Две великие королевы в истории Великобритании

МУНИЦИПАЛЬНОЕ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ

«СРЕДНЯЯ ОБЩЕОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНАЯ ШКОЛА № 10»

г. Печора

НАУЧНО – ИССЛЕДОВАТЕЛЬСКИЙ ПРОЕКТ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

на тему:

   Автор: ученица 9 «А» класса

МОУ «СОШ № 10»

Рыжова Светлана.

Руководитель: Сябро М. А.

г. Печора

THE CONTENTS

1) The introduction;

2) Childhood;

3) Education;

4) The influence of relatives and society;

5) The private life and reign of the state, public life;

6) The attitude to their citizens and attitude of their citizens to the queens;

7) The influence on the development of the arts:

– architecture;

1. fine art;

2. besides…;

8) Holidays, connected with these queens;

9) Conclusion: their contribution to a history;

10) The list of the used literature and other sources of knowledge.

What is London without the royal family? And what is London without its traditions: there are no places in the world were the past saves and quickens as carefully and with a talent as around Buckingham Palace. Gapers, being in the colourful parade of armies, can necessarily say: “Please, don’t cancel the monarchy!” Black caps from fur of bears shine above red uniforms, queen favourably shines… And it happens on the background of beautiful old buildings.

London is impregnated of spirit of a monarchy, but at the same time it is cradle of mini-skirts, hall of glory of “Beetles”, the birthplace of punks, the city of last word of style. London is really creative, but it strictly observes rituals, even the queen must ask the sanction for the entrance into the City, which is the business centre of London.

Some haughtiness of Londoners can be explained as the historical past, because still Romans made London the capital of their British island province. On the VI century Christianity was accepted in England, and the first church was built in London, that was st. Paul’s Cathedral. Westminster Abbey was chosen for the crowning by William the Conqueror in 1066, he was the founder of original tradition. Because of it all the next queens and kings must receive the crown in the Westminster Abbey.

London is the entertaining center of London; political London occupies big part of the centre of the city. And the royal London is willingly opened for tourists, because the queen solved to visit part of the Buckingham Palace.

You see, the queen is always respected. Nobody is appreciates and influences on a destiny of kingdom as strongly as the queen. Just she makes a decision: is it the war? or will the culprit be executed? I want to consider influence of two great queens on the destiny of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They are Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II. In my mind, they rendered the biggest influence on the development of destiny of the United Kingdom.

I want to compare their childhood, bringing up, growing up, education, life before being the queen of the Great Britain, influence of relatives and society on them, to consider the overlapping of the private life and the reign of the state, also participation in the life of the state and in the public life, attitude to their citizens and attitude of their citizens to the queens. Also I want to consider influence of these two women on the development of the art – a lot of monuments were erected in honor to them, artists drew their portraits, trying to show their essence. And I also want to consider some holidays, connected with these women. At the next, I think, I should to consider last years of Victoria’s life and life if Elizabeth II. After that I want to make conclusion from my work, to consider similarities and distinctions between them at all, their contribution to a history.

Elizabeth II (was born on April 26, 1926) – the Queen of the United Kingdom with 1952. She is the daughter of George VI from the Windsor’s dynasty. She became the queen at the age 25, after her father’s death. In 1947 she married Prince Philip.

On the accession of Queen Elizabeth, her son Prince Charles became heir apparent, he was named Prince of Wales on July 26, 1958, and was so invested on July 1, 1969. The Queen’s other children are Princess Anna (born 1950), Prince Andrew (born 1960) and Prince Edward (born 1964).

Alexandrine Victoria (May 19, 1819, London – January 22, 1901, Osborn) – the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with 1837, empress of India with 1876, the past of the Hanover’s dynasty. She became the queen after the death of her uncle King William IV, she was 18. In February, 1840, she was married Prince Albert Sax-Coburg-Goths. Her really long reign was connected with the strengthening of the moral authority of the crown.

