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Running the Family Firm: How the monarchy manages its image and our money
In recent decades, the global wealth of the rich has soared to leave huge chasms of wealth inequality. This book argues that we cannot talk about inequalities in Britain today without talking about the monarchy.
Running the Family Firm explores the postwar British monarchy in order to understand its economic, political, social and cultural functions. Although the monarchy is usually positioned as a backward-looking, archaic institution and an irrelevant anachronism to corporate forms of wealth and power, the relationship between monarchy and capitalism is as old as capitalism itself.
This book frames the monarchy as the gold standard The Firm. Using a set of case studies – the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle – it contends that The Firm’s power is disguised through careful stage management of media representations of the royal family. In so doing, it extends conventional understandings of what monarchy is and why it matters.
Running the Family Firm explores the postwar British monarchy in order to understand its economic, political, social and cultural functions. Although the monarchy is usually positioned as a backward-looking, archaic institution and an irrelevant anachronism to corporate forms of wealth and power, the relationship between monarchy and capitalism is as old as capitalism itself.
This book frames the monarchy as the gold standard The Firm. Using a set of case studies – the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle – it contends that The Firm’s power is disguised through careful stage management of media representations of the royal family. In so doing, it extends conventional understandings of what monarchy is and why it matters.
336 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2023
A well-researched exploration of the various ways in which the monarchy produces consent for itself through people and the media. The author explores the secrecy with which the monarchy hoards its wealth, how it carefully defines its image using a combo of visibility vs invisibility and accrues wealth using passion projects like Charles' Poundbury estate, built upon fantastical, exaggerated, idealistic visions of pastoralism and traditional English architecture.
The book also uses examples of Harry (the military-industrial complex), Kate and Will (the illusion of 'middle' class, hetero-normative, nuclear family) and Meghan (diversity capital, erasing history, inequality and race) to illustrate the different ways in which the monarchy carefully shapes its own image and what happens when it fails to do so.
The central premise of the book is that by the various ways in which it changes (such as by portraying itself as more diverse, middle-class or 'normal'), the monarchy is defining itself as something extraordinary and abnormal, something which is duly accepted by millions of people. It is a powerful argument that it is impossible to address the inequality in the UK and internationally without looking closely at how the monarchy helps reinforce that inequality, through which it has built its image and which it continues to perpetuate.
The book also uses examples of Harry (the military-industrial complex), Kate and Will (the illusion of 'middle' class, hetero-normative, nuclear family) and Meghan (diversity capital, erasing history, inequality and race) to illustrate the different ways in which the monarchy carefully shapes its own image and what happens when it fails to do so.
The central premise of the book is that by the various ways in which it changes (such as by portraying itself as more diverse, middle-class or 'normal'), the monarchy is defining itself as something extraordinary and abnormal, something which is duly accepted by millions of people. It is a powerful argument that it is impossible to address the inequality in the UK and internationally without looking closely at how the monarchy helps reinforce that inequality, through which it has built its image and which it continues to perpetuate.
March 11, 2024
Loved it! Textbook like, can’t recommend to anyone, but totally loved it.
September 7, 2025
I enjoyed the focus of each chapter, especially the one on poundbury. Subsequently, I developed an obsession with poundbury and went there on my way to a festival. Indeed, there was no loitering, except for me. And I saw no clothes being hung outside to dry.
December 26, 2022
Lucy Clancy promises to research two, key elements of the monarchy in a subsequent work: the double-standards employed that are evident in the way that Prince Andrew remains a member of the Family firm and how the monarchy fits above the aristocracy in Britain and how this underpins the ancient class networks of this out-dated society.
I look forward to these explorations as Running the Family Firm, in its portrayal of a business empire that is centred on inherited wealth and privilege, is a thorough and well-written expose. It is very well researched as would be expected of a lecturer in media with the focus very much on how well the story of the monarchy has been continuously updated for each age.
This book ended with Meghan and Harry (the use of the forenames significant in a era of social networking) and their resignation from the firm to pursue their lives elsewhere despite doffing their hat in the direction of the monarchy by their statement that they fully support the monarchy.
Since then, Queen Elizabeth II has died, Charles III has become King and Harry and Meghan have released their Netflix story on how the firm could not absorb the differences that Meghan brought through her colour, background (as a black woman but also as an achiever) as Jeremy Clarkson has now to vividly observed in his obscene rant that will, hopefully, deprive him of work on ITV and the Sun (we live in hope).
The central context of why we have a monarchy in 2022, why it remains part of the UK's constitution is left for another time but the reason it is so favourably seen by the populace is well covered as is the monarchy's absurd hold on public opinion.
This is an important work that acts as a real introduction to the next one.
I look forward to these explorations as Running the Family Firm, in its portrayal of a business empire that is centred on inherited wealth and privilege, is a thorough and well-written expose. It is very well researched as would be expected of a lecturer in media with the focus very much on how well the story of the monarchy has been continuously updated for each age.
This book ended with Meghan and Harry (the use of the forenames significant in a era of social networking) and their resignation from the firm to pursue their lives elsewhere despite doffing their hat in the direction of the monarchy by their statement that they fully support the monarchy.
Since then, Queen Elizabeth II has died, Charles III has become King and Harry and Meghan have released their Netflix story on how the firm could not absorb the differences that Meghan brought through her colour, background (as a black woman but also as an achiever) as Jeremy Clarkson has now to vividly observed in his obscene rant that will, hopefully, deprive him of work on ITV and the Sun (we live in hope).
The central context of why we have a monarchy in 2022, why it remains part of the UK's constitution is left for another time but the reason it is so favourably seen by the populace is well covered as is the monarchy's absurd hold on public opinion.
This is an important work that acts as a real introduction to the next one.
May 3, 2023
Great start, lost me later
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews