As the United Kingdom prepares to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of our cherished sovereign, we took a moment to appreciate the team behind the palace doors that kept the most prized product of the monarchy in the limelight for over seventy years. When Queen Elizabeth II vowed to dedicate her life in service of the British people in her early 20s, she couldn’t have had the slightest inclination of how long that role would last or what it would demand of her. Yet, her clarity of the legacy she wanted to leave behind and the job she must do to maintain the dignity and respect of an institution that is no longer accepted as a necessity, has won hearts and minds all over the world.
The Queen and the monarchy are a brand. A brand whose value lies in what it represents to the country’s social and cultural causes, in the regal etiquette that maintains an acceptance of a social class, as a nostalgic nod to the rich history of a powerful empire and to the maintenance of national pride every time we hear ‘God Save the Queen’. The people pay for these perks through every taxpayer pound that goes into the upkeep and maintenance of the brand but it appears to be an investment most British people have accepted and expect to carry on.
The quality of the brand is of paramount importance and the institution that manages the Crown is on constant alert pre-empting and post-managing the manner in which the monarchy is received and portrayed. In the world of traditional marketing, this is something a typical brand would manage in much the same capacity, to position the product in the market in a favourable way. While there are no real competitors to the royal family, changing cultural and social paradigms have threatened the core values of the monarchy and they have been forced to rethink some of their ways and innovate their ideas to meet more modern consumer demands. As products innovate and create models that are more suited for emerging and evolving markets, the members of the royal family and their extended establishment too find themselves in a position of breaking more outdated constructs and realigning themselves better to be true to their mission, which would be the protection and succession of their lineage.
The United Kingdom is one of the only empires to still maintain a strong sense of ownership over their cultural and historic connection to countries around the world. While it is more in the capacity of a symbolic patronage, the image of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II manifests more than just a woman on a throne. She is quite simply, the thread that connects the Commonwealth, the heart of Britain and the mother of our motherland. Her 70 years of public service are no easy feat and since the day she vowed to work for the people and maintain the position bestowed on her, she has done it with a smile on her face and with the best interests of her people at heart.
Truly a legacy brand that we are proud to call our own.
Congratulations on your Platinum Jubilee, Your Majesty!
