The role of the Queen in the modern society. The royal prerogatives and functions. The main sources of income. Principal ceremonials connected with royalty. The coronation of the British monarch. Members of the Royal Family. The Ceremony of the Keys.
Аннотация к работе
Monarchy is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. In a monarchy, a king or queen is Head of State. As Head of State, The Monarch undertakes constitutional and representational duties which have developed over one thousand years of history. The Monarch has a less formal role as "Head of Nation". In international affairs the Queen, as head of state, has the power to declare war and make peace, direct the actions of the military, to recognize foreign states and governments, to conclude ratify treaties, alliances, and international agreements and to annex or cede territoriesAs a constitutional monarch, Her Majesty does not "rule" the country, but fulfills important ceremonial and formal roles with respect to Government. As Head of State the Queen has to remain strictly neutral with respect to political matters, unable to vote or stand for election. But the Queen has important ceremonial and formal roles in relation to the Government of the UK. The formal phrases "Queen in Parliament" or "Crown in Parliament" are used to describe the British legislature, which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.In practice this has come to mean that the Queen does not act independently. The monarch acts within the constraints of convention and precedent, only exercising prerogative on the advice of ministers responsible to Parliament, often through the Prime Minister or Privy Council . In practice, prerogative powers are only exercised on the Prime Minister"s advice-the Prime Minister, and not the Sovereign, has control. The monarch holds a weekly audience with the Prime Minister. For example, the monarch cannot impose and collect new taxes; such an action requires the authorization of an Act of Parliament.Kings and princes were historically known by the names of the countries over which they and their families ruled. Kings and queens therefore signed themselves by their first names only, a tradition in the United Kingdom which has continued to the present day. However, in 1960, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of the Royal Family (without changing the name of the Royal House), as Windsor is the surname used by all the male and unmarried female descendants of George V. It was therefore declared in the Privy Council that the Queen"s descendants, other than those with the style of Royal Highness and the title of Prince/Princess, or female descendants who marry, would carry the name of Mountbatten-Windsor. For the most part, members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time any of them do need a surname (such as upon marriage), that surname is Mountbatten-Windsor.The royal income and expenditure are mostly met from public funds, known as the Civil List and the Grants-in-Aid , a payment from public funds approved by Parliament. The size of the Civil List is fixed by Parliament at the beginning of the reign and reconsidered every 10 years; any money saved may be carried forward to the next ten year period. In return, the King would receive a fixed annual payment, which we call today the Civil List. The Queen entertains almost 50,000 people each year. In 1760 King George III decided that the whole cost of the Civil List should be provided by Parliament in return for the surrender of the hereditary revenues by the King for the duration of his reign.The tour had to be abandoned, and the young Princess flew back to Britain as Queen. Accession describes the event of a new Sovereign taking the throne upon the death of the previous King or Queen. The coronation ring, which had been made to fit her little finger, was forced on to her fourth finger by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Queen had to bathe her hand in iced water after the ceremony before she could remove it. King Edward VII, for example, was born on 9 November, but his official birthday was marked throughout his reign in May or June when there was a greater likelihood of good weather for the Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour. The Royal Maundy Service used to take place in London, but early in her reign the Queen decided that the service should take place at a different venue every year.Throughout the centuries, Britain"s kings and queens have built or bought palaces to serve as family homes, workplaces and as centres of government. Private Estates are owned by the Queen and are often used to generate private income through farming or public access to Royal residences, they also house some well-known private residences such as Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House. Beloved by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Balmoral Castle has remained a favourite residence for The Queen and other members of the Royal Family regularly spend Christmas at Sandringham and make it their official