American Reacts to British Social Structure

We embark on a quest to understand the nuances and quirks of the British class system. From the aristocracy to the underclass, this exploration promises to be both educational and entertaining. The video will include fascinating tidbits of British history, highlighting the evolution of social class over the centuries. We'll examine the impact of industrialization, the legacy of the British Empire, and how these factors continue to influence British society today.
Whether you're British and want to see an outsider's perspective or you're from another part of the world curious about British class dynamics, this video promises to be an enlightening and enjoyable experience. So, don't forget to hit that subscribe button, like, and share as we embark on this cross-cultural adventure! 🌍🎉
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[@AmethystRock]

In Britain your class is defined by what you wear, how you wear it, how you speak, where you live, where you shop, what you eat, where your children go to school, what your childrens names are, where you work, what you work as, what your parents do, how you behave, what your hobbies are.... its interwoven into EVERYTHING!!!

[@juskahusk2247]

Most importantly it's about what kind of hat you wear. Flatcaps used to be worn by the lower class but they have drifted up to twat level. Bowler hats used to be worn by the middle class but they have disappeared and been replaced by baseball caps. Top hats used to be worn by the upper class but now are only worn sometimes for weddings. Now scum wear hoods even if it is not raining and even if they are in a car, the average hat is a baseball cap or beanie in the winter and the upper class wear ridiculous trilbies or flatcaps or hair transplants.

[@kate2.0.]

​​@@juskahusk2247twat level 😂

[@majorclanger8857]

​@@juskahusk2247you clearly dont spend much time in the countryside if you think flatcaps are upper class only - here every class wears them especially if you work an outdoors job, farmer, groundsman etc, can speak as one surrounded by many - so sorry to burst your bubble on that one

[@juskahusk2247]

@@majorclanger8857 the ghetto is a f🤬g nightmare! Please let me live in your Arcadian utopia. I'll do anything, Pig Fluffer, Goat Stimulator, Traction Beam Car Driver, Manure Man ANYTHING!

[@goldboy150]

I’d disagree with a fair bit of this. I used to live in west London in a upper ground floor flat. Below me was a married couple in their early thirties with a baby girl. Lovely couple, husband and I would have a drink at the pub next door from time to time. Absolutely bang average people in terms of accent, clothes, manner - everything. Then one day, a letter for the husband mistakenly gets delivered to my apartment. I look at the address on the front and it says “To: The Hon Edward….”. I look at it quizzically. Why would he have “the honourable” as a title - he clearly isn’t an MP current or former. Then I look him up on google. Turns out he is the second son of a prominent Earl. His older brother has “Lord” as a title. Anyway, long way of saying that I don’t think the class divide is inherently noticeable from outward appearance anymore. You can have thoroughly working class people with immense wealth who will be fancier than a prince and equally you can have the epitome of landed gentry who clean the windows of their apartment on a busy west London street wearing nothing but boxer shorts.

[@JohnBriggs-sv6wt]

You don't need to ask questions. You will know what class someone comes from within minutes of meeting them.

[@johnallsopp6324]

I don't think an American could ever understand the British class system but any Brit knows it intuitively.

[@MrBulky992]

Very true. Maybe not everybody but many and not usually consciously add up the clues to work out where a new acquaintance sits in this class framework. Anyone who does not may be lacking in empathy and liable to make a lot of faux pas in conversation. Most people look for common ground so there is likely to be little point in discussing huntin', shootin' and fishin' with someone born and brought up on a "sink" council estate (that's an extreme case, of course).

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

Whilst you can change , or mimic accents you can't change social outlook or opinions overnight . I think you only feel comfortable with your own .

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

100% correct

[@terranaxiomuk]

I think the american equivalent of lower class would be someone claiming that the south will rise again.

[@TheJthom9]

Money is considered crude in the UK. And in the US, you could leave town and reinvent yourself in an entirely different part of the country. You cannot do that in the UK with its relative confinement, you cannot escape class. Tradition sanitises the crudeness of money, so titles and honours count for a lot in social standing than just money alone. This is how the nouveau riche were tamed by the aristocracy

[@valeriedavidson2785]

Re. The social structure in Britain has nothing to do with money. In fact New Money is regarded as rather vulgar.

[@primalengland]

This is quite a divisive subject. You might get some spicy comments. Ignore them, you keep on doing you. I, for one, really enjoy your take on things.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Spicy is good

[@lloydcollins6337]

Doctors and Lawyers are middle class because they have full-time jobs. The upper classes generally don't have (or didn't have) full time roles - male aristocrats were instead owners of companies, investors in stock markets (managed by a professional stockbroker), or men and women were Presidents of charities where they did a few hours to help out with functions or appearing to make speeches etc. Women also married other aristocratic men, that was their role, to produce heirs for the estate.

[@KINGCABA-if4nk]

That’s both old and new money upper classes. Which the video didn’t taken about- super rich is different to the upper middle class.

[@primalengland]

I suppose I could work on my accent, but I still think I’d come across as someone from Wigan.

