British
Royal
Family
Political System of the UK
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a
constitutional monarchy in which the Monarch is head of state and
the Prime Minister is the head of government. Queen Elizabeth II is
the monarch and David Cameron is the Prime Minister.
Queen Elizabeth II
She was born on 21st April, 1926 in London.
Elizabeth, from British Windsor dynasty, is the
daughter of king George VI and Queen Elizabeth The
Queen Mother. On 20th November 1947 she married
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. She has four
children: prince Charles (her successor), princess
Ann, prince Andrew and prince Edward. She
represents the United Kingdom on the international
stage, she’s also the highest state organ and the
Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Privately Queen Elizabeth is known as brave, fair
and playful person. She loves horses, actually
Elizabeth has a private breeding.
The Man of the Year according to “The Time”
magazine in 1952. In London’s Madame Tussaud’s
Museum there’s her wax-figure. She’s one of the
richest women in the world, she also participated –
as first British ruler – in the Congress deliberations.
Beside the Great Britain, Queen Elizabeth II is
constitutional monarch of fifteen more countries, for
example Canada, Australia or Jamaica.
Queen's roles
Although the Queen is no longer responsible for
the management of the country, she performs
many important tasks on behalf of the nation.
As head of state, the Queen participates in the
official state visits overseas. She also invites other
world leaders to visit the UK.
The Queen also acts as head of the armed forces.
She is the person who decides to declare war and
its end, although she must use the advice of her
government in the first place.
She is also the head of the Church of England. The Queen appoints the bishops
and archbishops at the request of the Prime Minister.
The Queen represents the nation in times of great celebration and sorrow as well.
Despite many duties she spends a lot of time travelling around the country,
visiting hospitals, schools, factories and other places.
A day in Queen's life
At 7:30 in the morning, a chambermaid wakes up the queen and brings
Her tea with milk. The queen eats breakfast with her husband, often
reading the Racing Post newspaper at the time. At 9:30 a.m., she meets
her private secretary, who has already gone through the day’s
correspondence. Together, they go through the day’s programme –
receiving a new ambassador, visits to hospitals, inaugurations.
Sometimes she invites a handful of famous people – artist or business
executives to lunch. Sometimes, other royals join her at the palace. Every
afternoon at 2:30, the queen goes for a walk in the palace grounds and
the rule is that if anybody is in the garden, they must leave. Nobody is
allowed to talk to her unless she speak first. She likes to be left on her
own because it’s her thinking time. The rest of the afternoon is devoted
to the queen’s social duties. She is patron of more than 620 organisations
and charities. Queen Elizabeth spends her evenings in her privates
quarters – she fills in a crossword, often watches television with supper
on a tray and retires to bed at around 11 p.m..
British Royal Family tree
Diana, Princess of Wales
Lady Diana Spencer was born in 1961.
She came from a rich and famous
family but her parents divorced when
she was young so she didn’t have a
happy childhood. When she left
school, she got a job in London as a
nanny. Her quiet life suddenly
changed, however, when she met
Prince Charles, the Queen’s son.
Diana and Charles got married in 1981
and they had two sons, Prince William
and Prince Harry.
Diana became an international superstar. Photographers and reporters
followed her everywhere. She used her fame to help a lot of charities,
particularly those for children and victims of AIDS. Her marriage
wasn’t happy and in 1996 she got divorced. A year later, in August
1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris. Hundreds of millions of
people around the world watched her funeral on TV.
Royal palaces and castles
Queen Elizabeth II has many possessions which include:
Buckingham Palace - the Queen's official
and main royal London home.
Windsor Castle - an official residence of
the Queen and the largest occupied castle in
the world.
Balmoral Castle - the private residence of
The Queen. It has remained a favourite
residence for The Queen and her family
during the summer holiday period in August
and September. The Castle is located on the
large Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire,
Scotland.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse - founded as a
monastery in 1128, the Palace of
Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is the Queen's
official residence in Scotland.
Sandringham House - The Royal family's
private country retreat in Norfolk. Every
Christmas is spent at Sandringham House,
which has been the private home of four
generations of sovereigns since 1862.
Kensington Palace - it was the favourite
residence of successive sovereigns until
the death of George II in 1760.
It was the London residence of the late
Princess Diana.
