LET'S RECAP !

  • On September, 9th 2015 Elizabeth became the longest-reigning monarch in British history, thus surpassing Queen Victoria. Elizabeth has been the Queen of the UK and the Commonwealth for 63 years, since 1952 when her elder sister Mary I died.
  • On this occasion, all the British newspapers – tabloids and broadsheets alike – displayed very different frontpages to honour record-breaking Elizabeth. We had a close look at The Sun and The Times in particular.
  • The Sun, which is known as the most popular scandal newspaper in GB, with twice as many readers as The Times, aims at catching the readers’ attention and making as many people as possible buy it, by all means. On the official photo provided by Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth is wearing an elegant but not too formal burgundy dress. She is sitting facing at a slight angle, giving her the image of someone easy to talk to, very close to the people. Anyone who does not know she is the Queen would not necessarily guess she is. This feeling is emphasized by the massive headline : « reigning champion ». Many people would find it inappropriate for so-called journalists to dare address the British Queen in such a familiar way. On the photo Queen Elizabeth is sitting at her desk in front of an open red box, which traditionally contains all the important documents coming from the government for the Queen to study every day. The message is clearly announced in the newspapers headlines or articles : Queen Elizabeth is still as hard working as ever, even though she has been reigning for such a long time.
  • The Times, on the contrary, decided to show the Queen in a beautiful golden dress, with her crown on top of her head, looking away through an open window. This artistic photo almost looks like a painting using light and colour in a very subtle way. The news editors also chose to quote the Queen’s coronation speech and publish it on the frontpage. The Queen certainly does not seem very close to the people on The Times’ frontpage. She may also look behind the times and disconnected from everyday life. We could even imagine that this frontpage could be the one announcing the Queen’s death. 
  • Between tradition and modernity, sometimes working at her desk sometimes sending the first royal tweet at a high tech conference, multi-faceted Queen Elizabeth - as well as the rest of the Royal family - regularly makes the headlines. We may conclude that the British press plays a major role in the image of the Royal family that is conveyed today.

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COURSE MATERIAL

  • 2 frontpages : The Sun and The Times
  • 2 audio documents from Audio-Lingua : Mary about the British press and Jenny talking about the Royal Family and the press part 1 & part 2.

NOTIONS

  • Forms and places of power
  • Myths and heroes
  • Idea of progress

ISSUE

  • The British Royal Family today: tradition or modernity? How has the Queen become a symbol?
  • To what extent does the British press help shape a certain image of monarchy today?
  • To what extent has the Queen known how to evolve through time

TO GO FURTHER (click on the links)