December 2013 – Expat Blog Carnival

October’s Blog Carnival focused on Homesickness, and this month we’re looking at the attitudes and misconceptions about the Royal Family.

It’s been a busy couple of years for the British Royal Family, what with the wedding of William and Katherine and the subsequent birth of the next heir to the throne, and the diamond jubilee celebrations of Queen Elizabeth II.

When I first came over to the States, one of the most frequent questions I was asked was “have you met the Queen?”

Now technically I’ve never “met” the Queen, but during her Silver Jubilee in 1977, she visited our fair county of Norfolk, and I joined the rest of my class mates at the side of the road to wave enthusiastically at her as she rode by in an open top Daimler, and then more than 2 decades later, I attended the Trooping of the Colour in London, and once again, I stood in the crowd to wave my support.

This month’s Expat Blog Carnival features a lot of content from an serial blogger, Laurence. Is he the only one who cares about Queen and Country?

5 of the Most Common Stereotypes Faced by British Expats

Expat Blogger: Laurence Brown recently featured a guest post at Lost in the Pond provided by The Expat Hub, a site dedicated to providing expat support and advice.

“All Brits know the Royal Family: Weirdly, for a country that celebrates the day when it kicked out the British monarchy in its struggle for independence, the USA is fascinated by the Royal family. Perhaps they are intrigued by what used to be and with what they lost with their independence? Who knows? Chances are, though, that you as a British expat will be asked at some point whether you personally know the Royals. Bizarrely, many US citizens seem to believe that Queen Liz 2 is best mates with all of her subjects. To a newly arrived expat it can seem a bit… well, odd.”

Read the rest at Lost in the Pond

Dear America: Just Because I’m British Does Not Mean I Know The Queen

Expat Blogger: Laurence Brown writes at Lost in the Pond, Laurence is a British expat living in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is a contributor for BBC America and writes weekly columns for Anglotopia and Smitten By Britain.

“Sadly, I do not know The Queen,” I conceded, after taking my first sip of American tap water. “But my brother touched Prince Charles on the shoulder once. Does that count?”

Read the rest at Lost in the Pond

How An English Expat Became An Anglophile

Expat Blogger: This time a guest post by Laurence, our favourite expat from Indianapolis, Indiana, as featured on Smitten by Britain.

“So, tell me; what’s it like to grow up with all that Royalty around you?”, asked one guy. After a while, these sorts of questions, while a little repetitive, yielded increasingly different answers on my part. Initially, I would respond to that first inquiry with a wry smile and a distinctly anti-Royal retort. After all, I had just moved from the very country that had plastered the Royals all over its tabloids. I was burned out.

Read the rest at Smitten by Britain

America’s love-hate relationship with the British monarchy

Expat Blogger: Sophie Pitman spent some time writing the Expat blog at the Telegraph, she’s a Brit who lived in the States, but has since returned to her homeland.

“Perhaps this is treacherous to admit in the wake (quite literally, given the scale of the flotilla) of Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee, but I am no fan of the monarchy. So whilst I did not hang bunting and sing ‘God Save the Queen’ with gusto this year, I will continue to defend the House of Windsor to my American friends. Ambivalence rules the waves.”

Read the rest at the Telegraph

 [warning]Click here to find out more about my Expat Blog Carnival. If you want to be included in a future Carnival, just fill in the submission form.  There’s no set themes each month, it’s just wherever the mood takes me.[/warning]