Connecting Sociology and YOU!

The Pandemic and YOU

How do you think citizens respond to monarchs’ speeches, knowing monarchs have very limited power in a constitutional monarchy? What role does a monarch play in addressing COVID-19? How do you think a monarch’s role in addressing COVID-19 is similar to or different from a president’s role?

Constitutional Monarchy

In April 2020, Queen Elizabeth II, the late constitutional monarch of the U.K., made a rare address to the nation about the Coronavirus pandemic. In her televised speech, she addressed the nation’s financial strain and grief in the face of the ongoing pandemic. This was not the Queen’s first national “pep talk.” In 1940 at the age of 14, she gave a rallying speech to the nation when the British were battling the Nazis during WWII (Langfitt 2020).