Growing up in Buckingham Palace

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), half of all British people in Britain feel that British culture is changing too quickly, and one-third of the British people recently surveyed feel that national traditions are under threat. Britain is feeling the pressures of globalization. Cultural identities are changing, and one aspect of British culture that is being heavily criticized and scrutinized is the Royal Family.

Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry are often in the news, but lesser known members of the Royal Family make the news too. For instance, Lady Davina Windsor, who is officially 20^th in line to the Royal throne (her father is a cousin of the reigning Queen Elizabeth), recently had a moment of fame. In a small ceremony (albeit at Kensington Palace) she married Gary Lewis, a champion sheep-shearer from New Zealand. He is the first Maori to enter the Royal Family.

Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the throne in 1952, leads the Royal Family. She has been living at Buckingham Palace since she was a ten-year old child. Having recently toured Buckingham Palace, I could not imagine being a child there – it felt like a museum. There were lots of statues, tapestries, and loads of gilding. I toured some of the 19 State rooms, which are open in August and September every year. Interestingly, like the White House, many of the rooms were referred to by their dominant color – the Green Room, the Blue Room, the White Room, etc.

I did not have the opportunity to tour the 92 offices, 78 bathrooms and 240 bedrooms housed in the rest of Buckingham Palace. As a ten-year old child, I cannot imagine that Queen Elizabeth spent much time in the State rooms, and to truly get to know anyone, you have to see their bedroom. I can imagine that the Queen played some fantastic games of hide-and-seek as a child (and surely there are still days when she wishes she could hide).

The Queen probably also enjoyed playing in the 30 acres of land behind Buckingham Palace. There is a beautiful pond, lovely green lawns, and miles of trails to walk. It is the perfect place for a garden party. But the land and wealth of the Royal Family is one of the frequently criticised aspects of it. Royal Families are expensive. In a city where property prices are exorbitant, the land behind Buckingham Palace (in central London) is prime real estate. The notion of it makes property developers salivate, and many people simply wish that more affordable central London housing would be available so they did not have such long commutes.

Do the Royal traditions truly upset British people or is it all talk? Like the current contest between Kerry and Bush, everyone seems to have an opinion. It is hard to tell what the future holds. Some British people simply feel that the Royal Family is too much of an integral part of British culture to dissolve. Others feel that there is no need for it. My instincts tell me that as much as the ‘Royals’ are complained about, most people would be deeply disappointed to see them disappear. Furthermore, I have never heard any serious proposals to phase out the Royal Family.

Surely, the media would mourn the loss of the Royal Family. It is such rich fodder for tabloids and the daily news. And Buckingham Palace is a recognized building across the globe. That is part of the reason why on September 21^st, a man dressed as Batman staged a protest at Buckingham Palace. Thirty feet up, near a balcony used for speeches, ‘Batman’ hung a sign encouraging the British public to pay more attention to rights for fathers on behalf of a group called Fathers 4 Justice. His protest had nothing to do with objecting to the Royal Family, he just needed to be seen and Buckingham Palace is one place to grab some attention. His security breach is one of many that has taken place in the past few years, creating even more debate about the Royal Family and the cost of securing it.

Personally, I would not like for the Royal Family to disappear. Britain is full of traditions and although they sometimes seem overly ceremonial and dramatic, there is an element of comfort in having traditions and supporting them. After spending hours in the chilly wind, as Batman peacefully ended his protest, I would bet money that he was offered a nice, hot cup of tea. Regardless of the chaos he caused, sharing a cup of tea as you talked about the day’s events seems like the right thing to do. And similarly, however illogical and inefficient it may seem, continuing the Royal tradition seems like the right thing for Britain to do too.