Laughing with Royal Approval
The passing of her Majesty the Queen on 8th September has eaten into every part of our lived experience over the last couple of weeks. This seemed to be less about personal connection to royalty, but to wider web sense of community and coming together. It would have been hard to miss any coverage and content describing those individual connections to the Queen and I learnt a lot about her over this period of ubiquitous commentary.
There were different themes that came through about Her Majesty’s character and personality. A common narrative around that sense of duty, personal integrity and leadership came through in nearly every interview I saw, but there was something else. It’s probably no surprise that we at laughter Lab picked up on the re-occurring stories about the Queen’s sense of humour and quick wit. It seemed to me that those who knew her personally were consistently noting this behaviour in their summary of what she meant to them. Justin Trudeau, Queen Rania of Jordan and even Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley from Harry Potter) all recounted stories of how the Queen had made them laugh. Alongside the stories and anecdotes, pictures of the Queen smiling and laughing when interacting with others littered the media.
For me, meeting strangers can be an exciting experience or burdensome one – this just depends on why I am meeting these new people, or even my mood. The idea of meeting thousands of strangers every year, leading a conversation and then engaging in small talk irrespective of how I am feeling – is the stuff of nightmares. There are many techniques in how to do this and we can only do this well if we demonstrate authenticity. Of course, the Queen, like many of us, had a professional self that demonstrated many of the qualities we came to expect of her, and she used laughter and humour to connect with many people from dignitaries to nurses to her own staff. One story that made me laugh was that of a security guard who was escorting her on a walk in the Scottish Highlands. They bumped into two American tourists who didn’t recognise Her Majesty and asked if the pair had ever met the Queen as they had heard she lived nearby. The Queen responded, ‘I haven’t, but he has,’ gesturing to her companion.
We can’t all be blessed with quick wit and the skills to make people laugh, although it’s a character strength that is innate in many of us, but we all like to share a joke and it can so often put people at ease and helps to release the tension of a situation. What could be more nerve-wracking than meeting such a revered Head of State, either as a member of the general public or politician, what better approach than to use laughter as a tool to alleviate any anxiety? This is something we can all learn from and use in situations where we may feel ill-at-ease, or where others may not. Laughter, in situations like these, can be a courtesy you extend to others.
Like me, you may have been more familiar with dutiful images of the Queen taken when delivering speeches or performing ceremonial obligations – a time for more formal behaviour. During this period of national mourning, I found the notion of a laughing queen an enlightening one. It was an aspect of someone to whom I had previously not paid very much attention, but who was always a constant presence.
Her wit and wisdom will be missed.
Jane