Composed, Dignified Neutrality

The Queen was famously apolitical. However she felt about Diana, Brexit, Putin or the 15 prime ministers who served her during her extraordinary 70 year reign, she couldn’t say.

As head of state, her position had to be one of composed, dignified neutrality. Which must have been extremely hard at times. 

I’ve been thinking about composed, dignified neutrality a lot this week. The Queen’s death has served as a reminder that it’s a quality not everyone embodies, or wants to. Everyone has an opinion on the monarchy, but when those opinions are negative, critical or rude, most would agree that there’s a time and a place. And that time is probably not the days preceding the Queen’s funeral, and that place is probably not Facebook or Twitter. 

Over the last two weeks, I’ve seen several PRs airing their opinions and getting into arguments with other users about the monarchy, and it surprised me. As a journalist, I’m paid to spout opinions. By contrast, PRs tend to remain neutral, like the Queen.

Personally, I don’t mind if they vent: it feels human. How their agencies, and the brands they represent, feel, I wouldn’t know. Whatever you do for a living, there should always be a place for healthy debate, provided it’s respectful.