She had 9 children and 40 grandchildren.

ELIZABETH II

VICTORIA

2)                                 CHILDHOOD

Both of two queens were born in Kensington Palace. Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, as Alexandrine Victoria. And Elizabeth II was born as Alexandra Mary Windsor. It happened on April 21, 1926, more than 100 years later. When Victoria was eight months, her father died, but the title of the queen of Britain was received by her just when she was 18 as the successor of her uncle William IV. And father of Elizabeth II died when she was 25, and she at once became a queen.

These two girls were brought up in atmosphere of care and love with the help of governesses and private tutors.

A lot of influence was rendered on Victoria by her mother, and her childhood was quiet, but she was grew up in atmosphere of severity and without any entertainments. And , I think, because of it when Victoria became the queen, she liked entertainments very much, such as balls and engagements. She was fond of foreign languages, playing on the piano and painting, a hobby that she enjoyed in her 60s. Victoria married Prince Albert Sax-Coburg-Goth when she was the queen, he favourably influenced to her.

Elizabeth II was fond of humanitarian sciences. She was very inquisitive girl and liked horses, and now she is correct to her hobby. But her childhood was no so quiet, because there was the World War II. During it, she and her sister, Princess Margarita Rose, perforce spent much of their time safely away from the London Blitz and separated from their parents, living mostly at Balmoral Castle. During World War II, Elizabeth served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service, because the royal family must work for the defense of the country, and by an amendment to the Regency Act she became a state counselor at 18 years old.

At the age of 13 Elizabeth got acquainted with Prince Philip, and in 1947 she was married him, it was before her becoming the queen. Philip was queen Victoria’s grand-grand-grand-grandson.

3)                         EDUCATION

Victoria was brought up by her mother in the atmosphere of severity. Victoria’s mother raised her in Kensington Palace with the help of German governesses, private English tutors, and Victoria’s uncle, Prince Leopold (1790 - 1865) (who in 1831 became King Leopold I of Belgium).

At the same time Elizabeth’s education was supervised by her mother, who entrusted her daughters to a governess, Marion Crawford; the princess was also grounded in history by C. H. K. Martin. Afterward provost of Eton College, and her instruction from visiting teachers in music and languages. She got wonderful home education of humanitarian orientation. But she likes horses most of all, and, to my mind, it is wonderful for a queen.

So, Victoria also was fond of humanitarian sciences, she learned to speak and write French and German as readily as English. She also studied history, Geography, and the Bible. She was taught how to play the piano and learned how to paint, a hobby that she enjoyed into her 60s and from my point of view, it is wonderful too. Victoria got very solid education, Lord Melbourne, which twice was a prime minister, was her instructor. He learnt lections about the state and wrights, history, helped to get acquainted with practice of Constitutional reign. She spoke foreign languages freely. It seems to me that it was really useful, because beginning with first hours she didn’t have problems in her reign.

4) THE INFLUENCE OF RELETIVES AND SOCIETY

I think, in Victoria’s reign, the most important thing was that Victoria’s uncle King William IV, had no legitimate children, Victoria became heir apparent to the British crown upon his accession in 1830. On June 20, 1837, with the death of William IV, she became queen at the age of 18.

Young Elizabeth II, which was the child of the younger son of King George V, had little prospect of acceding to the throne until her uncle, Edward VIII abdicated at her father’s favour on December 11, 1935 and she became heir presumptive.

Besides, I think, that the bringing up influenced on these queens very much. For example, when Victoria just became the queen of Great Britain, she was rather windy woman. She liked to make balls and engagements very much. And, as the consequence of it, I can assume, that Prince Albert Sax-Coburg-Goth also influenced on Victoria very much. They were the example of ideal family. Victoria loved Albert very much and tried to follow all his advices. It helped her to become quieter, than in youth.

In his turn, husband of Elizabeth II, I think, influenced on the reign of this queen not very much. He went with her to different countries, that was the first tour across the world by ruling monarch.

