Research Highlights Public Desire for Monarchy’s Continuity After Queen Elizabeth II’s Death

Psychologists indicate that a study conducted subsequent to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II reveals that a significant portion of the populace wishes for the monarchy to “maintain its place” in Britain. Academics from various universities, including The Open University situated in Milton Keynes, interviewed individuals who participated in “mourning events” in Edinburgh and London two years ago, following her death. Their findings showed that: “Throughout the data, what ‘hums’ in the backdrop of the discussion… is the position that the monarchy should maintain its place in the future of the British nation.” Their article, published in the British Journal of Social Psychology, asserted that the monarchy is “constituted as Britishness”. Researchers stated their objective was to investigate how those attending national mourning events “navigated the rupture” caused by her death on 8 September 2022, after a 70-year reign. Her death was observed with a 10-day period of mourning. During this time, over 250,000 people queued to pass by her coffin in Westminster Hall, one million attended the funeral procession, approximately 29 million people in the United Kingdom watched on television, and 4 billion viewed worldwide. “We see mourners articulate a clear link between national identity and the Queen as she ‘represented something of who we were’,” the article noted. It further added: “The monarchy is constituted as Britishness, and the loss of the monarch is a loss of Britishness [in ourselves as well as in the world]. You cannot have a future Britain without the preservation of the institution of monarchy.” Researchers observed that “much” of the British public “actively participated” in commemorating the late Queen’s death. “The significance of the event was evidenced by thousands and millions of mourners across the United Kingdom who participated in the national days of mourning in various ways. “There are parallels that can be drawn between this modern phenomenon and a pre-modern one, pilgrimage.” Dr Sandra Obradović, an Open University psychology lecturer involved in the research, remarked: “When we think about crowds, we often think about the ‘disruptive’ one, the ones that come together to challenge the status quo.“In this project, we had an opportunity to study a different kind of crowd, one that comes together to assert the status quo, something particularly important in a moment of rupture that opens a space for change.” The researchers reported collecting data from “122 participants in the context of 64 short interviews”. University academics from Keele, St Andrews, Heriott-Watt, Canterbury Christ Church, Sussex, Strathclyde, and Bath also contributed to the project. For news from Beds, Herts and Bucks, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.