Queen Elizabeth II

A

The British Royal Family is over 1,000 years old. Queen Elizabeth is the fifty-fourth monarch since King Alfred in the ninth century.

B

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London on 21 April 1926. On the death of George VI in 1952 she succeeded to the throne and was crowned on 2 June 1953.

C

The Queen lives in Buckingham Palace in London. She also spends time in two other castles in England. She stays in Balmoral Castle in Scotland in the summer.

D

Her husband is Prince Phillip. They have got four children and seven grandchildren. The first child of the royal marriage and the current heir to the throne is Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. He has got two sons from his marriage to Princess Diana. However, the marriage broke down and a divorce followed. These troubles, together with the divorces of Princess Anne and the Duke of York, were seen by some to diminish the monarchy in public esteem. The death of Diana, Princess of Wales on 31 August 1997 in a car crash in Paris unleashed a wave of hysteria stirred up by the media, and the family have had to suffer relentless intrusion by the world's press into their lives.

E

Elizabeth II is now the longest reigning British monarch since Queen Victoria. The Queen works very hard. As Head of State, the Queen undertakes constitutional and representational duties. There are inward duties, like opening and dissolving of Parliament, signing Acts of Parliament, and meetings with the Prime Minister. There are also outward duties, when the Queen represents Britain to the rest of the world. She receives foreign ambassadors and high commissioners, entertains visiting Heads of State, and makes state visits overseas to other countries, in support of diplomatic and economic relations.

F

The Queen loves dogs and horses. She hasn’t got much free time, but she loves going to the horse races in May and June.