[@Giggirl]

Me too 😂

[@andrewmstancombe1401]

I'm working class, I'm proud of it. It's us that does the work that makes the country wealthy. I served in the Army many years ago, I met some of those upper classes, the landed gentry, and they were always easier to talk to than the upper middle class who seemed to think because they had more than you they were better. I'm a taxi driver now. It's surprising how many people think they are better than you because they run some office somewhere. I've also had compliments on the intellectual conversations I've had. Such as, "I didn't expect to have so interesting a conversation with a Taxi driver." That's what we call a backhanded compliment. I've always worked on the idea that I'm no better than anyone, and nobody is better than me, except the King/Queen. I once served them and the country.

[@nagillim7915]

Questioning the monarch goes right back to the magna carta in 1215 where the barons forced king john to give up absolute authority over them. What changed with the civil war is the form of the question. Between magna carta and the civil war the monarchy's right to rule was not in question only the validity of the person on the throne's decisions. With the civil war the entire validity of the throne itself was called into question.

[@lulusbackintown1478]

My family are working class my husband's people are middle-class. My mother-in-law showed me the difference between my use of English and hers plus table settings, clothes etc most by my observing her. I had already had to modify my accent to get a job. So the words you use can give another clue to your beginnings. Toilet instead of lavatory or loo, serviette instead of napkin would place you as working class. I would say class mobility was greater during the 1980s than it is now. Certainly I had no problems fitting in and being accepted in the professions despite my appalling education. It was much easier as I didn't need a university degree although that profession does now. There were other routes to qualify. My daughter and I laugh as my daughter's in-laws think she is posh and apparently we both wear 'middle-class ' scarves!

[@majorclanger8857]

Never had to talk to someone directly about their class to know almost immediately. I know that the ppl i work with are working class, whereas i am from the 'middle' middle class as it were and they know that about me without asking. Our life experiences are totally different and it shows

[@juliedawson8027]

As someone who grew up in the States but has lived my entire adult life (more than half my life now) in the UK. the British class system has been one of the most singular things to get my head around. I don't dare to offer much in the way of commentary for fear of embarrasing myself, but I will say this: the gulf between middle class and working class is way more important than any American could ever understand. I have friends in both camps and it always amazes me how much this informs their personalities. Many of my working class friends are immediately suspicious and often somewhat disadainful of middle class people, and many of my middle class friends form their peer group around university friends, who also tend to be middle class. So the American ideal of mobility doesn't really work in part because people reject it. There's social and economic mobility, but class is often something Brits wear as a badge of honour. The more you can get your head round the class system, the more you realise how much it is referenced everywhere across British culture. Lots of the British culture I loved growing up in the States sounds completely different to me now as I've developed a better (though still imperfect) sense of the underlying references, with class chief amongst them. A less dry, more interesting commentary on this than the video here would be the artist Grayson Perry's 3 part documentary "All in the Best Possible Taste" which devotes one episode to the working class, one to the middle class, and one to the aristocracy and is absolutely fascinating and very insightful.

[@AutoAlligator]

Outside of Royalty...most of modern British class-systems are based on land ownership. (Not that the Royal Family don't own significant land.) You could be a self-made millionaire in England but you would still not be upper class. Upper class people can have considerably less money in the bank but have a "good" family name and a huge amount of land they can't really work. As an American myself it is so interesting to see how well respected the working-class are. The emphasis seems to be less on personal wealth but the fabric of the people, manners and goodwill.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Moral capital is very important as well as cultural capital , economoic capital and soical capital.

[@terranaxiomuk]

The content of ones character. The sort of thing martin luther king was talking about.

[@emmajayne4894]

I love having the royal family. We pay £1.29 each (107.5 million) a year and they bring in 1.76 bn a year. Its just good pageantry and business sense to have them.

[@neuralwarp]

Actually, they pay 100% of their estate income in return for the £1.29.

[@barrywilliams259]

The income from the Royal Estate is paid over to HMG ‘for the common good’ as happens in the accession ceremony and in exchange for that approx 15% of that is used to pay for the office and duties of the Head of State, including the upkeep of national treasures held in trust by the Monarch such as palaces, castles and artwork. That is called the Sovereign Grant. The Monarch does not get paid in a true sense for the work he does. He does, however, have a private income from investments. The heir to the throne is entitled to the income from Duchy of Cornwall to cover his costs and that does not come from the Sovereign Grant.

[@badger19100]

I find of all these many film clips on you tube of Americans reacting . by by far the best is JJLA. He is the charming , intelegent and has a great voice.

[@garethm3242]

It's become a bit silly really here (admittedly I'm in N Ireland where, although we have the last vestige of the British aristocracy, it's nowhere near as rigid as in Britain). I recently heard a radio discussion about what defines being "middle class", and the spokesman insisted it was "owning a mug-tree" (the thing in your kitchen for hanging mugs on). Also, you got an automatic like from me for your Oasis-ripping-off-The Beatles comment :p

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

Lol a mug tree, sounds like someone with no money trying to claim they're middle class. A mug tree probably just means you don't have enough room in your kitchen because it's small. Lower middle class or working class most likely.

[@kirstygunn9149]

You can tell if you are middle class or working class by two things: if your tv is wider than your bookcase is tall, you are working class, and if you have a tall bookcase with books on it, then you are middle class.

[@dianehodgkinson7113]

I had it hammered into me - You can marry outside, Race, Creed, Religion etc - BUT - NEVER Outside your Class!

