The Queen of England Is Not England

I put on The Crown to play in the background as I did some crafting this evening, so I had some voices to listen to that made me feel like dramatic things were happening. A deafening contrast to the humdrum of my current lifestyle. I've seen the show before, in spurts, so I remembered the entire plot.

Hearing the Brits discuss the significance of the different things Elizabeth did struck a chord in me. I soon figured out that it was because each small action of hers carried the weight of somehow representing what all of British society is about. She has a grand coronation not only because she is royalty, but because she is British royalty. She is understated because the British manner is understated.

Elizabeth had the awful responsibility of becoming a living breathing amalgamation of every behavior that could ever be described as British, for she was the mascot.

We in America have our own mascots, but it would be hard to argue that it was ever just one person. In the summer I wrote an article concerning whether America was comprised of the three hundred million people that live here, or if it is merely a set of ideals and principles. People tend to think of any place in one of those two ways, whether they care to admit it or not.

But in The Crown, it is a single person who must embody all of that, and I can see why someone could never do a good enough job.