And, of course, influence of the people. The attitude of citizens was different in different times. Of course, there are people, who didn’t like these queens, but there are also a lot of people, who always supports them.

5) THE PRIVATE LIFE AND REIGN OF THE STATE, PUBLIC LIFE

Notwithstanding the reign of the state, both of two queens had a family and were happy in any degree. But how do these women combine their private life and the reign of the state? Let’s look.

Immediately after becoming queen, Victoria began regular meetings with William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1779 - 1848), the British prime minister at the time. The two grew very close, and Melbourne taught Victoria how the British government worked on a day-to-day basis.

Britain in the 19nt century was a constitutional monarchy, and the king or queen ruled through ministers who were members of, and required the support of the British Parliament. This means that the monarch had some influence in government, but not a great deal of real power. In the course of her reign, Queen Victoria played a role in appointing some cabinet-ministers (and even a prime minister), as well as particular ambassadors and bishops of the Church of England, and she consulted regularly with her prime ministers by letter and in person. In private, Victoria was never afraid to speak her mind. Much of her time, however, was devoted to ceremonial activities such as the official opening and closing of each year’s session of Parliament.

Victoria was very fond of Melbourne, and because he was the leader of the Whig party (which later became the Liberal Party), Victoria began publicly to support the Whigs rather than the opposition party, the Tories (later the Conservative Party). The Whigs were sympathetic to freedom of speech and of the press and favored greater religious liberty for those people who did not belong to the official Church of England. The Tories were more concerned with maintaining the country’s established institutions and with making no further legal concessions to religious minorities.

The young queen hoped that the Whigs would continue to keep a majority of seats in the House of Commons (the lower house of the British Parliament) so that Melbourne could remain prime minister When it appeared in 1839 that he might have to give up the post, the queen successfully used her influence to keep him. In the so-called Bedchamber Crisis, she refused to allow Tory leader. Sir Robert Peel to change the ladies-in-waiting of her court, all of whom were Whig sympathizers. Peel then felt unable to form a government, and Melbourne continued as prime minister two more years. A general election in 1841 resulted in a majority of Tory party members in the House of Commons, however, and Victoria was compelled to accept Peel as prime minister.

In 1839 Victoria fell in live with her first cousin, Prince Albert, of the small German principality of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They were married in February 1840, and Albert soon developed a keen interesting the government of his new country. Albert was an unusual studious and serious young man, and he served as his wife’s private secretary. He was an active patron of the arts and sciences, and he was the prime organizer of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first true worlds fair, which was held in the Crystal Palace in London’s Hyde Park. Albert also favoured the expansion  of education, and he served as chancellor of the University of Cambridge. He became a great champion of the strengthening and modernizing of Britain’s armed forces. Though Albert was respected by most of his new countrymen, he was not loved; many resented him because he was a foreigner, and his heavy German accent did not help.

For Victoria, however, Albert represented perfection, and the two were very happy together. The royal couple offered an example of family life that contrasted sharply with the images of previous British monarchs. Between 1840 and 1857, Victoria and Albert had nine children. They took an intense personal interest in the upbringing of their children, and they did not live them solely in the care of nannies and governesses. They increasingly enjoyed a private family life, particularly at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight and Balmoral Castle in Scotland, both of them rebuilt on the basis of Albert’s designs.

The royal couple took a sympathetic interest in the efforts of Sir Robert Peel in 1846 to abolish the Corn Laws (acts of Parliament that protected landlords and farmers against foreign competition) and to lead Britain toward international free trade, but in the process he divided his Conservative Party. During the 1850s, with the two-party tradition in temporary disarray, the influence of the monarchy on the formation of ministers reached a 19th-century high-point. In 1851 royal initiative led to the dismissal of the popular Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, from his post as foreign secretary. He had failed too often to consult the queen before sending dispatches to British diplomats abroad.