[@Breezeflow993]

Have you ever watched "My Fair Lady"? It shows a perfect example of accent and speech effecting social status, made in 1964 but based in Victorian era London its one worth watching if you havent yet seen it.

[@mogznwaz]

The class thing is overstated - social mobility is actually pretty good in Britain but only a very few can be landed gentry. Attitude and parenting are the key differentiator. As someone raised by solid parents on a working class council estate I’ve done just fine thanks because I have good manners, a strong work ethic and did well at school.

[@shirl790]

This is a very complex look at Class in UK. I don't think ppl are bothered these days about class, and the ones owning the inherited big palatial homes have to work on bringing money in to keep these "listed" buildings looking pristine. Looks like we're all working class, in different ways

[@brendamiller5785]

Even Cinderella was meant to marry a Handsome Prince to raise her family's social status.

[@irene3196]

I always thought I was working class. Turns out I'm lower middle class because I own my own home and worked in an office! My peasant ancestors would be proud of me.

[@Mcfly3595]

Me too. I’ve just levelled up in status! I’ll go with that 🎉

[@neuralwarp]

If you've ever been accepted into a university, you are legally an esquire unless you're something higher.

[@Bpat6169]

King Charles’ son Prince William who will be the next King of the UK married Catherine Middleton, a commoner, who comes from a middle class family. Catherine’s mother came from a working class family.

[@SirZanZa]

the Middleton's are an Aristocratic family the head of the family's dad is a member of the Lupton family, a well-known political dynasty. they are all multi millionaires with country estates. there is notching middle class about them. everyone is a commoner compared to royalty

[@neuralwarp]

We cannot say "he will be", only that he's first in line (heir apparent) and no one can jump ahead of him unless his father abdicates.

[@lizhaylett4312]

As George orwell said in book Animal Farm," all people are equal, some people are more equal than others". Or as my mother said, "As long as you have to work you're working class whatever your title"

[@sarahlockwood7082]

Hi love your videos. I'm English living in Wales. I am in the common as muck class, and proud of it. Xx

[@johnkemp8904]

I must admit that I flinched rather at the total lack of understanding of the British when he asked whether the British people ‘saw through’ George V renaming of the Royal house. It was wartime, Germany was the enemy, and the monarch took a step which would be overwhelmingly popular. There is no way on earth that this could be kept quiet or undertaken as an underhand piece of sleight of hand.

[@nolasyeila6261]

There 's a saying "money cannot buy class". That is a big difference between American and English culture - money seen as vulgar, and higher standing in class being about blood lines and "breeding". As for the accent - now you understand scene in "My Fair Lady" - where she is taught how to say "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain", in order to become "a lady".

[@melissatheminx4710]

Great reaction, JJLA. Your grasp on a very complex subject within a short time frame is remarkable. You're correct in that money and property will bring you some social mobility, but in a very limited fashion. Lineage, your bloodline, and its age , is really the deciding factor in where you 'stand' in the class Heirarchy. Yes, there are folk who change accent, learn the 'right' places to be, spend on education, and cultural pursuits, but these people, without an actual Lineage, will quickly be indentified as a social climber,.. and are distained both by the Class into which they are trying to insert themselves, and the Class they have abandoned. The only way a social climber can eleate. is to marry someone with an old Title, and even then they themselves will never really be respected, but their children will have some legitimacy with the people of that class. I myself, am a mixture of Underclass/Working class. With an IQ of 160, a decent qualification, and self taught and educated in Classics, and a fake accent worth of Cumberbatch, I will never be more than what I am, as my Lineage is not illustrious. I actually like being part of the Underclass, (Chavs) as it affords a lot more freedom, no rigid structures, and an existence that is almost under the radar. Many original artists come from the Working/Under/Immigrant classes. Dont let the cut glass perfect received pronunciated accents of Britains top actors fool you, although the upper middle class produces some great writers and actors,.. the artistic, Acting, musical talent of this Country, really lies within the Working/Underclass. Love your videos, thank you for the entertainment. x

[@johnbraithwaite863]

The palaces are historical treasures that will require maintaining anyway out of the public purse, at least with a royal family they have a genuine function

[@tanyaabram8336]

Fascinating video

[@juliedawson8027]

You are spot on - "Middle class" in the UK means something very different to "Middle class" in the US. One of my American friends says "Middle class just means you mow your lawn"

[@helenwood8482]

America basically only has working class and middle class. Your president is middle class in Brritish terms.

[@kirstygunn9149]

Quite a few of the lesser royals live on the grounds of the castles and Palaces so that they can be seen by the public or they will live in one wing of the property to keep the historical items protected.

[@TheJthom9]

England had the Magna Carta which was democratic only for the landowning class. You can have democracy and social hierarchy together. The landowning class were not always part of the ruling elite, but were favoured by the ruling elite. This made the landowning class the only group that could challenge the power of the ruling monarch, because they were already in the same social circles

[@barrywilliams259]

It should also be said the the Magna Carta was a vital document that opened the way for greater democracy. Any of our rights now come from the Magna Carta.

[@morganetches3749]

You can’t be upper class unless you’re an aristocrat, however wealthy you get

[@irreverend_]

Because Oasis might have money, but they've definitely not gained any class (not the Gallagher brothers anyway). It's more behavioural than financial. The working class can make a lot of money though, too many people dismiss some of the more "menial" industries and end up earning less (or struggling to find employment at all) and owing more due to student loans etc.

