Transcript The Monarchy of the United Kingdom

The Monarchy of the United Kingdom
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
We can wonder, that in the modern world of
XXI century, with many social changes and
rapid development of science, with the
expansion of democratic European
Community, with travels to the cosmos space
and in period of technological revolutions, is
still existing such old and traditional institution
– monarchy.
Modernity and tradition in Great Britain are
cooperating well. London is witness of these
cohabitation.
Modern London
Modernity and tradition in London
The Queen
In Great Britain, Monarchy is the oldest form of
government, which appeared in year 829, when
king Egbert was consolidating England.
The present monarch, 83 years old Elizabeth II,
has reigned since 1952, at the age of 25. The
Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of
Edinburgh and has four children and eight
grandchildren .
Her Majesty Elisabeth II
The Queen is Head of State in the United Kingdom
and 15 other Commonwealth realms. The Queen is Head
of the Armed Forces.
The Sovereign must be protestant. Only individuals
who are protestants may inherit the Crown. Catholics are
prohibited from succeeding. Upon the death of the
Sovereign, his or her heir immediately and automatically
succeeds (hence the phrase:
„ The King is dead. Long live the King!")
The Queen must remain politically neutral. Her
Majesty and her family never vote or stand for election
to any position, political or otherwise. This enables them
to provide continuity and focus for national unity.
The British monarchy
The British monarchy is a constitutional monarchy. This means that,
while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass
legislation resides with an elected Parliament. The monarch may express
his or her views, but, as a constitutional ruler, must ultimately accept the
decisions of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
But The Queen does have important ceremonial and formal roles in
relation to the Government of the UK.
The formal phrase 'Queen in Parliament' is used to describe the
British legislature, which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords
and the House of Commons. The Queen's duties include opening each
new session of Parliament, dissolving Parliament before a general
election, and approving Orders and Proclamations through the Privy
Council.
The Queen also has a close relationship with the Prime Minister, retaining
the right to appoint and meet with him or her on a regular basis.
In addition to playing a specific role in the UK Parliament based in
London, The Queen has formal roles with relation to the devolved
assemblies of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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The Queen has many different official, ceremonial and
representational duties every day. Some are public duties, such as
ceremonies, receptions and visits within the United Kingdom or
abroad.
The Monarch has a less formal role as 'Head of Nation'. The
Sovereign acts as a focus for national identity, unity and pride;
gives a sense of stability and continuity; officially recognises
success and excellence; and supports the ideal of voluntary
service.
In all these roles The Sovereign is supported by members of
their immediate family.
The monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, and banknotes.
Buckingham Palace
The Sovereign's official residence in London is
Buckingham Palace. Another official residence is
Windsor Palace. Even when The Queen is away from
London, in residence at Balmoral or Sandringham, she
receives official papers nearly every day and remains
fully briefed on matters affecting her realms.
Throughout the centuries, Britain's kings and queens
have built or bought palaces to serve as family homes,
workplaces and as centres of government. Some of
these are still being used today as official Royal
residences and many can be visited by the general
public. Buckingham Palace has served as the official
London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837 and
today is the administrative headquarters of the Monarch.
Although in use for the many official events and
receptions held by The Queen, the State Rooms at
Buckingham Palace are open to visitors every year.
Buckingham Palace has 775 rooms. These
include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest
bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78
bathrooms. In measurements, the building is 108
metres long across the front, 120 metres deep
(including the central quadrangle) and 24 metres
high.
At 36.6m long, 18m wide and 13.5m high, the
Ballroom is the largest multi-purpose room in
Buckingham Palace. It was opened in 1856 with a
ball to celebrate the end of the Crimean War.
The Royal Household
• The Royal Household aims to provide
exceptional support and advice to The
Queen, enabling her to serve the nation
and its people. It employs approximately
1,200 staff across a wide range of
professions, including catering,
housekeeping, accountancy, secretarial,
media relations, human resources, art
curatorship and strategic plannings.
The Lord Chamberlain is the senior official of the Royal Household
• His role is to oversee the conduct and general business
of the Royal Household and to be a source and focal
point for important matters which have implications for
the Household as a whole. His role is non-executive and
the post is part-time.
• The Lord Chamberlain’s Office is responsible for
organising those elements of The Queen's programme
that involve ceremonial activity.
• Despite its name, the Lord Chamberlain’s Office is as
independent of the Lord Chamberlain as the other
Departments. It is headed by the Comptroller.
Queen and charities
• An important part of the work of The Queen is to
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support and encourage public and voluntary service.
One of the ways in which Her Majesty does this is
through involvement with charities and other
organisations. The Queen has over 600 patronages.
These cover every area of the charity and voluntary
sector, from opportunities for young people, to
preservation of wildlife and the environment.
Involvement with these organisations helps to recognise
their achievements, and helps to recognise the
contributions of many different sectors of public life.
The Queen wealth
• The Queen wealth is estimated at $650 million in 2008. Much of the
sovereign's official expenses are financed from public funds. Its why
some people would like to make reform and reduce costs of queen
family. But today the Queen and family knows about, and they say
.... that cost is only 0,66 pound per person!
• At the end of the 70' England was going through a tough economic
crisis under government of prime minister Mrs Thatcher (1979) .
The painful social situation generated violent political opponents,
expressed in the birth of some cultural phenomena like punk
(meaning : no value)
• The most famous representative musical band was the
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Sex Pistols . In 1977 , they wrote a worlwide succes:
"God save the queen" , (the British national anthem) a
contreversial vision of the british monarchy .
But most of people keep on liking monarchy as symbol
of unit of Great Britain, whatever the lack of aristocratic
behavior of its members today in regard to centuries of
reign without weakness
Because Great Britain is a multi-cultural, multi-faith
society, made up of Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Jews,
Sikhs and people of other faiths, we can say, that all
people of this mixed society have common Quinn –
Elisabeth II.