Personality and Image of Queen Elizabeth II - Public Image

Public Image

Always a popular figure in the UK and many other countries, opinion polls have regularly shown that she has an excellent approval rating. Coinciding with her Diamond Jubilee, the Queen experienced a surge of popularity in 2012 peaking with an approval rate of 90%. The second most popular member of the Royal Family, the Duke of Cambridge, has a rating of 62%. The Queen's current popularity is higher than that ever garnered by Diana, Princess of Wales, and has almost always been significantly higher than that of her elected Prime Ministers.

Since she uses little political power in the day-to-day running of the country outside of her traditional ceremonial and advisory duties, she is unlikely to be held responsible for unpopular policies followed by elected politicians. However, her weekly meetings with the Prime Minister, and the images of her working hard at her desk reading government documents, make it appear as if she is not out of touch with her nation. In 2002, the Queen was ranked 24th in the 100 Greatest Britons poll. However, in 1997, she and other members of the Royal Family were perceived in the British tabloid press as cold and unfeeling when they did not participate in the public outpouring of grief at the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. The Queen ignored precedent to bow to Diana's coffin as it passed Buckingham Palace and also gave a live television broadcast paying tribute to Diana. These actions redressed tabloid opinion.

Elizabeth's public image has noticeably softened in recent years; although she remains reserved in public, she has been seen laughing and smiling much more than in years past, and has shed tears during emotional occasions such as at Remembrance Day services, the memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral for those killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks, and in Normandy, for the 60th anniversary of D-Day, where she addressed the Canadian troops. During most public appearances, she is dressed in solid colours, as this enhances visibility from a distance.

In recent years Elizabeth II has also been portrayed as being a modern grandmother. She's said to have been "addicted" to playing Nintendo Wii which was bought by Kate Middleton for the Queen's grandson, Prince William. She set up her e-mail account, owns a mobile phone and also iPod. When President Barack Obama visited the Queen and Prince Philip in April 2009, he gave her a personalised iPod, which was pre-loaded with forty "classic" tunes and video footage of her visit to Virginia. On 21 May 2009 it was reported that video games company THQ had given the Queen a special version of the Nintendo Wii console. Instead of the usual color white plastic casing, the Queen's personalised version was gold-plated.