[@kdog4587]

Realistically, working class people wont really meet aristocracy or even upper middle classes. You tend to mingle with your own classes or 1 up. That can change when and if you go to uni, especially if you go to a very prestigious one, 2 of my friends went to Oxford and now have a social circle including much more middle/upper middle class folk. I went to Manchester uni and have some middle class friends, my family is working class but id say now my husband and I are lower middle but we have kept our school friends and live in our hometown so have largely stayed within the working class/some lower middle clase grouping. Because you tend to live in areas of the same or similar socio economic backgrounds, class doesnt really come up. Unless you occasionally meet someone from another class and then it may do. My dad used to race cars and he was hired by a very middle class man to basically look after his car, etc as a mechanic and panel beater, so he could just pop along and race it when he wanted to and i found his accent HILARIOUS as a kid. He was so posh and had floppy hair, im from the west midlands and it was so funny to me. Id never heard a really posh voice in person before haha. This is pretty anecdotal i appreciate, but my experience is that you just grow up around people who can afford similar to what you can, and they generally will be in your class, so it isnt really a topic of conversation

[@Layla-kd4ui]

I'd say early enclosures of common land, first of the 1590s and 1600s, prior to the English civil war (see the Midland Uprising of 1607) and then formalised by law - by the legal theft of the Acts of Enclosure - between 1810-20 were pivital in securing the British class-system, economic structure, and curtailing freedoms and autonomy of a rural peasantry, moving them in the wage-slavery, and ultimately into the cities, and whilst securing the positions of the land-owning gentry, who were able to buy, enclosure land and build stupidly big houses, after making a killing from sugar and tea and coffee and then were compensated for "loss of property" upon the abolishion of the British slave trade in 1807. It isn't a coincidence that the abolition of slavery throughout British overseas colonial interests resulted in a lesser but overarching form of enslavement at home.

[@jjohnston-c6i]

William the Conquerer was descended from Odo ... he was leader of a band of Vikings who landed in Normandy, liked it and decided to settle ... they quickly gave up their gods and their Viking ways ... they adopted Christianity and adopted trhe local way of doing things ... in the space of 100 years they ruled Normandy and only 100 years after that William conquered England.

[@jeffpopham5694]

The thing is..If I came into money either through 'Selling my product' or I won the lottery, that WOULDNT effect my 'Class' I'm 'Working Class' whatever I achieve, or become. The British Class dosen't really 'Move' at all! 😊

[@rjb29uk]

JJ your job would make you lower middle-class in the UK. Working class is basically people who do physical work in the UK. If your job is voice-over/acting, then that's a professional job. My job is working in IT, so I'm also in lower-middle class profession. Doctors/lawyers/managers is the middle-middle class professions really. Before he retired, my Dad was always in working class professions; barber, publican, car salesman, taxi driver

[@Westcountrynordic]

I've used my West country accent to my advantage over the years. When I moved to work in the big cities I soon learnt that the broader my accent the less harder jobs I was given to do. I spent over 30 years just coasting along whilst watching those who had a "better accent" than me struggle to do their work. I took all day to do a job that I could have done in a quarter of the time.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Excellent plan

[@Diamondhunter44]

I feel like fashion styles also give people good indication of the class you're in.

[@kille7543]

Don’t forget the “nobless oblige” some still have it. ☺️

[@CathyCrolla]

I worked in an office and my parents owned their own home as i do i, i live in merseyside, i have always thought myself to be working class and proud to be.

[@nolasyeila6261]

The 'nouveau riche" are regarded as less by "old money" standards - you can imagine the horror of Edward the VIII 's abdication ..to marry an American divorcee! (clutch pearls here) The lines are blurring a bit more, yet still - Prince Harry had to leave the Royal Family to live a freer life.

[@auldfouter8661]

They missed the bit where the aristocracy had to marry American heiresses to keep their estates going eg Churchill's father. A lot of large estates got broken up by death duties which has greatly reduced the supply of land to let . Nowadays it's hard to start farming because of the price of land.

[@raymondmartin318]

The problem is also in the idea of The State. In Britain, the State starts with the crown etc but in many European countries the state is more about a feeling or observation. Thus governments rise and fall even bringing new ideas, completely new states whereas in the UK the state is first defined by the crown hence elsewhere one is a citizen but in the UK one remains a subject.

[@batman51]

Whilst not universally true, especially amongst politicians and trade union leaders, we tend to value people's worth, not their net worth.

[@paulkitching1623]

This looks like a ‘snob’s’ eye view of the ‘class system’ to me JJ. The history is correct but the view of modern Britain in my view is not. The lines are much more blurred today. With the exception of the ruling class or ‘establishment’.

[@MrBulky992]

I disagree. I think it is very accurate. I think the content creator went out of his way to indicate where the lines are blurred (and some are) and where they are not).

[@Isleofskye]

Good Reaction. The video was accurate apart from saying immigration from The Asiatic Subcontinent and the Caribbean was from the 1990s. I witnessed the fact that my, previous 98% White British indigenous area near Brixton (now the most multi-cultural place in The UK) underwent a massive cultural change from the mid-1960s onwards and the first small wave of immigrants came in 1948. I went back to Inner London 2 days ago and from "98%" it is now "10% " so an enormous cultural change. RECOMMENDATIONS JJ: "Last Night Of The Proms 2012" an annual series of musical Concerts over 4 months ending with an "Annual "Last Night" Members Of Parliament Question Time TOTALLY DIFFERENT from The Senate and the film "SNATCH" starring Johnny Depp and VERY British, especially London.

