Mass Observing the Coronation
Today, the 6th of May 2023, is a big day. Not only is it the Coronation of Charles III but also, I am at work. Two British citizens having two very different days. OK, so maybe today is not such a big day for me, it's quite an average Saturday really, but for at least one of us, and many others too, it is extremely significant.
While my thoughts on the monarchy are conflicted at best (and as such perhaps discussed another time), I can admit that today is certainly historic and one that will be referenced for centuries to come. As such, I wanted to write something in acknowledgment of this that wasn't just on the history of coronations or its symbolisms (though interesting topics in their own rights!). I wanted to write about something which, I believe, is still equally as important and has a potentially positive takeaway.
For the past few years, on the 12th of May (or there about) I have been writing and submitting a diary entry for the Mass Observation Archive, as part of their call for one-day diary entries but what is particularly interesting about this year's entry (and why it's relative for this blog post) pertains to how it all began.
As a brief introduction, Mass Observation (MO) began in 1937 as a social research project, aimed at documenting the everyday lives of everyday people in Britain. They have since built up a fantastic archive, some of which is now accessible online, creating an invaluable resource for historians and sociologists alike.
Then, on the 12th of May 1937, George VI was coronated. To get an idea and document how British citizens were spending this momentous day, MO requested diary entries, asking "WHERE WERE YOU ON MAY 12TH?"
One diarist from Yorkshire would comment that "the only sign of Coronation in the wide swept dale were one or two grim looking old flags" whilst in Suffolk, another recalls going to a castle where "perhaps twenty people have collected in drizzling rain to drink a glass of free beer to the health of the King and Queen". In the end, over 200 hundred people wrote in, each sharing their own unique thoughts and experiences that otherwise would have been lost to the annals of time.
So here we are, 86 years later, about to crown his grandson, King Charles III and the call has gone out again.
What intrigues me most are the potential possibilities a comparison between the two coronations could produce. The differences and (especially) the similarities in how we as a public have chosen to spend this day, how (or if) our feelings have changed about an institution that has been at the core of our identity as a nation for so long, even what types of food and drink we choose to celebrate with...the list goes on!
Today, the 6th of May, is just another Saturday I'm having to work, for others it'll be an excuse to enjoy a long weekend (I would suggest a few BBQ's will be dusted off but, of course, the British weather had other plans), and for the truly patriotic among us, a chance to don their finest "red, white and blue" and fight the crowds in London in hopes of catching a glimpse of their majesties.
What I hope for these 2023 entries is a broader, more diverse look at Britain today, in all it's patriotic, mundane, anarchist, indifferent glory, providing us with something that we ourselves can reflect upon on in the near-future, as well as future historians.
If you're interested in writing for MO (and I truly hope you are!), please visit http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/coronation-project
Useful Links:
MO: Write for us 12th May: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/12th-may
MO: Write for us Coronation Project: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/coronation-project
Sources:
The diary entries quoted were number 94 (Co.3.) and 98 (CO.45.) from Jennings, Humphrey and Charles Madge (eds.), Mass Observation: May the Twelfth [London, 1937] [e-book edn. 2012].
Images Used:
Image 1: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/12th-may [6th May 2023]
Image 2: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/coronation-project [6th May 2023]
Image 3: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-65502234 [6th May 2023]