insights from the british monarchy - BURA - Brunel University

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-Brands can be Iconic and can be Heritage Brands in addition
(The Monarchy represents a familiar and meaningful reference point to many in an
ever-changing world)
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APPENDIX ONE:
THE BRITISH MONARCHY IN CONTEXT
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Monarchy has been the ordinary mode of government for by far the greater
history of mankind.
In Great Britain, with the exception of the 17 th Century Commonwealth Period
which followed the English Revolution, it has been the preferred form of
constitutional governance and has metamorphosed from being a theocratic, to
an autocratic and finally a constitutional monarchy: a shift from having
political power to symbolic power. Unlike many other corporate brands, the
monarchy has entered the sub-consciousness of thousands of people in the
UK and overseas: many have dreamt about meeting the Queen, for instance
(Masters, 1988).
In the context of the above it is, perhaps, not surprising that the world’s first
national anthem was Britain’s ‚God Save the King!‛ and that it has an explicit
religious dimension since anthems are a musical form that is very common
within the English cathedral tradition.
For many constitutional authorities, in global contexts, the British Monarchy
is regarded as the prototypical constitutional monarchy. A constitutional
monarchy is where the King reigns but does not rule and reflects the notion
that a nation can be both democratic and self-governing and yet have as its
titular head a hereditary crowned head of state. As noted by the American
Political Association, monarchies although exerting little discernable effect on
democracy did bolster the conditions that promoted democracy (Mayer and
Sigman 1998).
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