[@dacutler]

Take a look at how the development of the canals created and strengthened the Industrial Revolution.

[@HeatherMyfanwyTylerGreey]

No-one asks about someone else's class. You know. There remain glass ceilings between us ; upper working class and lower middle might meet at work but go home to different areas. There are clubs and hotels and shopping areas /stores they would never meet. Lower middle will probably belong to a Private Dental Surgery whereas upper working class will still seek out NHS Dental Services. All will use NHS Hospital and Doctors first off. But the small differences are the ones that separate not necessarily overt wealth.

[@dhdgsn]

An important aspect of class mobility that was glossed over was university education. My dad was a railwayman and our family identified as working class. I went to grammar school and after that to university, the first in my family to do so, because university education was fully funded by the government. I achieved a first class degree in science and went on to obtain a lower doctorate and a higher doctorate. I finished a full professor. I originally spoke with a thick Lancashire accent. Over the years my accent has ameliorated so now I have a generic northern accent. My cultural interests and financial status place me in the upper middle classes. This trajectory is now more difficult in England because fees for university education were introduced in the 1980s. Classic case of pulling up the drawbridge once your children have achieved social mobility, that said the access to university has increased form 10% of the population to about 50% .

[@dhdgsn]

My bad the figure for tertiary education in the UK is 33.8%

[@richardfield6801]

I think the class system in the UK is often overstated. It exists as a set of social claims and identities, but it has relatively little to do with money. While it is hard to move into another social class in terms of identity in the UK, its much easier to improve your position in terms of wealth . You can be a member of the working class here in the UK and have a lot more money than someone from the Upper Middle Class. I think Americans are fed a very skewed idea of class and social mobility in the UK (and in their own country). Social mobility in the UK isn't great in relation to the rest of Western Europe, but it is greater than in the US. (On an international comparison of social mobility , the UK usually comes in at around 21st, while the US comes in at 27th.)

[@Isleofskye]

I am not snobbish but, I, simply refuse to have anything to do with Chavs, Commoners, or Riff-Raff. I was brought up next to the largest Council Estate(Projects) in Northern Europe but left all those Commoners from Inner London behind in 1983. Now I, socially, only merge with my betters and can, often, be seen doing my cap to them both metaphorically and even tangibly. I know my place, above the Common people but below most others and I am content in that knowledge as I am sure my social superiors will look after me if I get into financial or any other kind of trouble. I mean they will...won't they?.......Anywoo ,I must away as I am in the most fearful rush as I have "8" coming for Supper,ce soir in The Suburbs..

[@arwelparry7529]

A good way to get an aristocratic title in recent years is to donate a few million pounds to the Conservative Party. There was a big scandal in 1916-1922 over the Liberal prime minister Lloyd George selling titles - there was even a price list, £10,000 for a knighthood, £30,000 for a baronetcy, £50,000+ for a peerage, which was a huge amount of money back then.

[@TheJthom9]

If you do not understand why they showed Oasis when talking about the working class, then you still have a lot to learn about the basics of class in Britain

[@lauraholland347]

My mother gave me the option- speak without an accent or get sent to elocution classes. people definitely saw through the name change- but was mostly forgotten by the next generation. If you want to know more about the social and intermarriage of the aristocracy try reading the magazine The Tatler.

[@joealyjim3029]

The class system can be defined relatively easily. If you need to work for a living, you are working class. That includes millionaire/billionaire business owners that were born poor. If your family gain enough income from assets (historically land rents but now including stocks and businesses) that you have never needed to work from birth, but dont have an aristocratic title, you are middle class. If you have a hereditary title (baronets, barons, viscounts, earls, marquises and dukes) you are upper class. The Royal Family are often lumped in with the upper class, but truthfully are above even them until at least 4 generations removed from the monarch. Edit: the monarchy is not state funded, that is a commonly held misconception. They actually live off income from the Crown Estate (land ownership) and pay 85% of their profit to the government.

[@may_68]

Class has very little to do with money but with generations of favour and patronage. The US ruling class is invisible to its population because it has convinced them that money is the key.

[@lynhewlett1941]

Isn’t it better to know who you are dealing with via class and NOT money , money can make you mean , whereas class equals charity, and by no means am I rich or class . I just like to know where I stand ! Beleive me I’m lower lower class and proud of it , atleast I can raise myself to greater things .😅

[@CorinneDunbar-ls3ej]

Income is only one indicator of social class in Britain. Except that area within the margins of the middle class, there is still very little social mobility in Britain. You are born into one particular segment of one particular social class, and you will live and die in it. Rock stars may rub shoulders with aristocrats, but those aristocrats would never admit them into their tier. Also, aristocrats usually marry aristocrats. It doesn't matter how wealthy Liam Gallagher is. He will always be regarded as working class. Mick Jagger, whose dad was a teacher, will always be regarded as lower middle class. Class affects every little thing in Britain, and is so complex, with so many subtle indicators, that it would be impossible for any non-Brit, in my humble opinion, to understand fully just how very far-reaching its effects are. Until the '60s, National Service and the factories used to 'mop up' the underclass, which is vast (and terrifying to the rest of us!).....but with so many of our industries gone, and the military utterly downsized now, they're just left to vegetate on welfare. Uncontrolled immigration has only added to this huge problem. But the class system remains just the same as ever, even if it's now slightly less visible. 😕🇬🇧😕