Although Victoria and Albert were initially unhappy with the manner in which their country drifted into the Crimean War (1853 - 1856) against Russia, they became enthusiastic supporters of the conflict once fighting had began, and in 1855Victoria appointed Palmerston as wartime prime minister. The queen personally instituted the Victoria Cross as the highest British award for wartime valor.

Queen Victoria never truly recovered from Albert’s death in December 1861 at the age of 42. For almost a decade she remained in strict mourning. She rarely set foot I London, and she avoided most public occasions, including the state opening of Parliament. She made an exception, however, for the unveiling of statues dedicated to Prince Albert and, after a few years, for attendance at army reviews.

Behind the scenes, she continued to correspond with and talk to her ministers, and she took comfort in the company of her favorite servant, a Scottish Highlander named John Brown (1826 - 1883). By the late 1860s, the queen’s absence from the public stage caused her popularity to decline, and there was talk of replacing the monarchy with a republic. In the course of the later 1870s and the 1880s, she gradually returned to the public arena, and her popularity rose ones more.

Although in her youth she had been known at the “Queen of the Whigs,” in the course of the later 1860s she came to prefer Benjamin Disraeli, the leader of the Conservative Party, to William Ewart Gladstone, the leader of the Liberal Party. Disraeli impressed Victoria as being more concerned with Britain’s international prestige and with the strengthening of its empire. She strongly supported Disraeli’s government from 1874 to 1880. In 1875, when Parliament made her empress of India, she showed her gratitude to Disraeli by opening Parliament in person and by creating him Earl of Beaconsfield.

When Disraeli’s government was defeated in the general election of 1880, Victoria made secret of her disappointment in being compelled to name Gladstone prime minister for a second time. Gladstone impressed her as too much a popular demagogue and too ready to tamper with the kingdom’s institutions. When in 1866 he proposed home rule (domestic self-government) for Ireland, the queen felt that he was undermining the British Empire. Despite Victoria’s dislike, Gladstone continued to treat the queen with courteous respect.

And Elizabeth II makes only representation functions and practically don’t influence on a politics of the country. Though in the first years of her reign she influenced on a assignment of the prime minister if there was no leader. The Queen have always supported good relations with all prime ministers, including G. Wilson, A. Blear. Some complexities in relations were when M. Thatcher(1979 - 1990) was a prime minister. Elizabeth didn’t like “the royal style” of reign of new prime minister. But the Queen have always been correct to tradition to be over political fights.

The prestige of monarchy declined in the 1990s, in large part because of scandals involving the marriage of Prince Charles and Diana Spencer, and of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Both marriages ended in divorce in 1996. On the death in 1997 of Diana, who had been estranged from the royal family since her divorce, the outpouring of grief appeared to confirm the public’s disaffection with the monarchy.

 “By the sudden death of my dear father I am called upon to assume the duties and responsibility of sovereignty”. These were the words of Queen Elizabeth II in her simple yet moving Accession speech of 8 February 1952, just 36 hours after she had learnt that her father King George VI had died in his sleep. So at the age of 25, Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, became the 42nd sovereign of England since William the Conqueror, yet only its 6th Queen Regnant.

Elizabeth II is now the longest-reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria (the last Queen Regnant), who occupied the throne for over 63 years, while their ancestor Elizabeth I reigned for 44 years.

Being in November 1953, the queen and the Duke of Edinburgh made a 6-month round-the-world tour of the Commonwealth, which included the first visit to Australia and New Zealand by a reigning British monarch. In 1957, after state visits to various European nations, she and the duke visited Canada and the USA. In 1961, she made the first royal British tour to the Indian subcontinent in 50 years, and she was also the first British reigning monarch to visit South Africa (in 1968) and the Persian Gulf countries (in 1979).

