Hometask for 9 December

I. Read the text ’Royal family name’ in Moodle and answer the questions.
♦ What was the name before 1917? They didn’t have a surname, only the name of the
house or dynasty to which they belonged.
♦ Why did the Royal Family decide to change the name? Because, since the WWI, there
was an anti - German feeling and the Royal Family didn’t want to be related to Germany
by their name.
♦ When was the present name adopted? It was adopted in 1960.
♦ What is the origin of the present name? The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh decided
that they would like their own direct descendants to be distinguished from the rest of
the Royal Family and, therefore, stablished the surname “Mountbatten- Windsor” in the
Pryvy Council.
II. Find some facts about Queen Elizabeth II you consider important to know and
remember. Some links to relevant websites have been given in the exercise 'Queen
Elizabeth II'.
1) She has reigned for 67 years.
2) She had a younger sister.
3) She has two sons.
4) In 1945, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war effort.
5) She loved horses from a very young age and was given a pony for her 4th birthday.
6) She didn’t go to school, she learnt at home with a special teacher, called a governess,
Marion Crawford ('Crawfie'), as well as other teachers.
7) She met her husband at the age of 8.
8) Her mother learnt to use a weapon in case the enemy tried to kidnap her.
III. Read the article A day in the life of the Queen – her daily routine and write down
what her day is like, e.g.

8.00 - takes a bath

8.30 – breakfast. She usually has Cornflakes or Special K cereal and fresh or dried fruit but at
Christmas, she has scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and a grating of truffle as a festive
treat.
9.00 – greetings by the bagpipes
9.30 - read the daily newspapers
10.00 - read fan mail and answer a few
10.30 - open the contents of the famous ‘Red Boxes’, sent up by Her Majesty’s Private
Secretaries.
11.00 - attend meetings.

13.00 - lunch time.

14.00 - continues with meetings
16.00 - tea break
17.00 - walk the dogs
18.30 (only Wednesdays) - meeting with the Prime Minister 19.30 - read the report of the day’s
parliamentary proceedings. 20.00 - dinner time.
21.00 - party time. The Queen watches her favourites TV shows.

I’d also recommend to watch the videoclip about the investiture of Prince of Wales https://
www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a29617817/prince-charles-prince-
wales-investiture-speech-transcript/ and read the text ’Why does the Queen have two
birthdays?’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/36489213