[@shininglightphotos1044]

Class amongst males used to be defined by the shirt they wore. Blue collar workers were working class. White collar workers were middle class. This was because their shirts had button on collars, as it allowed them to wear the body of the shirt for longer, while the collar could be cleaned to look respectable The manual labour of the working class meant their shirt collar would get grubbier through sweat, so not stay white. This is why their collars were blue. The upper classes could afford the whole shirt,so the collar was never an issue, as they changed at various times of the day, such as dinner, anyway.

[@ChimpingBulldog]

If you want to command a Star Destroyer, go to Eton or Harrow

[@jjohnston-c6i]

The Monarchy and the Nobility are/were the same people ... the King came from the Nobility and the crown changed hands many times in the medieval days ... what gets them to this pinnacle today and binds them both is longevity JJ.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Some of royal palaces personally belong to the Royal family. Windsor and Buckingham Palace belong to the state and only the monarch can live there. No, British Person wants to marry into the Royal Family as it is a very restrictive life.

[@lynhewlett1941]

Each to their own as it should be . If people respect each other and love their life good on them , I love mine❤

[@Mugtree]

As has been said this is a subject only the British can understand and we seem to just know it. It is also odd how you can tell someone's class within seconds of meeting them even although you don't say or really do anything. You just know, plus it may guide you in your conversations and topics. I'm lucky to have been born into the upper class and trust me money does not get you an in only blood. Saying that everyone I know is super humble, dutiful and respectful. Don't get me wrong there are tosses in every class that give them a bad name. My parents would kill me if I treated anyone badly or without respect. I have friends access the all classes and we get on just fine and I like nice people no matter where they are from.

[@jayargonauts]

Aristocratic/Gentry family estates are concentrated in the hands of the eldest son whilst younger sons of such families found careers in the church, military or legal profession. Their sons in turn through want of money might become engaged in trade and so the descent in to the working class begins. Those loftily describing themselves as Middle Class no doubt descend from a long line of agricultural labourers.

[@spruce381]

Some folk definitely work on accent, but there are words, behaviour, clothing and ways of being that can’t be faked - lots of poshos code switch their accents too, to seem less Privileged - especially around music and media.

[@temptemp633]

Working class can never be upper class. There is no mobility. By the time you're an adult, that's it. At most you could make it to middle class.

[@sutty85]

Most old norman families are land rich, cash poor.

[@spruce381]

Johnson is a parvenu. Cameron’s family go back to the great slave payout. Lower and middle class is a crock / as my Dad said - if you have to work you’re working class.

[@KINGCABA-if4nk]

Yep, new money - lower upper class millionaires. Who try to act like they’re from an upper class background. Whilst the upper middle class wanted to be new money /parvenu.

[@metrx330]

The Normans were not French. They spoke French but were descended from Northmen (hence Norman) people from Scandinavia. In fact, the Normans resented the French.

[@trampertravels]

All the income from the Crown Estates goes to Parliament, then Parliament undertakes a very long and usually vituperative debate about how much the Royal Family will get in Grants for that year.

[@shininglightphotos1044]

It is usually a straightforward 15%, but it has been higher more recently to cover the very high renovation costs of Buckingham Palace, etc.

[@CarolynneBarnett]

Generally speaking, in the UK the "Class" you belong or claim to belong to, is irrelevant, and isn't totally identified by how you speak or what you do. As someone from a working class background I have a view about Class - frankly I don't care one way or the other. I have friends at all levels, and none of them even think about it. The only time you might not like someone because of their "Class" is if they tend to treat people as being beneath them - but that will only get you despised and ridiculed by anyone not in you "approved" Class group. Having worked as everything from a Hotel Cleaner to the Systems Director of an IT company, I think I can honestly say that Class - as defined by your background, your wealth, your education or your job, does not rule your life. My life was driven by curiosity, by determination in myself regardless of my educational achievements, by finding things I liked to do, and believing I could achieve them. In the UK today, class is probably only important to those who want to be admired for their class status. As for the current royal family, I like them. They work hard, and provide lots of support in a wide range of areas. Each year they also (as many still like to deny) provide millions of income for the UK and, yes - they do pay tax. A voluntary decision made some years ago by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. It's true to say that at one time, class status was one of the most important thing for people. Now, it's hardly ever thought about by most people.

[@bareakon]

Gotta say that Marx really did some favours when he simplified the class system to the working class and the bourgeois. Much easier to remember and navigate.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

I hope you have gleaned that in the US, no one wants to called upper class and no one wants to called working class. If you own a car and a small house in the US you can call yourself middle class. In the UK to be middle class, you are more likely to be a doctor or a lawyer or a business owner sending all your kids to university and belonging to the local country club.

