Getting about Great
Britain
Historical symbols, places and personalities.
The Purposes of Presentation
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Acquaintance with the geographical position of Great Britain.
A short historical review on the peculiarities of government’s development of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain.
To represent outstanding personalities who are at the head of governing in England
at present day.
A common view of the most famous places of interest that are historical and modern
symbols of England.
Great Britain
The United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland
are situated on the British
Isles. Their total area is over
244,000 square kilometers.
The UK includes four
countries: England, Wales,
Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The capital of the UK is
London.
Geographical position
The term “British Isles” derives
from terms used by classical
geographers to describe this
island group. The earliest
known name of Great Britain
is Albion .
The oldest mention of terms
related to the formal name of
Britain was made
by philisopher Aristotle.
The British Isles are separated
from European continent by
the North Sea and the English
Channel. The western coast of
GB is washed by the Atlantic
Ocean and the Irish Sea.
The story of the United Kingdom
and the Union Flag
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The Union Flag, popularly known as
the Union Jack, is the national flag of
the United Kingdom. It is the British
flag.
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It is called the Union Flag because it
symbolizes the administrative union of
the countries of the United Kingdom. It
is made up of the individual Flags of
three of the Kingdom's countries all
united under one Sovereign - the
countries of 'England, 'Scotland' and
'Northern Ireland' (since 1921 only
Northern Ireland has been part of the
United Kingdom).
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As Wales was not a Kingdom but a
Principality it could not be included on
the flag.
EMBLEMS OF BRITAIN
Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral
emblem.
England - St.
George and the Rose
The national flower of England is
the rose. The flower has been
adopted as England’s emblem
since the time of the Wars of the
Roses - civil wars (1455-1485)
between the royal house of
Lancaster (whose emblem was a
red rose) and the royal house of
York (whose emblem was a white
rose).
Scotland - St. Andrew
and the Thistle and
Scottish Bluebell
The national flower of
Scotland is the thistle, a
prickly-leaved purple flower
which was first used in the 15th
century as a symbol of
defence. The Scottish Bluebell
is also seen as the flower of
Scotland.
Wales - St. David and
the Daffodil
The national flower of Wales
is the daffodil, which is
traditionally worn on St.
David’s Day. The vegetable
called leek is also considered
to be a traditional emblem of
Wales. There are many
explanations of how the leek
came to be adopted as the
national emblem of Wales.
One is that St David advised
the Welsh, on the eve of battle
with the Saxons, to wear leeks
in their caps to distinguish
friend from foe.
Northern Ireland - St.
Patrick and the
Shamrock
The national flower of
Northern Ireland is the
shamrock, a three-leaved
plant similar to clover. An Irish
tale tells of how Patrick used
the three-leafed shamrock to
explain the Trinity. He used it
in his sermons to represent
how the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit could all exist as
separate elements of the same
entity. His followers adopted
the custom of wearing a
shamrock on his feast day.
Royal coat of arms of the
United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern
Ireland.
Royal coat of arms of Scotland.
The Royal coat of arms of the United
Kingdom is the official coat of arms of
the British monarch, currently Queen
Elizabeth II.
These arms are used by the Queen
in her official capacity as monarch of
the United Kingdom, and are
officially known as her Arms of
Dominion. Variants of the Royal
Arms are used by other members of
the Royal Family.
The Queen of England
Elizabeth II
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The United Kingdom is a unitary
state under a constitutional monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state
of the UK as well as of fifteen other
independent Commonwealth
countries.
She is Supreme Governor of the
Church of England and, in some of her
realms, carries the title of Defender of
the Faith as part of her full title.
Elizabeth was born in London and
educated privately at home. She
began to undertake public duties
during the Second World War .
In 1947 she married Prince Philip,
Duke of Edinburg, and they have four
children: Charles, Anne, Andrew,
and Edward.
Her coronation service took place in
1953 and was the first to be televised.
The Royal Family - Symbols of England
Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Charles ,
a son of Elizabeth II
Prince William
a son of Prince Charles
and Princess Diana
Bright Episodes of Queen’s Life
Historical symbols of England
Numerous finds prove that the area around London was inhabited by
the Celts. The earliest settlers in the London area lived along parts of
the Thames valley. The London area is the most ancient settled part
of England’s territory. Over the centuries, London became the centre
of the constantly growing Empire. Much of present day London was
built in Victoria times, which have brought London power, growth and
highly-developed culture and industry.
At present days we can visit and see many beautiful historical places
of interest that attract tourists. Most of these places became
symbols of England.
Big Ben
Big Ben is the nickname for the
great bell of the clock at the north
end of the Palace of Westminster in
London, officially named
the Elizabeth Tower. Elizabeth
Tower holds the largest fourfaced chiming clock in the world. It
celebrated its 150th anniversary on
31 May 2009. The tower was
completed in 1858 and has become
one of the most prominent symbols
of both London and England.
Buckingham palace
Buckingham Palace around a central courtyard is the official London residence and principal
workplace of the British monarch. It was built for the Duke of Buckingham in 1705. During the 19th
century it was enlarged by architects John Nash and Edward Blore. Buckingham Palace finally
became the official royal palace of the British monarch on the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837.
Trafalgar Square
•Trafalgar Square is a public
space and tourist attraction
in central London, built around the
area formerly known as Charing
Cross. It is in the borough of
the City of Westminster. At its
centre is Nelson’s Column, which is
guarded by four lion statues at its
base. There are a number of
statues and sculptures in the
square.
•The name commemorates
the Battle of Trafalgar (1805),
a British naval victory of
the Napoleonic Wars over France.
The original name was to have
been “King’s William the Fourth’s
Square", but George Ledwell Taylor
suggested the name "Trafalgar
Square".
The City of London
It is a busy centre of London with modern buildings, business
centres, fashionable hotels. The symbol of economically highlydeveloped country.
London Eye
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The London Eye, or Millennium
Wheel, was officially called the British
Airways London Eye and then the
Merlin Entertainments London Eye.
This is a giant Ferris wheel situated on
the banks of the River Thames The
entire structure is 135 metres (443 ft)
tall and the wheel has a diameter of
120 metres (394 ft).
It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe,
and the most popular paid tourist
attraction in the United Kingdom,
visited by over 3.5 million people
annually.
The London Eye adjoins the western
end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South
Bank of the River Thames
between Westminster
Bridge and Hungerford Bridge.
Links
http://www.aboutbritain.com/TrafalgarSquare.htm
http://britainisgreat.narod.ru/eng.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_Great_Britain
http://www.aboutbritain.com/BuckinghamPalace.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Ben
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Eye
http://images.yandex.ru/yandsearch?text=great%20britain
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_II
Thank you for your attention