St. James's Palace - it was built
between 1531 and 1536 and it was
home of kings and queens of
England for over 300 years.
Clarence House - stands beside St
James's Palace. It is The Prince of
Wales's current official London
residence and former London
residence of the late Queen
Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Past Royal homes
Houses of Parliament (Palace of
Westminster) - Edward the
Confessor made the Palace of
Westminster the first official
London residence. Now it is the seat
of British democracy.
The Banqueting House (Whitehall
Palace) - in 1529, Henry Vlll got
fed up with Westminster Palace and
built himself another one which he
called Whitehall Palace. It burned
down in 1698. It was rebuilt as
government offices.
Hampton Court Palace- residence of King
Henry VIII and Cardinal Wolsey.
Lambeth Palace- residence
Archbishop of Canterbury.
of
the
Tower of London - the palace was a residence
for Mary I and Elizabeth I, Charles I, William
III and Mary II.
Royal Guards
Grenadier Guards are Great Britain's
pride and it is an honour to be at her
Majesty's service.
Royal Guards are one of the oldest units
of the British infantry which was
established in 1656.
Its soldiers fought against Napoleon's
armed forces and they became famous in
the battle of Waterloo in 1815. They also
took part in supression of Mahdi's
uprising in Sudan, in opium war in China
and in Boer Wars in South Africa. They
also fought in the First and Second World
Wars.
Today the soldiers of Grenadier
Guards perform representative
functions. Together with the
soldiers of the Welsh Guards they
change the guard in front of
Buckingham Palace. They are
sometimes sent to mercy missions.
The change of the guard in front of
Buckingham Palace takes place at
11 a.m. The soldiers of the
Grenadier Guards wear red and
black uniforms and bearskin – a tall
black fur cap.
Royal ceremonies
State Opening of Parliament
It is a very colorful and the most important event, because it
gathers all the members of the House of Commons, the
House
of
Lords
and
The
Queen.
The Queen officially opens new session of Parliament. This
ceremony takes place in October, November or December.
Before The Queen visits the Parliament The Queen's Body
Guard of the Yeomen of the Guard searches the cellars of the
Houses
of
Parliament.
The State Crown travels in its own carriage, ahead of The
Queen, escorted by Members of the Royal Household. On
arrival, The Queen puts on the Imperial State Crown and her
parliamentary robe ready for the ceremony itself.
About 250 members of the House of Commons are present at
the
ceremony.
Spectators can view the procession to Parliament in The
Mall and Whitehall. The ceremony is also broadcast live on
BBC television.
Royal Maundy Service
Every year at Easter The Queen presents special
'Maundy money' to local pensioners in a UK
cathedral or abbey. The presentation takes place on
Maundy Thursday in recognition of the service of
elderly people to their community and their
church.
Since the fifteenth century, the number of Maundy
coins handed out, and the number of people
receiving the coins, has been related to the
Sovereign’s age; in 2011, there were 85 male and
85 female recipients at Westminster Abbey for the
Royal Maundy service attended by Her Majesty.
In 2011 two purses of 'Maundy money' were given
to 85 men and 85 women – a white purse
containing 85p in Maundy coins and a red purse
containing £5 coin and 50p piece.
Maundy coins are struck in sterling silver.
Maundy Thursday commemorates the day of the
Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.
The tradition of Trooping the Colour
The Sovereign's birthday is officially celebrated by the
ceremony of Trooping the Colour on a Saturday in June.
Although The Queen was born on 21 April, it has long been
the tradition to celebrate the Sovereign's birthday publicly on
a day in the summer, when good weather is more likely.
Trooping the Colour is carried out by fully trained and
operational troops from the Household Division on Horse
Guards Parade in Whitehall, watched by members of the
Royal Family, invited guests and members of the public.
During the ceremony, The Queen is greeted by a Royal
salute and carries out an inspection of the troops.
After the massed bands have performed a musical 'troop', the
escorted Regimental Colour is carried down the ranks.
The Foot Guards and the Household Cavalry then march past
Her Majesty, and The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery,
rank
past.
The Queen rides in a carriage back to Buckingham Palace at
the head of her Guards, before taking the salute at the Palace
from a dais. The troops then return to barracks.
Her Majesty then joins other members of the Royal Family
on the palace balcony for a fly-past by the Royal Air Force.
THE END