[@p4ndemik604]

you can still buy titles now, like sir or lady, even lord, that officially get changed on your license/passport. i think it costs like 30 pounds or something like that but yeah xD

[@davidhyams2769]

Royalty = related to the monarch. Aristocracy = descendants of the knights who accompanied Willaim the Conqueror in 1066. Not related to royalty. When Willaim became king of England, he claimed the entirety of the land as his personal possession and then portioned it out among his knights to ensure their ongoing loyalty. Over the succeeding centuries, quite a large portion of the land was given over to the Catholic Church by the nobility (buying a place in heaven, essentially) so that by the time of Henry VIII the Church was the largest and richest landowner in England, After his break with the Pope and setting himself up as the head of the newly formed Church of England he reclaimed much the Catholic Church's land for the crown, known to history as the "dissolution of the monasteries." This enriched the crown and allowed Henry to build the Royal Navy. As the aristocracy became more impoverished during and after the Industrial Revolution, some of their land was sold to the burgeoning railways and to industrialists and entrepreneurs for factories and housing for the increasingly urban population. Nevertheless, into the 21st Century, 20% of the land is still owned by the aristocracy and the Royal Family owns 222 square miles, divided across various parts of Britain.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

There are 3 levels of social class e.g economic capital, cultural capital and social capital. The Royal Family have to stay in their Royal Box if they come out of it like at a Tennis match it can annoying everyelse who has paid a pretty penny for thier tickets. The upper class, middle class and the working class (The working class have a strong relationship to the upper class to this day) The English don't like it when anyone pops up their head out of class structure. The Upper class can wear whatever they like smart casual is the norm. The Middle class the same but a bit neater. If you dress too well and neat it is trying to hard. Don't over try in dressing you'll just get rained on. Tall Poppy Symdrome is a thing which contains rules and stipulations such as "you're not to think you are anything special" and "Perhaps you don't think we know a few things about you?". If your a boy aged under 10 and wearing shorts all the time you are upper class. Moral capital is also a think.

[@shininglightphotos1044]

In my dad's day that applied to all boys. Actually I believe he said you went into long trousers aged 14, which is when you left school, and became a man.

[@johnroper5627]

A lot of landed gentry we’re broke but married wealthy USA citizens who liked having a title this took place around the 1900s

[@bobclarke1815]

Just for info: Rishi Sunak the current Prime Minister and his wife have a fortune estimated at £780,000,000.

[@daveofyorkshire301]

People make a big deal out of this but it exist either official or unofficial in every society, organisation, collective and civilisation. Hierarchies form naturally and any collective any people interact based upon varying criteria. Nobody complains when it's based on competency, superiority through act or deed, or if they do they're mainly ignored. They complain when it's based on other criteria, criteria that has nothing to do with competency like wealth, religion, colour, race, sex... and so long as they are not categories of selection that have relevance then it's a social issue to address them. The funny thing is each social class has pride in being of their class (with obvious outliers). Class is a badge of honour, a position of respect and social standing. A working man is proud to be a working class man not some white collar stuffed shirt. A middle class man equally sees himself as respectable and accomplished. They aren't derogatory, especially these days. Nobody is saying the structure of the military is wrong, and that's a perfect example of functional hierarchies. It's often only when they feel excluded or sidelined in any progression of those hierarchies you hear anyone complain. But that's not what most do, or want. They may want to improve their lifestyle but they don't want to leave their social identity behind. But with hierarchies advancement requires additional knowledge, skill, superior ability or something that defines you as superior to the others in that field, and that's where the current left-wing collectives refuse to accept equality is not the same as exceptional in a field, and just because you are like X you can't do what Y is doing. Hierarchies exist because some people are better than others at some things. Be it fighting, building, cooking, caring, planning, organising, creating, destroying or anything else. There are always people who do it better, and in a skill based hierarchy that's all that matters. Hence the artisan and apprentice for centuries. When it comes to historic hierarchical structures it's a little trickier... blood lines and with it archaic beliefs of religious significance can still be seen today, but their power is gone, and they're more people that inspire inquisitive exploration of the ideology than masters of what they once owned. Despite the theories of their continued covert power. That all passed to the political class long ago. So civil and social structures even free from the direct influence of elitists and aristocrats still form due to natural collective forces. Moving between these social collective has never been easier. Only the archaic upper classes, the elitists and aristocrats are still impenetrable unless by birth. It's the one class that you can't just become one, you have to be born to it. No matter how much money you have you can't buy yourself in, but if you're in you don't have to be rich. It's a strangely closed collective that still exists and not just in the old imperial regencies or monarchies. Most have just learnt to live under the radar. They don't flaunt themselves, unless it's another archaic ritual they attend. They aren't in general evil or egomaniacal, most don't even see the lower classes enough to be interested. They are engaged in a game at a different level. Think of a computer game where you level up to play, they're the ones you rarely see because they're busying doing stuff out of your sight or area of awareness, and they're not even aware of you. You'll never attain that level because it was locked off long ago, so you are barely aware of them. They're the elites, they're the aristocracy. They're playing the game at a much higher/different level doing things we just don't know about... In essence you can acquire skills resources and abilities to gain mobility up down or sideways in any social class except the aristocracy. They closed those doors long ago with titles giving you pseudo access, but it takes generations to actually become "aristocracy".

