Defining yourself these days as ‘upper class’ is the kiss of death in every walk of life

‘The basic principle of English social life is that everyone thinks he is a gentleman,’ wrote Evelyn Waugh. ‘There is a second principle of almost equal importance: everyone draws the line of demarcation immediately below his own heels.’

That was written 55 years ago and today almost exactly the opposite is true. According to a Guardian/ICM poll published earlier this week, almost no one in contemporary Britain sees themselves as ‘upper class’. The pollsters didn’t ask the respondents to define ‘upper class’, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a majority of people draw the line of demarcation immediately above their own heads. In the course of my life I have come across dukes, marquesses, earls, lords and baronets, as well as princes and princesses, and yet I have only once heard someone call themselves as ‘upper class’. It was such a shock I almost fell off my chair.