This past Sunday, the humanities group and science group took a trip to Sandringham, Norfolk. Sandringham is the location of one of the Royal Family’s estates. The Queen resides in this estate from December to Early February, and most Sundays will go to the church on the property for services, a normal Sunday for a majority of people. The only difference is that people (tourists mostly) are allowed to stand behind a roped-off area, and see the Queen exit her car, go to church and then re-enter her car. Sometimes, however, she will stop and speak to people.

The sky was grey, and the ground still damp from the previous day’s rain. All of us gathered to get a glimpse of royalty, and, hopefully, have an opportunity to exchange pleasantries. There were two mothers with their children, each carrying a bouquet of flowers for her Majesty. The Bentley drove up, she exited, gave a wave to the crowd and went into the church. We waited outside for half an hour hoping she would come out and address the crowd. She walked towards the car, gave one last wave and drove off.

I was about 20 feet from Queen Elizabeth II, but that is my only claim to fame concerning royalty. My dad told me to wear a suit today, as if that would draw her attention to me and she would be impressed with a young American. I did not follow my dad’s advice. Even if I had it would not have made a difference, as the children with flowers were far cuter than I.

Getting a chance to see the Queen is a big deal for tourists for many reasons. First, there is no such thing as royalty in America. Second, the royal family has celebrity status in the states comparable to the Kardashians (relax, I didn’t say equal). Finally, she represents what tourists believe to be the quintessential example of Englishness (thank you Downton Abbey). But what I experienced on Sunday was nothing more than watching a sweet elderly lady exit her car, and go to church with her husband (who deserves a bit more attention from the crowds), a task that I could complete by waiting outside a retirement home. Yet, even I felt a bit star struck because the Queen, is well, the QUEEN. The royal family has an allure to them because I have nothing to compare them to except for the ones in Disney movies.

Based on their appeal in the States, I assumed that all of England would be obsessed with the royal family, and came to find, based on the English people I know, not everyone cares about the royal family. Their celebrity status makes them important more than anything, and they manifest that proper behavior I (falsely) expected all English people to have. I recommend that when one goes abroad (or anytime really), they leave any type of stereotype behind as it will cloud their judgment of the people around them, and create generalized expectations that ruin one’s time.