Despite what we hear from the media, the reasons so many are gathering are complex and various, says psychologist Stephen Reicher
. We are interested in why people gather, how they experience these gatherings and the consequences – both for the individual and for society – of their presence. The first thing we have learned is that any attempt to reduce crowd participation to a single, universal motivation is a distortion. People come along for many different and mixed reasons, not all of which involve allegiance to the monarchy.
And then there are many whose presence in the Queen’s mourning crowds has precious little to do with the Queen. They simply recognise that these are events of major significance. If the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace brings along spectators to view the spectacle, the changing of the monarch brings them along in spades. They want to be able to say: “I was there. I am part of history.”
What makes this all the more significant is that it is not just the crowds who are unified in fealty. The crowds are represented as the concrete embodiment of the national community. “They” are “us”. The fact that they are mourning means that Britain is mourning. We are a nation united in support of the monarch. It follows that anyone who departs from this view is not of “us” and risks exclusion from the national community.
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