Monarchy in UK. The Royal Family.

Great Britain is ome of the few countries, where the monarchy

preserved through centuries. The throne was and it is inherited by the
son or sometimes by the daughter or another member of the royal
family. The british monarchy traces its origin from the Medieval times
and the petty kingdoms of Scotland and Anglo-Saxon England.
Nowadays, the
representative of
monarchy is Queen
Elisabeth II, her
majesty being only a
figurehead. Elisabeth
ascended the throne
on February 6, 1952
and continues to rule
to the present day. Her
spouse was Prince
Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who died on April 9, 2021. The queen’s
successor is Charles, Prince of Wales, but there is the possibility for the
monarchy to skip a generation and for the future king to be Prince
William, Duke of Cambridge.
Queen Elisabeth II, celebrates her birthday twice a year. The tradition
of the British monarch
celebrating two
birthdays stems back to
1748, during the reign
of King George II.
Thus, the queen
celebrates her real
birthday on April 21,
but her official birthday
on the second Thursday
of June. This tradition
changed seven years
after the Queen ascended the throne. The royal members of the family
are not allowed to sign autographs or to take selfies, but Prince Harry
and his spouse, Meghan Markle tend to brake this rule often, they being
the more open members of the family. Kate Middleton, prince’s William
wife, is the first royal bride with a college degree. The husband or wife
of the monarch, can’t have the title of king or queen, but the ruling
sovereign can give their spouse a royal title. The queen wears the same
nail polish color since 1989 and refuses to wear another color or shade.
The royal members are not allowed to eat shellfish. While some of the
members do not respect this rule, it’s actually a measure to make sure no
one comes down with a case of food poisoning.
Even if the monarch role is not so important for the political field,
nowadays the queen is a symbol and a very important personality for the
UK population.