The queen seemed increasingly aware of the modern role of the monarchy, allowing, for example, the televising of the royal family’s domestic life in 1970 and condoning the formal dissolution of the sister’s marriage in 1978. She was known to favour simplicity in court life and was also known to take a serious and informed interest in government business, aside from the traditional and ceremonial duties. Privately she has become a keen horsewoman; she keeps racehorses, frequently attends races, and periodically visits the stud farms of Kentucky, U. S.

6) ATTITUDE TO THEIR CITIZENS AND ATTITUDE OF THEIR CITIZENS TO THE QUEENS

The monarchy is the aspiration of the people of Great Britain to save the symbol of the national unity. The queen always tries to make her citizens happy and makes everything that she can for them. Of course, every monarch loves his people, living in his state. So, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II are not excluded. Both of two queens have always respected the laws, they have always responsibly attitude to the monarchy, to the United Kingdom, and to the people, living in this state.

“Victorian era” was differently perceived by her contemporaries and by the next generations. For a generation, who went through the World War I, different Victorian values were «canonization». Spiritual situation in the end of 20th century again recovered the interest to Victorian England.

Victoria liked her state very much, and was the queen of Great Britain to the death – she was 82 years old. Her funeral had really symbolical character in the lives of British people. All nation understood: they are forgiven with something, that will never come back.

Though not all responses about Queen Victoria were unequivocal. Together with eulogies there were really responses. So, Brant wrote: “During last years of her life I have thought a lot of different things about her. And I learnt that she was rather banal old lady and looked as a lot of our widows with their points of view and limited sights, without understanding of arts and literature, liked money, was able to understand businesses of the state, and had some political talent, but she liked flattery… though, people saw in this old lady something such idol.”

The public duties of the British monarch were then entirely ceremonial, but Queen Elizabeth took her responsibilities seriously, inspecting state papers daily and consulting with prime ministers. She was educated in the role of constitutional monarch by her father and her grandmother Queen Mary, wife of George V. She was also trained by her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Harold Macmillan (1894 0 1986), prime minister from 1957 to 1963, wrote of her. “She loves her duty, and means to be a Queen and not a puppet.” Her constitutional role obliges her to keep opinions to herself. This makes her a somewhat colourless public personality, but those who know her speak of her shrewdness and sense of humor.

Elizabeth’s reign has been marked by vast changes in the lives of her people and in the power and prestige of her nation. From the late 1940s through the early 1950s, some 40 formers British colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories were granted their independence. Beginning in the mid-1950s, there was constant turmoil in North Ireland. On this home front the nation suffered economic difficulties after World War II, and major industries were nationalized; many of those were returned to private control during the 1980s and 1990s. Great Britain became a member, successively, of the European Economic Community in 1973, and the European Union 1993. As head of the Commonwealth, Elizabeth primary role through-out this period was a symbol of unity and continuity within the Commonwealth, the member nations of which she frequently visited along with her husband.

The Queen in the country’s official hostess entertaining, on behalf of her people, guests from all over the world. She has been described as the most generous hostess in the world with no other Head of State entertaining on quite the same scale. She welcomes visiting monarchs, princes, sheiks and presidents to her palaces, castles, and even to her private homes at Balmoral and Sandringham, where they are treated to a unique hospitality.

7)                 THE INFLUENCE ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF ARTS

ARCHITECTURE

There are a lot of monuments, which are made in honour to Queen Victoria in her Victorian era and after that. For example, Queen Victoria Memorial – this is famous monument in honour to her, it is in London, on the square in front of the Buckingham Palace. Or the monument to Prince Albert in Coburg, German – it is monument, which is made in honour to Victoria’s husband Albert. Also monument to Queen Victoria is in Ottawa, Canada. Besides, this queen was great, I think, and as we know she was the empress of India. So, the monument in honour to her was made in Calcutta, India, it is situated in front of the memorial to her.

Monument to Queen Elizabeth II is in Sydney, Australia. The newspaper “The Independent” says, that it is planned to establish the horse statue in honour to Elizabeth II on a Trafalgar Square in London, but it will be done after her death. There are two horse statues in honour to her, they are in Ottawa and Regina, Canada.

Monument in honour to Elizabeth II is under construction in London. And, besides, there are some gossips that the monument to Elizabeth II will be in Rostov, Russia.

FINE ART

There are a lot of portraits of famous and important people all over the world. So, what to say about such great queens as Victoria and Elizabeth!

These two women are really great, and, of course, there were a lot of artists, which wanted to draw the queens and to show the essence. During my research work I noticed that Xavier Winterhalter liked to draw portraits of Queen Victoria in rather different camera angles.

Queen Elizabeth II is also drawn on portraits.

BESIDES…

– As we know, time of Queen Victoria’s reign was named “Victorian era”. This was certain period of time, which mentioned all spheres of life, of course, including culture. A lot of different monuments of culture were built during the Victorian era. For example, the most famous bridge in Great Britain – Tower Bridge, it was built in 1894 in Victorian style. Besides, gothic style was also popular in that period of time. So, besides, on of the towers of the Westminster Palace was named in honour to her – Victoria.

– As I said before, Victoria loved her husband very much, and after his death museum in honour to him was opened, its name is V&A Museum. In my opinion, it is big contribution to the development of culture.

– One more famous, interesting and important building is the Madam Tussauds’s Museum. Its first permanent exhibition was held on Baker-Street, London, in 1835 – this is the time of Victorian era. Now it is probably the best in the world museum of waxen figures. More than 1000 exhibits are there.

8) HOLIDAYS, CONNECTED WITH THEM

So, we can listen at the television and radio that there is queen’s birthday. This is official holyday, birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. It is celebrated on the third Saturday of June, as we know. It is celebrated in Windsor’s Palace, and begins with the walking around the city.

And, if we will think about this queen, a lot of different interesting things happened during her life, for example inventing of television, the man at the fist time went to the moon, the Berlin wall was built and destroyed… Looking through this words, I think that Queen Elizabeth II is worth the second Birthday!

In the years of Victoria’s reign st. Valentine’s Day reached its pick of glory. In this day people, which are in love, present roses and special greeting cards to their sweetheart or just to friends. This custom became popular in England in Queen Victoria’s times.

One more wonderful holiday, found its popularity also in Victoria’s time, is the Christmas. As we know, the main Christmas fur-tree in Great Britain is established every year on the Trafalgar Square in London. So, in 1841 the law for the sanction of the establishing of the main Christmas-tree was issued by Queen Victoria. And now it is tradition.

9) CONTRIBUTION IN THE HISTORY

So, making my research work, I knew a lot of new things, such as the reigns of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II are the longest in the history of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Victoria was queen during 64 years, and Elizabeth II was the queen for 56 years and she remains the Queen of Great Britain to this day; when they were little girls, they were brought up with help of governesses and private tutors; these queens got wonderful home education, what at the future helped them very much; they became queens in the youth – Victoria became a queen at the age of 18, and Elizabeth II got the crown at the age of 25; these women were loved by their citizens very much, and it also helped them in reign of the monarchy; the whole epoch named in honour to Queen Victoria – Victorian era, these the period, when a lot of new things were created, besides in that time such great event as the Industrial Revolution toke place; both of two queens influenced on the development of arts, a lot of monuments of the art connected with these great women; they brought the contribution to the history of some holidays; and a lot of other things.

The length of Queen Victoria’s reign gave an impression of continuity to what was actually a period of dynamic change as Britain grew to become a powerful industrialized trading nation. The queen sympathized with some of these changes – such as the camera, the railroad, and the use of anesthetics in childbirth. She felt doubtful about others, however, such as giving the vote to many more people, establishing tax-supported schools, and allowing women into professions such as medicine. During her reign, the popularity of the British monarchy underwent both ups and downs but ultimately increased. Victoria was important because she brought morality, good manners, and a devotion to hard work to her role as constitutional monarch. She took pride in her role as formal head of the world’s largest multiracial and multireligious empire, and her honesty, patriotism, and devotion to family life made the queen an appropriate symbol of the Victorian era.

