History

In ancient times kings were elected by a tribe as military leaders and king’s power was not always hereditary. Later, monarchs had to share power with the Barons and the Church, which was headed by the Pope. In the 15^th century the Tudors managed to achieve absolute power: Henry VII forbade the Barons to have private armies, and Henry VIII proclaimed himself Head of the Church. His daughter, Elisabeth I, completed the Reformation of the Church and creation of the Church of England. In the 17^th century monarchy came into a bitter conflict with the House of Commons, which was under the influence of Puritanism. As a result of the Civil War King Charles I was executed in 1649, and Oliver Cromwell became a dictator. In 1660 Monarchy was restored. When a Catholic James II inherited the British Throne, he was deposed by Parliament. Instead of him his Protestant daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, were invited to rule. The new monarchs had to accept the Bill of Rights passed by Parliament in 1689, which was limiting the power of monarchy. These changes are known as the Glorious Revolution.

Since British monarchs are Titular Heads of the Church of England, they must be Protestants by religion. Though there is a saying that the Queen reigns but does not rule, formally the monarch has much power. The monarch is commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, head of all branches of political power. Britain is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the Crown is only sovereign by the will of Parliament. The name of the ruling dynasty is the Windsors. They took this name during the First World war instead of their real name, Saxe Coburg and Gotha, because Britain was fighting against Germany and it was considered unpatriotic for the Royal family to bear the German sounding name.

The Royal Coat of Arms and the Anthem

The function of the Royal Coat of Arms is to identify the person who is Head of State. In respect of the United Kingdom, the royal arms are borne only by the Sovereign. They are used in many ways in connection with the administration and government of the country, for instance on coins, in churches and on public buildings. They are familiar to most people. The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom has evolved over many years and reflects the history of the Monarchy and of the country. In the design the shield shows the various royal emblems of different parts of the United Kingdom: the three lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the lion of Scotland in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. It is surrounded by a garter bearing the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ('Evil to him who evil thinks'), which symbolises the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign. The shield is supported by the English lion and Scottish unicorn and is surmounted by the Royal crown. Below it appears the motto of the Sovereign, Dieu et mon droit ('God and my right'). The plant badges of the United Kingdom - rose, thistle and shamrock - are often displayed beneath the shield. Separate Scottish and English quarters of the Royal Arms originate from the Union of the Crown in 1603. The Scottish version of the Royal Coat of Arms shows the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters, with that of England being in the second. The harp of Ireland is in the third quarter. The mottoes read In defence and No one will attack me with impunity. From the times of the Stuart kings, the Scottish quarterings have been used for official purposes in Scotland (for example, on official buildings and official publications). Coats of Arms of members of the Royal Family are broadly similar to The Queen's with small differences to identify them.

There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years, but these are rarely used. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting 'Queen' for 'King' where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung. It goes as follows:

God save our gracious Queen! Long live our noble Queen! God save the Queen! Send her victorious, Happy and glorious, Long to reign over us, God save the Queen.

The British tune was used in other countries - as European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a country possessing such a recognised musical symbol - including Germany, Russia, Switzerland and America (where use of the tune continued after independence). Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.

