Insight UK. The Monarchy (FCO, 2003).pdf

INSIGHT UK

The Monarchy

Queen Elizabeth II is the

fortieth monarch since

William the Conqueror

obtained the crown of

England in 1066. Her full

title is Elizabeth II, 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.

Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne since 6 February, 1952,

celebrating her Golden Jubilee (50 years since her accession) in

2002. Over the Golden Jubilee weekend (1–4 June) 25,000 people

attended two concerts in the Buckingham Palace grounds and

about a million people came to watch the Queen parade through

London in the gold State Coach (built in 1762).

Only five other kings and queens in British history

have reigned for 50 years or more:

• Queen Victoria 1837–1901 (63 years)

• King George III 1760–1820 (59 years)

• James VI of Scotland, 1567–1625, James I of England 1603–25 (58 years)

• Edward III 1327–1377 (50 years)

• King Henry III 1216–1272 (56 years)

Alfred (King of Wessex in

southern England 871–99)

started the process of unifying

Anglo-Saxon England under

a single king.

The UK is a constitutional monarchy and the

monarch’s role is defined by rules and conventions.

Not until 1603, when James VI

of Scotland inherited the

English throne from Elizabeth I

as James I, did England and

Scotland have the same

monarch.

The monarch is politically neutral but has the right to be consulted,

to encourage and to warn the Government of the day. The Queen has

regular Tuesday evening audiences with the Prime Minister.

The Queen is married to the HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,

the son of Prince and Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark.

TOP LEFT: © The Press Association Ltd

BOTTOM LEFT: © The Press Association Ltd

RIGHT: © Foreign & Commonwealth Office

F AMILY TREE :

GEORGE VI

(1895-1952)

m. Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

Queen Elizabeth , the Queen Mother

(1900-2002)

ELIZABETH II

(b.1926)

m. Philip,

Duke of Edinburgh

Princess Margaret

(1930-2002)

m. Antony,

Earl of Snowdon

Charles,

Prince of Wales

b.1948

m. Diana,

Princess of Wales

(1961-97)

Anne,

Princess Royal

b.1950

m. (1) Captain

Mark Phillips,

m. (2) Commander

Timothy Laurence

Andrew,

Duke of York

b.1960

m. Sarah

Ferguson

Edward,

Earl of Essex

b.1964

m. Sophie

Rhys-Jones

David Viscount

Linley

b.1961

Lady Sarah

Armstrong-

Jones

b.1964

Prince William

of Wales

b.1982

Prince Harry

of Wales

b.1984

Peter Phillips

b.1977

Zara Phillips

b.1981

Princess Beatrice

of York

b.1988

Princess Eugenie

of York

b.1990

The QUEEN’S ROLE

Not since 1707 has a monarch

refused to agree to a Bill

becoming law, and the last time

a UK monarch changed a

government to suit himself was

in 1834. Nowadays, the monarch

appoints as Prime Minister the

person who has the support of the

House of Commons – usually the

leader of the largest party after

a general election.

SUCCESSION

and CORONATION

The monarch’s duties include

approving legislation and

acting as the Head of the

Armed Services and of the

Church of England.

The Queen succeeded her

father, George VI, when he

died in 1952, because she was

his eldest child. The sovereign

is normally succeeded by their

eldest son, or, if there is no

son, by their eldest daughter.

As a constitutional monarch, the

Queen must, on the advice of

Ministers, assent to (approve) all

Bills. The Queen cannot refuse to

give Royal Assent to laws passed

by Parliament. Since 1952, the

Queen has given Royal Assent to

more than 3,000 Bills, which then

become Acts of Parliament.

At the beginning of each

Parliamentary session, usually

in November, the Queen

opens Parliament and gives

the Queen’s Speech, which sets

out the Government’s policy

and the laws it intends to put

forward.

The right to succeed to the throne

comes partly from Acts of Parliament

and partly from common law.

By law, the sovereign cannot be,

or marry, a Roman Catholic, and

must be in communion with the

Church of England and promise

TOP LEFT: © The Press Association Ltd

BOTTOM LEFT: © The Press Association Ltd

TOP RIGHT: © The Press Association Ltd

BOTTOM RIGHT: © The Press Association Ltd

to uphold both the Churches of

England and of Scotland and the

Protestant succession.

COMMONWEALTH

Every Christmas the

Queen broadcasts a

message to the

Commonwealth. In 1953,

she broadcast from

overseas for the first

time, when she visited

New Zealand. The first

television broadcast

was made in 1957.

The Queen is Head of the

Commonwealth and usually attends

the biennial Commonwealth

Heads of Government meeting.

During her reign, she has visited

almost all the countries of the

Commonwealth, some several

times, and has regularly met with

Commonwealth leaders and heads

of state.

Elizabeth II was crowned by the

Archbishop of Canterbury in

Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953

following her accession on 6

February 1952. For 900 years, all

coronations of British monarchs

have taken place in the Abbey.

CHURCH of

ENGLAND

The Queen is Head of the Church

of England – a position that all

British monarchs have held since

it was founded by Henry VIII in

the 1530s. Just under half the

population have been baptised

in the Church of England.

‘ I declare before you all,

that my whole life, whether

it be long or short, shall be

devoted to your service and

the service of our great

Imperial Commonwealth to

which we all belong. But I

shall not have strength to

carry out this resolution

unless you join in it with me,

as I now invite you to do;

I know that your support

will be unfailingly given.

God bless all of you who are

willing to share it.’

After the Jubilee pop

concert at the Palace

on 3 June, the Queen

lit the final Golden

Jubilee beacon in

a chain stretching

around the world,

including the

Commonwealth

and the Arctic and

Antarctica, repeating

the events of Queen

Victoria’s Golden

Jubilee in 1887.

The Queen appoints

archbishops and bishops

on the advice of the

Prime Minister.

‘I accept Your Majesty

as the sole source of

ecclesiastical, spiritual

and temporal power’

The Queen’s declaration of her

dedication to the Commonwealth on

her 21st birthday

(when still Princess Elizabeth)

Oath of loyalty sworn

by Church of England bishops.

FRONT COVER IMAGE

‘Gratitude, respect and

pride, these words sum up

how I feel about the people

of this country and the

Commonwealth - and

what this Golden Jubilee

means to me.’

Another historic visit was her trip

to South Africa in April 1995, after

the end of apartheid there, her

first visit to that country since 1947.

Sources and further

information

Buckingham Palace

www.royal.gov.uk

The Queen has met the

Pope several times, most

recently in October 2000

when she visited the

Vatican.

Houses of Parliament

www.parliament.uk

Commonwealth Institute

www.commonwealth.org.uk

Commonwealth Secretariat

www.thecommonwealth.org

The Queen at her Golden Jubilee lunch,

4 June 2002.

The Guardian special reports

www.guardian.co.uk/Documentaries

OTHER REALMS

TRAVELLING

As well as being

Queen of the United

Kingdom, Elizabeth II

is Queen of Antigua

& Barbuda, Australia,

The Bahamas,

Barbados, Belize,

Canada, Grenada,

Jamaica, New Zealand,

Papua New Guinea,

St Christopher & Nevis,

St Lucia, St Vincent

& The Grenadines,

Solomon Islands

and Tuvalu.

In 1977, for her Silver Jubilee

celebrations, the Queen

and the Duke of Edinburgh

travelled around 56,000 miles

to share the anniversary

with people throughout the

Commonwealth.

The Queen has gone to

countries no other British

monarch has ever visited, such

as Russia in October 1994,

Korea in 1999 and Brunei and

Malaysia in 1998. While she

was in Malaysia the Queen

attended the Commonwealth

Games there.

Published by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, London

Telephone: 020 7270 1500 Internet address: www.fco.gov.uk

Details of other FCO publications are available from

www.informationfrombritain.com

Written by the Institute of Contemporary British History

Printed by ABC Printers

on paper produced from trees grown in sustainable forests and

made and supplied by an ISO 14001 accredited supply chain.

January 2003 Order No 2058

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