The Queen of England

Defining Britain

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland, is commonly referred to

as Britain. Although an inaccurate title,

most people understand what is meant by

the collective terms of Britain and the

British. Britain comes from the Latin word

Britannia, of 1st century Roman origin.

The Structure Of The UK

The Queen Channel Islands,

Isle of Man,

etc.

UK

GB

England & Wales

England

Wales

Scotland

N. Ireland

1284

1707

1921

Statute of Rhuddlan

Treaty of Union

The Anglo-Irish Treaty

Symbols of Britain

The flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Flag.

It was created by combining the Flag of England,

the Flag of Scotland and Saint Patrick's Flag in

1801. Wales is not represented in the Union

Flag as Wales had been conquered and

annexed to England prior to the formation of the

UK. Britannia is the personification of the UK,

as in the patriotic song Rule, Britannia! The

national anthem of the UK is God Save The King.

Among some symbols of Britain are…

Queen Elizabeth

Her reign started on the 6th of

February 1952. She is the

second longest reigning

monarchy in British history

(61 years) after Queen

Elizabeth I (63 years). The

‘constitutional monarch’ of 16

sovereign states across the

world. These include South

Africa, Australia, Canada and

New Zealand.

The British Commonwealth

The Reign Of A Queen

Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's 40th monarch since

William the Conqueror was crowned. In 2002, at

76, Elizabeth became the oldest monarch to

celebrate a Golden Jubilee. The youngest was

James I, at age 51. There have been 12 U.S.

Presidents during her reign. Elizabeth was the

first British monarch to celebrate her diamond

wedding anniversary. She was the oldest

monarch to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

The Death of Diana

On the 31st August 1997,

Princess Diana was killed in

a car accident. Mother to the

young princes William and

Harry, her death sent shock

waves through the British

public. The perceived lack of

compassion and public

response from the Royal

Family, damaged their

reputation among many.

The Queen (2006)

The film The Queen was the

dramatised story of the period

of British history after the death

of Diana. Showing how the

Royals regarded her death as a

private family matter, and not

an ‘official’ royal death. It shows

how Prince Charles along with

Tony Blair feeling the strength

of the public out-pouring of grief

helped to convince The Queen

of taking a more public stance.

The Diamond Jubileee

The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was a

multinational celebration throughout 2012

marking the 60th anniversary of the accession of

Queen Elizabeth II to the throne.

The Olympics

As part of the 2012 Olympic

opening ceremony The

Queen took part in a short

film, involving James Bond

and ‘her’ leaping out of a

helicopter to parachute into

the Olympic stadium. Her

agreeing to take part and

sense of fun in this event

brought her closer to the

hearts of the British public.

Prince William

Second in-line to the throne.

Born in 1982 he is the first

son of Prince Charles and

Princess Diana. Among

others he holds the title

Duke of Cambridge. On

the 29th of April 2011 he

married Catherine

Middleton (a commoner) in

Westminster Abbey.

Royal Wedding

The wedding took place on 29

April 2011 in Westminster

Abbey, London. The day

was made a bank holiday in

the UK. Estimates of the

global audience for the

wedding range from 300

million to two billion people,

whilst 24.5 million watched

the event live in the United

Kingdom.

The Next Generation

On the 3rd December 2012 it

was officially announced that

William and Kate were

expecting a baby, who will

be the 3rd in-line to the

throne. Changes made to the

constitution that means

whether it is a girl or a boy it

makes no difference. (It was

later leaked by Harry that

they are expecting a boy.)