- •The united kingdom of great britain
- •Northern ireland
- •The English
- •Ireland and the Irish
- •The British Monarchy
- •The British Constitution
- •Prince of Wales
- •Unit 2 london
- •Introductory text
- •London Overview
- •Lesson One. The Greatest City in the World
- •Lesson Two. The Tourist London
- •The Crown Jewels are used in the most sacred monuments during the coronation.
- •Trafalgar Square
- •I. The United Kingdom
- •II. London
- •Contents
The British Monarchy
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a King or a Queen) as its Head of State. The monarch reigns with the agreement of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is “Her Majesty’s” government, “Her Majesty’s” armed forces, “Her Majesty’s” law courts and so on. She officially appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done, however, on the advice of the elected Government, and the Monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.
From the very early times the English monarchs were waging centuries wars to conquest on the Welsh, the Scots and the Irish for the “unification” with these originally separate and independent kingdoms. Wales was won by military force so long ago that a direct tradition to Welsh independence can hardly be spoken about. Scotland, after centuries of bloodshed conflicts, was united to England dynastically and peacefully, while Ireland was both conquered and colonized with expropriation and discrimination. Ireland’s history has been and still is the main source of many problems.
Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world. It had been being built for three centuries, achieved its maximum between 1921 and 1939 and collapsed in some twenty years after the Second World War. Now there is no longer Empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence over the former colonies. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries such as Ireland, Burma, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand. The Queen is very rich, as are other members of the Royal Family. In addition the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and airplane (aircraft) as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.
The Commonwealth is a free association of 50 sovereign independent states that were once a part of the British Empire. The British Monarchy is one of the world’s monarchies, with an almost unbroken line of Kings and Queens stretching back to at least the 9thcentury. Since the 9thcentury there has been only one short interruption in the history of the Monarchy. In 1642 a Civil War began in England, and in 1649 King Charles I was defeated by a parliamentary army led by Oliver Cromwell and he was executed. Britain remained a republic only 11 years; in 1660 the son of executed Charles I, Charles II, was restored to the throne and Britain has remained a monarchy ever since.
Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926. She came to the throne on February 6, 1952. Her coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953 and was the first coronation to be televised throughout the world.
Queen Elizabeth has 4 children. The eldest son is Prince Charles, who is qualified as Royal Air Force pilot and is now Prince of Wales and heir to the throne. Princess Anne, now the Princess Royal, represents Britain in horse riding at the Olympic games and is a member of the International Olympic Committee. Prince Andrew, now the Duke of York, is serving a naval officer and Prince Edward has worked in the theatre. Most of Europe’s other ruling families were related to Queen Victoria. Alexandra, wife of the last Russian tsar, Nicolas II, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Tsar Nicolas’ aunt, his mother’s sister, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, married Queen Victoria’s son. Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, are both great-great grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
CommentsCommonwealth, the – an organization of countries that used to be under the political control of the UK. It is also known as theCommonwealth of Nations or theBritish Commonwealth.
VII. Some people think that the monarchy should be abolished because it has no power and costs the State a lot of money to maintain. How useful do you think the monarchy is in the U. K. today? (to be done in writing)
VIII. Read the text with a dictionary: