"Silent celebrity" is a phrase cropping up round our mass media. The Queen, apparently, is a silent celebrity. Here is the Graun on Her Mutedness. Apart from missing the fact that all celebrity is proportional to silence, it hits the nail on the head (desperate acts of self-disclosure destroy celebrity, even if it's aimed at achieving it).
Celebrity is considered self-realisation in modern capitalism. A celebrity is an icon. An icon has strong definition but little detail. The Queen is a powerful icon in part because she is a personal non-entity. She is not enigmatic, she is hollow. The richest woman in the world (probably) with enough time to cultivate some kind of personality or recognised talent: she likes horse racing and corgis.
If you follow the propaganda you realise the Queen is whatever you want her to be (or whatever you value in yourself). The Queen is not a nice little old lady, or a constitutional rock, nor is she an elegant affirmation of Britain's wealth and power, she is a potent political weapon for the ruling class. The monarchy cultivates an image, in particular an impression of ancient history and grandeur, despite the fact that most royal institutions date back to the 19th Century and no further. This image is projected onto the greater ruling class. It accustomises people to their rule, teaches them to be deferent and grateful.
All of this is mildly obvious. The question is then, do we really want to be ruled by such blatant hucksters and a crowned non-entity?
