insights from the british monarchy - BURA - Brunel University

7
theology (Bradley 2002). Also of note, is the medieval doctrine of the King’s
two bodies (the sovereign as an individual and the monarchy as a mystical
institution), which still has some utility in terms of discussions relating to
monarchy (Kantorowicz 1957).
As an ancient, prominent, and unique organisational brand, it seems
irrefutable that there is merit in scrutinising this institution from both
marketing and management perspectives and yet the review of these
literatures confirmed that the Crown, until comparatively recently, had rarely
been the subject of substantive scrutiny from marketing and management
scholars. An exception is the work of and Greyser et al 2006 along with the
author’s individual and collaborative work on the territory (Balmer et al 2006;
Balmer 2008) relating to the British and Swedish monarchies. In addition, the
work of Otnes and Maclern (2007) is notable; their work examined the
creation of individual identities via the collection and display of artefacts
associated with the British Crown.
In terms of advice for monarchs and would-be monarchs there appears to be a
surprising dearth of material. Of note, however, are the venerable tomes of
Dante (in Church 1879): De Monarchia; Defoe (1690): ‚Of Royall Educacion: a
Fragmentary Treatise,‛ Erasmus (1516): ‚The Education of a Christian Prince,‛
Machiavelli (in Marriott 1949): ‚The Prince‛; and Viscount Bolingbroke (1738):
‚The Idea of a Patriot King.‛ All of the above tomes offer advice for the
education and political formation of monarchs and heirs apparent; some of
the advice relates to the former, political, role of monarchs as absolute rulers
but Bolingbroke does advocate the role of King in terms of being the ‚Father
of the Nation‛ which, arguably, chimes with the current role of constitutional
monarchy with regard to the polity of the United Kingdom.
More recently, Bagehot’s (1867) observations on the roles and functions of the
Crown are noteworthy. The most notable of these is Bagehot’s celebrated
tripartite dictum relating to the monarch’s role vis a vis the British Prime
Minister and Ministers of the Crown. It was, he said, the constitutional duty
of the Sovereign to encourage, advise and to warn the government of the day.
Although frequently examined at a visceral level the British Crown is an
important and legitimate area of scrutiny at a cerebral level.
In Great Britain an environment of deference often militates against the
Crown being the subject of debate, as none other than H.M. Queen Elizabeth
II has noted (Hames and Leonard 1998).
7