[@carolineskipper6976]

During the Civil War, the aristocrats weren't (initially)challenging the monarch's legitimacy- it was more challenging what was known as 'The Divine Right of Kings' where monarchs believed that they were chosen by God, and that therefor whatever they wanted to do was sanctioned by God. It's pretty much like the 'Infallibitlity of the Pope' belief in the catholic church today. Of course people would be aware of the Royal Family's name change - but this would be seen mainly as an indication that they were NOT german any more- rather than that they were hiding their germanic heritage. But also- the Royal family's surname is very rarely used. The member are called by their various titles in most instances, not by their surname. There is a definite distinction in Britain between 'Old Money' (those landed aristocracy) and 'New Money' which is moey earned in the last generation or so. Money isn't really one of the major defining factors of class in Britain. You can earn a fortune, and be considered very successful, but still be considered as 'Working Class Done Good' rather than Middle Class. Much more important are the other aspects of class - Accent, Education, Breeding, Aspiration and Inheritance.

[@lancepenman5471]

US class system is money, but also access to health care. Those without and those with. US human right: life, liberty and thepersuit of happyness. Americans do not all have the right to life and therefore their liberty is limited and that limits their happiness.

[@claredyson9936]

We just seem to know where we belong. Its weird. I thought all countries were like this. I never realised its a brit thing. As for accents, no we can't turn them on and off lol. We are what we are. I love being bottom of the class system i wouldn't be comfortable being any other way.

[@errolmills2192]

These class differences seem to form themselves naturally, they are not legislated.

[@michaelfoster5577]

Social mobility was greatest (imho) after WW2 for quite a few years after the 1944 Education Act. This opened up quality education to poorer families’ children. Sadly the Labour Party effectively destroyed the grammar schools in the UK - Clive James (an Australian tv pundit) said they wanted to destroy the public schools (read private schools, ie fee paying!) but couldn’t, so they wrecked the grammar system instead! In most of the country, this resulted in a sharp division between comprehensive and fee paying schools, depriving poorer families of the opportunities that had existed. Many politicians of that time were grammar school educated (of all parties, not just Conservatives). Even today, many left wing politicians opt for fee paying schools for their children! Others bought houses in areas where grammar schools remained to get their children into those schools. Education is still a main indicator for class, but money has become more important since the “yuppy” days of the 1990s.

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Cultural Capital

[@andrewhargreaves504]

I always think that American status is economic & based on privilege. UK class is driven by inherent entitlement. If you behave with entitlement you are treated differently in UK. That behaviour is subtle & must not include rudeness, rather a sense of courtesy whilst sending a signal that you are entitled. I was born into a Northern working class family and observed this in the middle classes I met. You can climb the ladder, but not into inherited class. However you can behave equally entitled as them and they will respond to you equally. Most Brits don’t give a flying feck about class & get on with their days.

[@daviddeath6029]

I'm lower white working class and the most descriminated against demographic in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 with the worst education and qualifications and hardly any representation in parliament etc. Our classy system needs destroying especially the monarchy and the lords.

[@phoenix_songbird]

How are you "the most discriminated against demographic in England"

[@daviddeath6029]

@@phoenix_songbird Look at the statistics white working class boys are at the bottom of education statistics blacks etc have champions and woke leftys fighting there causes everyday, meanwhile the lower white working class are ignored maybe for the reason we are white.

[@daviddeath6029]

@@phoenix_songbird Look at the statistics white working class boys are at the bottom of education statistics blacks etc have champions and woke leftys fighting there causes everyday, meanwhile the lower white working class are ignored maybe for the reason we are white.

[@MichaelJohnson-vi6eh]

Industrialists and Merchants could develop land, build palaces, endow educational institutions or churches. They could be granted a baronet. Their sons could be given important military posts. Their daughters could be married off to other aristocrats.

[@chesterdonnelly1212]

The only bad class is the underclass. No one would want to be underclass. The working class don't mind being working class on the whole.

[@Janie_Morrison]

Enjoyed watching that I thought it was very good I'm very good singers

[@morganetches3749]

Being an aristocrat means you have a title in your family (duke, Earl, baron, viscount, marquess etc). Traditionally connected with land, but some Aristocrats might not be that rich anymore. Although most are doing quite well. The title is held by law, so it doesn’t matter if you lose the estate or the money. Being royal means you’re part of the royal family

[@AnnaBellaChannel]

Also being title does not mean you don't have to work. Many titled folks have to work and earn money now.

[@neuralwarp]

But the Irish didn't immigrate to Britain. They were one of the three British constituent kingdoms. We had at least 3 Irish prime ministers. Equal blame.

[@MrBulky992]

Yes, I agree. "Migrate" is the word you should use within a sovereign state. "Immigration" implies coming in from outside of your borders and "emigration" the opposite. "Migration" just means moving around generally. Large numbers of Scots and Irish have migrated to other parts of the UK and Cornish mimeworkers migrated to the North East of England in the 19th century, apparently. Agricultural workers migrated to the towns during the Industrial Revolution.

[@GyleCast]

The idea that class has any meaningful bearing on life in Britain anymore, is a fallacy. With the demise of deference went any sort of sense of sociological superiority that the toffs once enjoyed. In fact displaying any old school archetypes of class privilege like annunciating all the consonants in your words, is far more likely to earn you derision or lampooning then any sort of social status. All that's left now is those with cash and those without it.