragedy for the Royal Family and appeasing the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

In a 2006 book, Who Owns the World: The Hidden Facts Behind Landownership, Kevin Cahill claimed that Queen Elizabeth II holds ownership of one sixth of the land on the earth's surface, more than any other individual or nation. This amounts to a total of 6.6 billion acres (27 million km²) in 32 countries.[12] However, this is based on the legal technicality that the Crown as an institution owns all the territory over which it rules, like any government of a non-allodial state. This land does not belong to the Queen personally, but to the governments of the respective realms over which she reigns.

Private Eye, the British satirical magazine, gave Queen Elizabeth the nickname "Brenda".

[edit] Fictional portrayals

[edit] Film

Elizabeth has been portrayed on screen by:

[edit] Television

On television, Elizabeth has been played by:

  • Jeannette Charles and Huguette Funfrock many times from the 1970s onwards, mostly in comedic roles
  • Sheila Steafel in several episodes of the BBC comedy series The Goodies (1975–1977)
  • Jo Kendall in an episode of The Goodies entitled "Politics" (1980)
  • Margaret Tyzack in the drama Charles & Diana: A Royal Love Story (1982)
  • Dana Wynter in the drama The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana (1982)
  • Sally Grace in an episode of the BBC sitcom Never the Twain entitled "The Royal Connection" (1984)
  • Prunella Scales in the BBC drama A Question of Attribution (1992), based on the play by Alan Bennett
  • Iris Russell in the drama Fergie & Andrew: Behind the Palace Doors (1992)
  • Carolyn Sadowska in the drama The Women of Windsor (1992)
  • Amanda Walker in the drama Charles and Diana: Unhappily Ever After (1992)
  • Anne Stallybrass in the drama Diana: Her True Story (1993)
  • Elizabeth Richard many times, including the comedy dramas Giving Tongue (1996) and Gobble (1997)
  • Lisa Daniely in the drama Princess in Love (1996)
  • Irm Hermann in the German comedy Willi und die Windzors (1996)
  • Beth Boyd in the comedy My Government and I (2000)
  • Elisabeth Dermot Walsh in the Carlton Television drama Bertie and Elizabeth (2002)
  • Rosemary Leach in the drama Prince William (2002) and the BBC comedy drama Tea with Betty (2006)
  • Julia Munrow in the BBC drama Love Again (2003), about Philip Larkin
  • Helen Duffy in an episode of the sitcom Hannah Montana entitled "Grandmas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Play Favorites" (2006)
  • Dilys Laye in the comedy drama series The Amazing Mrs Pritchard (2006)
  • Jessica Martin briefly at the end of the Christmas special of the BBC series Doctor Who entitled "Voyage of the Damned" (2007)

Jan Ravens was the voice for a latex puppet caricature of her in Spitting Image (1984–1996), and gave radio and television comedy impressions of her in Dead Ringers. Scott Thompson gave a recurring impression of Queen Elizabeth II on the Canadian skit television show The Kids in the Hall in the early 1990s. Tracey Ullman's depiction of the Queen was among many roles she played on the television series Tracey Takes On. The Simpsons portrayed the Queen during the episode "The Regina Monologues" (2003).

[edit] Patronage of Charities

The Queen is Patron of more than 620 charities and organisations[13] including:

Further information: List of organisations in the United Kingdom with a royal charter, List of Canadian organizations with royal patronage, and List of New Zealand organisations with royal patronage

[edit] References

  1. ^ Cartner-Morley, Jess. "Elizabeth II, belated follower of fashion", The Guardian, Guardian Media Group, 2007-05-10, pp. p2, G2 section. Template:ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved on 2007-05-10. 
  2. ^ 80 Facts About The Queen. British Monarchy Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  3. ^ 80 Facts About The Queen. British Monarchy Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  4. ^ 80 Facts About The Queen. British Monarchy Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.
  5. ^ Monarchy Trends, Ipsos MORI. Accessed 31 July 2006.
  6. ^ YouTube - Diana Princess of Wales tribute
  7. ^ BBC: "Queen's Tears for War Dead" [1]
  8. ^ TOPICS OF THE TIMES; Things a Queen Can't Do. New York Times (1992-05-17). Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  9. ^ Family snap breaks royal protocol. BBC News (2002-10-16).
  10. ^ Department of Canadian Heritage: Test your royal skills
  11. ^ Alderson, Andrew; The Telegraph: Queen sends in lawyers over 'royal rage' film; August 14, 2007
  12. ^ Who Owns The World official website
  13. ^ 80 Facts About The Queen. British Monarchy Official Website. Retrieved on 2007-01-18.