Civil Society Elites and State Consecration: Acceptance, Ambivalence and Rejection of Royal Honours in the UK

Elites are often offered prestigious state prizes and awards. Although most elites accept, prestigious prizes constitute a challenge for others since institutional symbolic capital cannot be merely accepted, but requires careful negotiation and management. This article investigates the dilemma of being consecrated by the state by studying civil society elites’ reception and use of royal honours, the UK’s most prestigious voluntary and charity work award. We theorise different positionings towards state consecration as elite strategies for downplaying distinction, which enable the maintenance of social hierarchy and transformation of symbolic capital into other resources. Based on an interview study we identify three elite positionings on the offer (‘acceptance’, ‘ambivalence’ and ‘rejection’) and associated practices of capital transformation. Although much prize research has focused on acceptance as a prerequisite for social, cultural and financial advantages, the article shows that some elites benefit more from rejection or ambivalent acceptance of a state prize.