The Royal Family

The official title of her majesty Queen Elisabeth II is: By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. Elisabeth II, daughter of King George VI, was born in 1926, April, 21. In 1947 she married Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. In 1952 George VI died and Elisabeth became the Queen. The official Coronation Ceremony took place in June, 2, 1953. The Queen has four children: Prince Charles (the Prince of Wales) was born in 1948; Princess Anne was born in 1950; Prince Andrew (The Duke of York) was born in 1960; Prince Edward (the Earl of Wessex) was born in 1964. Besides Diana, the most popular member of the Royal family was Queen Elisabeth, Queen Mother. The Honorable Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was born on August 4, 1900. Queen Victoria was still alive at the time, and the world was, of course, a very different place. Few people could have guessed that baby Elizabeth, a Scottish commoner, would one day become the matriarch of the British royal family. The war ended in 1918, the year Elizabeth turned 18. She was lively and attractive, with great personal charm, which did not escape the notice of George V's second son, Prince Albert. On December 2, 1921 he asked her to marry him. Elizabeth gently turned him down. The prince proposed two more times before she said yes. Then Albert became king taking the name George VI during Coronation. Elisabeth was crowned Queen. The king and queen earned the respect and love of their people in the dark days of the Second World War. Other European kings and queens were being forced to flee their homelands, but Queen Elizabeth declared, "I shall not go down like the others." She learned to fire a revolver so she could fight to the death if necessary. Despite the threat of a German invasion, the king and queen refused to send their daughters out of the country. "The princesses cannot go without me," Queen Elizabeth explained. "I cannot go without the king. The king will never go.” George VI died in 1952. In the decades after her husband's death the "Queen Mum" remained one of most beloved members of the British royal family. Even after she turned 100 years old, she continued to make official appearances and served as patron or president of some 350 organizations. She was a living link to the past; a symbol of the history and majesty of the monarchy; and, quite simply, a remarkable woman. Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died quietly in her sleep on March 30, 2002 at the age of 101. Her friend Lord St John of Fawsley said, "With the passing of the Queen Mother we have lost our most treasured national person. She was not merely an historical figure. She was history." Although monarchy is still popular with many British people, the family life scandals of the Windsors have considerably shaken this institution. The Queen’s sister Margaret, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew - all got divorced. This runs counter people’s expectations of a royal family to be a model of moral life.

There are four sources of funding of The Queen (or officials of the Royal Household acting on her behalf). The Civil List is the sum provided by Parliament to meet official expenditure relating to The Queen's duties as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. The Civil List dates back to the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, but the current system was created on the accession of George III in 1760, when it was decided that the whole cost of civil government should be provided by Parliament in return for the surrender of the hereditary revenues by the King for the duration of the reign. Revenue from the Crown Estate amounted to £147.7 million in 2000/01 and this was paid to the Treasury. About 70 per cent of Civil List expenditure goes to pay the salaries of staff working directly for The Queen. Their duties include dealing with State papers, organising public engagements and arranging meetings and receptions undertaken by The Queen. The Civil List also meets the costs of functions such as royal garden parties (Her Majesty entertains over 48,000 people each year) and official entertainment during State Visits. In 1990 the Civil List was set by Parliament as a fixed annual amount of £7.9 million for a period of 10 years.

Grants-in-Aid from Parliament provide upkeep of the Royal Palaces and for Royal travel. The Privy Purse is traditional income for the Sovereign's public and private use. Her Majesty's personal income meets entirely private expenditure. The Queen pays tax on her personal income and capital gains. The Civil List and the Grants-in-Aid are not taxed because they cover official expenditure. The Privy Purse is fully taxable, subject to a deduction for official expenditure.

The Royal Palaces

The residences associated with today's Royal Family are divided into the Occupied Royal Residences, which are held in trust for future generations, and the Private Estates which have been handed down to The Queen by earlier generations of the Royal Family. The Occupied Royal palaces include Buckingham, Kensington, St James’s palaces in London, Windsor Castle in Berkshire, Sandringham in Norfolk, Holyroodhouse and Balmoral in Scotland.

Buckingham Palace has served as the official London residence of Britain's sovereigns since 1837. It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Queen Victoria was the first sovereign to take up residence in July 1837, just three weeks after her accession, and in June 1838 she was the first British sovereign to leave from Buckingham Palace for a Coronation. Her marriage to Prince Albert in 1840 soon showed up the Palace's shortcomings. A serious problem for the newly married couple was the absence of any nurseries and too few bedrooms for visitors. The only solution was to move the Marble Arch - it now stands at the north-east corner of Hyde Park - and build a fourth wing, thereby creating a quadrangle. The present forecourt of the Palace, where Changing the Guard takes place, was formed in 1911, as part of the Victoria Memorial scheme. The gates and railings were also completed in 1911; the North-Centre Gate is now the everyday entrance to the Palace, whilst the Central Gate is used for State occasions and the departure of the guard after Changing the Guard. The work was completed just before the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

Today it is The Queen's official residence. Although in use for the many official events and receptions held by the Queen, some areas of Buckingham Palace are open to visitors on a regular basis. The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September. They are lavishly furnished with some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection - paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, Poussin, Canaletto and Claude; sculpture by Canova and Chantrey; exquisite examples of Sèvres porcelain, and some of the finest English and French furniture in the world. Visits to Buckingham Palace can be combined with visits to The Queen's Gallery, which reopened in May 2002. The nearby Royal Mews is open from 1 March to 31 October 2003.

Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world.  A royal palace and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle remains a working palace today. Visitors can walk around the State Apartments, extensive suites of rooms at the heart of the working palace; for part of the year visitors can also see the Semi State rooms, which are some of the most splendid interiors in the castle. They are furnished with treasures from the Royal Collection including paintings by Holbein, Rubens, Van Dyck and Lawrence, fine tapestries and porcelain, sculpture and armour. Within the Castle complex there are many additional attractions. In the Drawings Gallery regular exhibitions of treasures from the Royal Library are mounted. Another popular feature is the Queen Mary's Dolls' House, a miniature mansion built to perfection. The fourteenth-century St. George's Chapel is the burial place of ten sovereigns, home of the Order of the Garter, and setting for many royal weddings. In 1992 the castle was badly damaged by fire but by now fully restored. In celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Her Majesty The Queen, a new landscape garden has been created by the designer and Chelsea Gold Medallist Tom Stuart-Smith. The garden, the first to be made at the Castle since the 1820s, transforms the visitor entrance and provides a setting for band concerts throughout the year. The informal design takes its inspiration from Windsor's historic parkland landscape and the picturesque character of the Castle.

Founded as a monastery in 1128, the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh is The Queen's official residence in Scotland. Situated at the end of the Royal Mile, the Palace of Holyroodhouse is closely associated with Scotland's turbulent past, including Mary, Queen of Scots, who lived here between 1561 and 1567. It was at Holyroodhouse at the end of March 1603 that Mary’s son, James VI of Scotland, heard that Elisabeth I had died and he had succeeded to the English throne. After that he returned to Holyroodhouse only once, in 1617. Successive kings and queens have made the Palace of Holyroodhouse the premier royal residence in Scotland. Today, the Palace is the setting for State ceremonies and official entertaining.

Balmoral Castle on the Balmoral Estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland is the private holiday residence of The Queen. Balmoral Castle and the original estate were purchased for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1852. The original Balmoral Castle was built in the fifteenth century but it was considered too small. A new castle was constructed on the site about 90 metres (100 yards) north from the old building. Prince Albert planned the grounds and helped with the design of the castle itself, which was completed in 1856. Beloved by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Balmoral Castle 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, a working estate, which aims to protect the environment while contributing to the local economy. The Estate grounds, gardens and the Castle Ballroom are open to visitors from mid-April to the end of July each year, under the management of the Balmoral Estate Office.

Sandringham House was bought in 1862 for The Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The house was originally a Georgian structure. By 1870 it was rebuilt and, despite a serious fire in 1891, subsequently expanded to accommodate The Prince of Wales' growing family. Since then Sandringham has been a popular holiday retreat for successive members of the Royal Family.

The Queen has maintained this association. It was at Sandringham that The Queen's father, King George VI, died on 6 February 1952. Since then it has been The Queen's custom to spend the anniversary of her father's death and her own Accession privately at Sandringham.

St James's Palace was built between 1532 and 1540 by Henry VIII on the site of the Hospital of St James, Westminster, London. For over 300 years it was a residence of kings and queens of England. Queen Anne brought the court to St James's in 1702 after the disastrous fire, which destroyed the Palace of Whitehall in 1698. It has remained the official residence of the Sovereign, although since the death of William IV in 1837 the Sovereign has lived at Buckingham Palace. Foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners are still formally accredited to the Court of St. James's for this reason. Alterations to the building were carried out in 1836 with the addition of the side galleries and a new ceiling .The panelling dates from this time, and the pews were installed in 1876. The Chapel Royal has always been considered to be the cradle of English church music, and among its many noted organists and composers were Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons and Henry Purcell - the latter lived in a suite of apartments in St James's Palace. The poet Dryden, who was frequently in debt, used to take refuge with Purcell in his apartments in order to avoid the clutches of persistent creditors. One of the Chapel's most notable organists and composers was George Frederick Handel, who was appointed by George II on 25 February 1723 as 'Composer of Musick of His Majesty's Chappel Royal'. Handel composed the great anthem 'Zadok the Priest' for the coronation of George II in 1727 and it has been used at every coronation since. It is also sung each year at the Royal Maundy service in which the Queen distributes Maundy money.