The Society's name: The Queen's English Society

'The King’s English’ or ‘The Queen’s English’ is a colloquial term that, in common parlance, denotes ‘standard’ or ‘correct’ English; its use is metaphorical, not signifying any literal proprietorship by the monarch. Indeed, the English actually used by the monarch in speech has been commonly heard over our airwaves for less than a century. 

Our Society was formed during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II and named The Queen’s English Society to echo its purpose in upholding the standards that the Queen’s English was held to represent.

In 2021 the possibility was put to the members of the Queen’s English Society that the Society’s name might change upon the sad event of her death, and a resolution was passed by a majority of 96% of voting members to retain the name with which the society had been formed.  At the Society’s AGM in September 2022, after the Queen’s death, that decision was upheld as a mark of respect, although it is always open for reconsideration in future.

It may be that the Society retains the name as an ongoing commemoration, as many places and institutions named after the late Queen are likely to remain so named.  The purpose for which the Society was founded remains unchanged – to uphold good standards in the use of the language.