Queen Victoria was the official head of state not only of the United Kingdom but also of the growing worldwide British Empire, which included Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, and large parts of Africa. At the personal embodiment of her kingdom, powerful state and as the model of civilization, Victoria brought to the British monarchy such 19th-century ideals as a devoted family life, earnestness, public and private respectability, and obedience to the law. During the later years of her reign, the monarchy attainted a high degree of popularity among most of its subjects.

In difference from Victoria, Queen Elizabeth full of energy at the age of 82. she takes part in 450 events in the year, being 4 days a week at the Buckingham Palace, which is the office of royal family, and 3 days a week at home, which is the Windsor’s Palace.

The public duties of the British monarch were then entirely ceremonial, but Queen Elizabeth took her responsibilities seriously, inspecting state papers daily and consulting with prime ministers. She was educated in the role of constitutional monarch by her father and her grandmother Queen Mary, wife of George V. She was also trained by her mother, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Harold Macmillan (1894 0 1986), prime minister from 1957 to 1963, wrote of her. “She loves her duty, and means to be a Queen and not a puppet.” Her constitutional role obliges her to keep opinions to herself. This makes her a somewhat colourless public personality, but those who know her speak of her shrewdness and sense of humor.

Elizabeth’s reign has been marked by vast changes in the lives of her people and in the power and prestige of her nation. From the late 1940s through the early 1950s, some 40 formers British colonies, protectorates, and mandate territories were granted their independence. Beginning in the mid-1950s, there was constant turmoil in North Ireland. On this home front the nation suffered economic difficulties after World War II, and major industries were nationalized; many of those were returned to private control during the 1980s and 1990s. Great Britain became a member, successively, of the European Economic Community in 1973, and the European Union 1993. As head of the Commonwealth, Elizabeth primary role through-out this period was a symbol of unity and continuity within the Commonwealth, the member nations of which she frequently visited along with her husband.

Of course, prestige of monarchy declined in the 1990s, in large part because of scandals in families of her children.

Yes, may be, it is not the best times in the life of monarchy, but we hope that Elizabeth II will consult with all the problems, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will be stay a monarchy.

Just, I think, it’s impossible to imagine, that Great Britain is not a monarchy… And what is London without the royal family?

10) THE LIST OF THE USED LITERATURE      AND OTHER SOURCES OF KNOLEDGE

1) Энциклопедия “British studies: знакомство с Британией”, Санкт – Петербург: «Игрек - М», 1996г.;

2) Энциклопедия “Famous faces in history: портреты знаменитых людей, наука и политика”, Санкт – Петербург: «Каро» «Базис», 2001г.;

3) «Новая иллюстрированная энциклопедия», Москва, научное издательство «Большая Российская энциклопедия» ООО «Торговый дом «издательство мир книги», 2007г.;

4) Энциклопедия «Большая серия знаний: страны и народы, Европа и Россия», Москва: «Современная педагогика», 2004г.;

5) Энциклопедия «Большая серия знаний: новая и новейшая история», Москва: «Современная педагогика», 2005г.;

6) Энциклопедия «100 красивейших городов мира», Москва: «Мир книги», 2003г.;

7) «Новый справочник школьника 5 – 11 класс, I том», Санкт – Петербург: «Весь», 2003г.;

8) «Все монархи мира: Западная Европа», Москва: «Вече», 1999г.;

9) Компьютерная энциклопедия Кирилла и Мефодия, 2008г.;

10) Интернет – энциклопедия Wikipedia;

11) http://www.calend.ru/holidays/greatbritan/;

12) http://sudbas.narod.ru/viktorya.htm;

13) http://adelanta.info/news/england15/index2008/08/08/3269.html;

14) http://images.yandex.ru/;

15) http://www.rian.ru/world/20071220/93445047.html.