Royals top Britain's obsessions as weather, pubs and tea follow
A new study finds more than half of Britons are captivated by the Royal Family, with weather, the pub and tea among the enduring fixations shaping daily chats.
More than half of Britons (53 per cent) are fascinated by the Royal Family and their long-running soap opera, a study by Jason's Sourdough has revealed. The enduring spotlight on the feud between Princes William and Harry, along with the pomp and ceremony surrounding events such as U.S. President Donald Trump's state visit last week, has kept the country interested.
The constantly fluctuating British weather comes second in the list of our favourite obsessions (50 per cent), pipping the pub in third (49 per cent). Nothing illicits an appalled reaction quite like making a cup of tea the 'wrong' way, and the nation’s favourite drink, and the arguments that surround it, also ranks among our top fixations (42 per cent). Small talk remains at the centre of the national identity and impassioned debates about what to do on a bank holiday (37 per cent), what's for dinner (27 per cent) and traffic jams (26 per cent) are key pastimes. The same things keep coming up in conversation too, with the intricacies of the weather forecast and mugs of tea discussed 11 times a week, and the price of items in the shops debated a whopping 12 times weekly.
Moaning about the weather while nursing a drink at the pub might seem like the height of Britishness but these pastimes still rank below the Royal Family as the UK's national obsession. And these habits get more severe with age, with three quarters of participants admitting they have become increasingly obsessed with these British tropes over time. A self aware bunch, almost nine in ten (87 per cent) accept that non-Brits might find our obsessions peculiar - but 45 per cent do not care and insist it is all part of our national identity.
These findings really highlight the fun and uniquely British way we connect with each other, Dr Anna Machin, an anthropologist at the University of Oxford, said. Having these little "obsessions" whether it's queuing properly, chatting about the weather, or debating the perfect cup of tea isn't just small talk. For Brits, it's a shared language that helps us bond, feel part of a community, and even find comfort in tradition. They might seem quirky, but these rituals are part of what makes British culture so distinctive and endearing.