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Is there a known style guide or documented set of stylistic rules for the English language that Queen Elizabeth II and/or her office uses in emitted correspondence? Is there any way to know how QE2 would write something without digging through old correspondence for similar uses?

jwodder
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    Most things that are used and honoured collectively in Britain are said to be the Queen's. We have HM Armed Forces, HM Government, even HM Loyal Opposition (in Parliament). The calm on the streets is said to be 'The Queen's Peace'. If you break that peace you can be sent to HM Prison, and before the days of integral sanitation, you were issued with a chamber pot bearing the letters HM PRISON SERVICE. So not surprisingly, the standard elegant form of the language, used in educated circles I choose to name the 'Queen's English'. And that is what the Queen speaks. – WS2 Jan 05 '14 at 22:50
  • @WS2: OK, but just how does the Queen speak & write? – jwodder Jan 05 '14 at 22:56
  • I don't think she had a speaking part in the Olympics ceremony, but you can listen to her 2012 Christmas speech here. (Sigh. What a dame! :) – FumbleFingers Jan 05 '14 at 23:20
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    I wonder why this was downvoted—it’s quite an interesting question. Would official letters from the Queen, for example, use the Oxford comma? Spell -ize or -ise? Use en or em dashes (close-set or spaced off)? Surprising as it may seem, I have never received a missive from the Queen, so I cannot answer these questions from firsthand knowledge. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 06 '14 at 01:02
  • At one time, the way the monarch spoke greatly influenced the language - howsoever she wants is probably the correct answer. – Elliott Frisch Jan 06 '14 at 01:07
  • The queen's style guide – Mitch Jan 06 '14 at 01:46
  • This is a toughy, considering that it’s been shown that not even ER herself uses the Queen’s English anymore. – tchrist Jan 06 '14 at 02:36
  • Related question: Was the King's English what the Fowler brothers said it was, or what the King said it was? We may have stumbled upon the CoE correlative of papal infallibility. – Sven Yargs Jan 06 '14 at 03:13
  • The Queen *is* the style guide. Voting to close as a no-brainer (just kidding). – Kris Jan 06 '14 at 06:14
  • Are you asking if Queen Elizabeth's official correspondence is proofread by anyone before being sent? Does she actually write any official documents herself? I doubt it. I think a department in the civil service, or a qualified civil servant might be involved somewhere here. – Mari-Lou A Jan 06 '14 at 08:19
  • @JanusBahsJacquet She certainly wouldn't spell things -ize as in realize, or -or as in honor or neighbor. She knows far better than that. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 12:03
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    @Mari-LouA Bearing in mind that she is 87 years old and has been on the throne for 62 years, I too would be a little bit surprised if she does not have help with her voluminous correspondence. As she pointed out at a dinner party at Buck House, attended by the then-current and two former American Presidents 'my job is not something you do simply for two four-year terms'. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 12:06
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    @WS2, obviously not honor, that's confined to AmE; but -ize is almost as common in BrE as -ise, and several style guides (most prominently Oxford’s) require it. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 06 '14 at 12:22
  • @JanusBahsJacquet It might be fashionable among some modern academics, but anyone who was taught English properly, like the Queen was, in the first half of the twentieth century wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 19:24
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    @JanusBahsJacquet By the way am I meant to be impressed by your citing Oxford? Cambridge is where it all happens. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 19:32
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    @tchrist A brief scan of that article reveals it all to be about pronunciation. There is nothing sensational about the fact that the Queen does not use the usual middle-class received pronunciation (RP). She uses an accent often known as 'Marked RP', which is used by a tiny minority, mostly those of gentry connection. In MRP, one pronounces, for example 'off' as though it were spelled 'awfe' and 'cloth' as 'clawthe'. Some, who have tried to convert to MRP have spectacularly come to grief. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 19:40
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    @WS2, impressed? Er, no, why should you be impressed by a mere mentioning? Oxford just happens to be the most prominent (though not the only) style guide in the UK that advocates -ize rather than -ise. Cambridge, where it all apparently happens, is as far as I know quite indifferent in the matter. And if by “modern academics” you mean the likes of Hart’s Rules (1904) and Fowler’s Dictionary of Modern English Usage, then sure, consider it limited to “modern academics”. They’re modern academics that were quite influential in British schools even before the Queen was born, though. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 06 '14 at 22:13
  • @JanusBahsJacquet What exactly is a style guide? Is it one of those things that tells you when to sign off 'yours sincerely' or 'yours faithfully'. And how have I managed to survive all these years without ever having used one? – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 22:53
  • @WS2 Since you asked. The Elements of Style and AP Stylebook are the two I'm most familiar with. – Elliott Frisch Jan 30 '15 at 04:35

1 Answers1

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Queen Elizabeth II's government — The Prime Minister and the cabinet — write her official speeches. As explained here: Queen's speech

Nor is she the author of her official correspondence, according to the official British Monarchy website. (Source)

The office of the Private Secretary, supports the Queen in her job as Head of State. The current Private Secretary to The Queen is The Rt. Hon. Sir Christopher Geidt KCVO OBE who was appointed to his role in September 2007.

The Private Secretary is the channel of communication between the Head of State and the Government, not only in the United Kingdom but also in the 15 other realms of which The Queen is Sovereign.

[...]

Other responsibilities include organising The Queen’s official programme at home and overseas; liaising with the Households of other members of the Royal Family; and dealing with The Queen’s official correspondence and correspondence with members of the public.

The Private Secretary prepares The Queen’s speeches and messages, and his/her office arranges photographs and official presents, portraits and messages of congratulation.

An exception to the rule is the Queen's Christmas speech which the BBC claims:

The Queen writes her own Christmas speeches and it is one of the rare occasions when she does not seek government advice and is able to voice her own views.

The Guardian confirms that the 2012 Christmas speech was by her own hand.

This year, her message, which she writes herself, will highlight the "splendid summer of sport", and pay tribute to the nation's Olympic and Paralympic athletes, who gave spectators the chance to revel in the "excitement and drama".

Therefore, in order to know which style guide (if any) is employed, one would need to ask David Cameron, all the ministers of the British cabinet and finally, the Queen's private secretary Sir Christopher Geidt themselves.

If it is of any help, the 47-year-old Prime Minister, David Cameron, attended Eton College before studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Oxford university, so presumably he is well-versed in the Queen's English.

Mari-Lou A
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  • Is she is neither the author grammatical in British English? – virmaior Jan 06 '14 at 09:48
  • Yes, it is (I'm pretty certain, but why not ask the question on ELU?!) perhaps it should be recast. – Mari-Lou A Jan 06 '14 at 09:53
  • @virmaior my edit should make more sense now. Thank you for pointing it out. – Mari-Lou A Jan 06 '14 at 10:02
  • @Mari-LouA But when Cameron appeared on the David Letterman chat-show in America, oddly his Latin seemed to desert him. I should think the Classics master at Eton was having fits when DC couldn't translate 'Magna Carta' into English. – WS2 Jan 06 '14 at 20:39
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    @WS2 Lucky for the Queen that her speeches are in English, although I seem to recall one famous annus horribilis discourse. – Mari-Lou A Jan 06 '14 at 21:43