You tend to hear about body doubles being used for various people throughout the world but what really goes on in their daily life is likely not that interesting since it sounds as though they’re called in from time to time to stand for the person that they’ve been selected to stand in for, and that’s about it. Ella Slack has been doing this for the Queen of England for decades, and one might think that she’d be compensated a little better for her time since while she’s not doing much in the grand scheme of things, but the truth is that Ella is doing it because she wants to and hasn’t asked for anything. To be certain, standing in for the queen is likely a very heady experience since as Ella explains in the video above, everything the Queen does is practiced and very orchestrated, and this is when Ella gets called in. She’s not a bodyguard or anything of the sort, and she’s not allowed to sit on the throne in the house of Lords as she explains, but she does stand in for the Queen when she was asked to do so, and she felt a great deal of pride in doing as much.
It’s an odd job, to say the least, but it’s likely easier to understand when a person is able to sit down and really think it over since being a body double is nothing new, as it’s been used in many different ways over the course of history, sometimes as a precaution, other times as a cinematic tool to keep actors from having to participate in scenes they might otherwise be uncomfortable with. The body double doesn’t always look just like the person they’re standing in for since Ella doesn’t really look like Queen Elizabeth and stands at least two inches shorter than her. But for reasons that are clear to those that have made this happen she’s been utilized more than once to stand in for the Queen and help out when she can. There are obviously people that do everything they can for their country, and it’s easy to see that Ella is one of them, and while it’s hard to say whether or not she’s valued for this service it’s fairly easy to assume that she’s been thanked several times for what she’s done if only to be polite and to make it certain that her services haven’t been ignored. Sometimes it’s hard to imagine those that sit in such high society remembering everyone that helps them out, but there are plenty of people that don’t feel the need to be recognized in such a way and are more than happy to do what they can to help out no matter what might be asked of them.
Looking at how a body double works in this capacity is likely kind of odd for a lot of Americans since the idea that she can’t sit on the throne is something that a lot of people might have figured out, but it’s still evidence that the English stand on ceremony quite a bit, much as they have for a very long time. American customs aren’t nearly as antiquated as this, which could be why a good part of the world still looks at our country askance at times since America has adopted many different practices from many different countries and through time has made them into their own version of what might be recognized in other countries. For all intents and purposes though, as far as the people know, the POTUS does not have a body double since it might feel that this is a little too risky of a proposition to go through with. Body doubles have been featured for the president in movies of course, but usually, this only happens because the body double is essentially the lead actor taking over the role that they were playing anyway with the use of a different character that looks exactly like the POTUS. In other words, this is not a practice that is widely used, at least not in America, as people kind of expect the president’s security detail to handle things in an efficient and professional manner. Plus, given the current social climate in America, it feels likely that if people did notice the president using a body double that even more hell would break loose and the tabloids would go nuts with this kind of story.
England has been doing this for a while with Queen Elizabeth and everything has worked out fine thus far, though it’s a good question as to whether the next ruler of the country will have a body double or if this practice will cease to be used. It does come in handy apparently, but it also feels like a risk.
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