The one change Brits have found most difficult in recent history – involves the late Queen
It’s official, Brits hate change, but there is one particular thing people have found the most difficult to adapt to in recent times.
While we hate changing banks even though we want to, and we hate changing doctors, even if we don’t like them, there is one thing us creatures of habit have found especially hard to adapt to and it involves her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
A staggering 86% of Brits describe themselves as a “creature of habit”, with 38% admitting stayed with their bank for years despite not being happy with them according to a new survey.
One in twenty (19%) keep seeing the same doctor they’ve always had, even though they don’t like them – and 17% have stuck with their broadband provider, despite moaning about them frequently not being good enough.
In fact, according to the survey one in four (23%) of Brits have been with their current broadband provider for over 10 years, despite saying that they would prefer a better price (79%), faster speed (43%), a more reliable service (41%) or a more trusted brand (15%).
A recent survey found, as many as eight in ten Brits (83%) claim there are certain name changes they’ve found almost impossible to accept, with 18% still reeling over Opal Fruits re-branding to Starburst in 1998.
Other changes many Brits have struggled to get over, include pounds and ounces becoming grams and kilograms (16%), red passports changing to blue (11%) – and despite half a century passing, some STILL haven’t made peace with shillings changing to pounds. (10%).
And 18% of the 2,000 Brits surveyed by Virgin Media, said they cannot get used to calling Twitter, by its new brand name, X.
But the trickiest change in recent times involves our Royal Family. A third of Brits surveyed said they cannot get used to singing our national anthem as “God Save the King.” As many as 33% find themselves still singing “God save our gracious Queen” instead of saying King.
The late Queen died in September 2022, but after over 70 years, it is perhaps little surprise that people are still getting used to King Charles. For many Brits born after her Coronation in 1953, Queen Elizabeth was the only monarch they had ever known.
Psychologist Dr Becky Spelman said: “As human beings, we are wired to seek stability. Familiarity provides a sense of security, and when something we’ve known for a long time—whether it’s a brand, a routine, or a cultural tradition—changes, it disrupts that sense of stability.
“This reaction is rooted in how our brains form cognitive shortcuts; we associate long-standing names and practices with reliability. When these change, even in subtle ways, it creates an internal conflict that can lead to discomfort or resistance. However, given time, our brains adjust, and what once felt unfamiliar eventually becomes second nature.”
The top 15 historic changes Brits found hard to get their head around
1.Singing ‘God Save Our Gracious King’ instead of Queen – 33%
2. Twitter rebranding to X – 18%
3.Opal Fruits rebranding to Starburst – 18%
4. Lbs and ounces to grams and kilograms – 16%
5. Marathon rebranding to Snickers – 14%
6. Red passports changing to blue passports – 11%
7.Millennium Stadium becoming Principality Stadium – 10%
8. Shillings changing to pounds and pence – 10%
9. Arsenal’s stadium changing from Highbury to Emirates – 10%
10. Doctor Who morphing from Jodie Whittaker to David Tennant – 9%
11.Dime bar changing its name to Daim – 8%
12. Oil of Ulay rebranding to Oil of Olay – 8%
13. Datsun becoming Nissan – 7%
14. Prince changing his name to a symbol – 7%
15. Big Brother switching to Channel 5 – 5%
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