I was speaking with a friend the other day about the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth II, discussing how well she had managed at the head of the monarchy for so long (70+ years). And my friend remarked that “she played the hand she was dealt – and played it well” – something I would generally agree with.
Now, on the surface, you might be thinking, well, she was dealt a good hand! But even if true (and don’t think it is), I don’t know if that’s necessarily the point. Think of being the face of a country for that long of a period, at a time of enormous upheaval in Britain and its colonies. I can only imagine the number of things that likely would’ve ended in disaster for the Monarchy had it been someone different.
Yet, all the way through the ups and downs, she maintained the “brand” – or, as The New York Times put it so eloquently: “She sought to project and protect the royal family as a rare bastion of permanence in a world of shifting values.”
As marketers, I think we can appreciate the rigor to which she approached her role. It’s not easy, after all, to be the longest-serving monarch in history.
And while you may think the late Queen’s job had nothing to do with directly “selling” goods or services, it certainly was a lot about marketing in the sense that she could have made any number of strategic choices that would’ve significantly altered the perception of the monarchy or even pushed it into complete irrelevance during her reign. Yet, the fact is, she maintained the royals’ status all these years. And, after her, it may not be the same.
So, in this era of remembrances, here are the ways we appreciated her approach. (You can say this is from a “marketing perspective,” but it’s perhaps more than that, as it’s about how anyone or any company stays relevant for a long period of time.)
Reason No. 1: Consistency & Authenticity
Let us again quote a passage from the New York Times: “Elizabeth…remained determinedly committed to the hallmark aloofness, formality and pageantry by which the monarchy has long sought to preserve the mystique that underpinned its existence and survival. Her courtly and reserved manner changed little.” If you read that carefully, she never really wavered in terms of her approach to the role or the image she projected.
Unlike some other members of the royal family, she also authentically inhabited the narrative she projected. The key, as mentioned above, was continuing to latch on to the mystique and traditions that attracted people to the monarchs in the first place. And as any good marketer knows, people desire a consistent presence that they could count on. She was exactly that.
Reason No. 2: Understanding Emotion & Having Empathy
Perhaps there were times when the Queen seemed less empathetic than a particular situation called for. But there were others when she stood out in terms of her emotional intelligence and empathy. One example: many point to her hugely consequential (and what some would consider fraught) trip to Ireland in 2011, where the Queen spoke a phrase in perfect Gaelic and offered regrets for British actions in the longstanding conflict between the two countries, suggesting both sides needed to be “able to bow to the past but not be bound by it.” A year later, she shook the hand of Britain’s arch-nemesis, the former commander of the Irish Republican Army, Martin McGuinness, and the Irish were officially taken with her, leaving some to begin calling her “Lizzy” affectionately. Like any good marketer, she understood the weight that certain symbolic gestures could carry too, as one reporter put it: “how one small movement of her head could soothe over 800 years of bloodshed and hatred.”
And that’s not the only example. Consider the recent Covid scare in 2020, when the queen left Buckingham Palace, in central London, for Windsor Castle, home of her first radio broadcast during World War II. In April of that year from Windsor, she told Britons to fight the virus with the same tenacity they had during the German bombings. She added one additional note, also steeped in symbolic emotion, “We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return. We will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again” – the last line a direct reference to a wartime song by Vera Lynn, “We’ll Meet Again,” which older Britons knew well.
Reason No. 3: Relatability and Humor in a Timeless Way
It might be strange to call Queen Elizabeth “relatable,” as she could certainly be aloof. According to one anecdote, an aide asked if she would consider riding on the newly constructed Ferris wheel, the London Eye, for her Golden Jubilee in 2002. “I am not a tourist,” she was said to have told the aide. Yet at the same time, she could be surprisingly accessible. In 2012, she agreed to appear in a cameo with Daniel Craig as James Bond at the London Olympics – as a joke for her grandchildren. “Go, Granny!” Harry and William were said to have yelled as a stunt double dressed as the queen parachuted into Olympic stadium. Having that sense of humor – she has also appeared in skits with Paddington Bear – allowed the public to relate to her even as she stuck with her more traditional ways.
Reason No. 4: Commitment
Early on, while she was still a princess, Elizabeth took part in a radio broadcast in which she said: “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service and to the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.” And indeed, she never really wavered from that statement. A Queen, after all, doesn’t complain or call in sick – and certainly doesn’t descend into self-pity. And she never did. One observer described her as the “one constant in an inconstant world.”
To this day, people respect that kind of commitment to something bigger than themselves – I know we do – and the late Queen certainly embodied that.
Conclusion
To be clear, we would never say the Queen was perfect (she certainly had her share of drama when it came to her immediate family). And this piece isn’t any justification for or against a monarchy – or any actions the British took in many of their now-former colonies during her reign. What I think we can still do, though, is appreciate someone who was dealt a particular hand and played the hand well. Her way – right up until the end.
