Three Great Queens
занимательные факты по английскому языку

                                              Elizabeth I

Elizabeth was born at Greenwich Palace in London on the 7th of September 1533. She was a daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn.

Elizabeth became the Queen at the age of 25.

1. Her reign was marked by her effective use of Parliament.
2. She established Protestantism in England.
3. The Spanish Armada was defeated.
4. Her reign was noted for the English Renaissance. (William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser wrote their books at that time).
5. During her reign England expanded trade overseas.

Elizabeth never married and had no children. She ruled for 45 years and died on the 23rd of March 1603. She was called Good Queen Bess and enjoyed great popularity during her life. Once she said, “ I know I have the body of a weak woman, but the heart and stomach of a king”.

                                          Queen Victoria

     Queen Victoria was born on the 24th of May 1819. Her parents were Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria. She became the queen at the age of 18. Queen Victoria was the official head of state of the British Empire, which included Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand and large parts of Africa.

1. During her reign Britain was a constitutional monarchy. (She ruled with the help of the Parliament).
2. At that time Britain became a powerful industrialized trading nation.
3. Queen Victoria brought morality, good manners, honesty and patriotism to her role as a monarch.

     In 1840 she married Prince Albert. They had 9 children (4 sons and 5 daughters) and were very happy together.  In 1861 Albert died. More than 10 years Victoria remained in strict mourning. All the children married the heirs to thrones of Spain, Sweden, Norway,  Russia. Queen Victoria had 37 grandchildren, including Alexandra, Empress of Russia. Victoria became known as “Grandmother of Europe”.

    Victoria  ruled for 63 years. She died on the 22nd of January 1901.

    Once she said, “I cried much on learning that I would be Queen”.

                                 Queen  Elizabeth II

     Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born on the 21st of April 1926. Her parents were King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes Lyon.  Elizabeth became the queen in 1952 at the age of 26.

1. Her reign marked by great changes in the lives of British people and the prestige of the nation.
2. Great Britain became a member of the European Economic Community.
3. She is the symbol of unity of the Commonwealth.
4. She is the most generous hostess in the world. (She welcomes monarchs, princes, presidents to her palaces and castles.)
5. She is one of the richest women in the world. (Her income is about 50 million ponds.)

      Her husband is Prince Philip. They married in 1947. They have 4 children: one daughter (Princes Anna), 3 sons (Charles, William and Henry), 7 grandchildren and 1greatgrandchild.

     Once she said: ” My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to the service of our commonwealth to which we all belong … God bless all of you who are willing to share it .”

   In conclusion I should say that the work on the topic is very useful for me.

Firstly, I learn more about the British Queens;

Secondly, I increase my language activity and improve reading comprehension, writing skills and speaking.

    I believe my work is of practical value. It may be interesting to the students who want to learn more about the British monarchs. At one of the English lessons I told my classmates about the three queens.

     The material of my work can be used at English classes. I have worked out a talk and made a computer presentation in order to broaden my classmates’ outlook and raise motivation to study.