A guide to the British Royal Family or British Monarchy.
The British Monarch
Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the British Royal Family and has reigned for 57 years. She is the 32nd great-granddaughter of King Alfred the Great who as I previously mentioned was the first effective King of England during the years of 871-899. She has four children and eight grandchildren (at time of writing) and is 83 years old.
Queen Elizabeth II has broken several records. She has become the first reigning monarch to have been married for 60 years. In December 2007 she became the oldest reigning British Monarch and has even outlived her great, great grandmother Queen Victoria. Also in March 2007 Queen Elizabeth II become the 3rd longest reigning monarch in over 1,200 years of British history.
The Royal Family have been a part of the UK for hundreds of years and the British Monarchy also represents several other countries, making it one of the biggest monarchy’s in the world and the title of Queen or King of England will continue to be passed through the family for as long as the blood line continues.
The present day Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, is possibly the most popular British Monarch in the entire history of the British Monarchy.
The House of Windsor, over which she presides, have been ruling over the UK since 1917 when the House of Windsor was adopted as the official name of the Royal Family.
King George V made this Royal Proclamation and changed the historic family name of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha for good. The change has stood until the present day.
The roles of the Monarchy
The current British Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has two main roles. Her official role is head of state, whilst her unofficial role is head of the nation – a figure head if you will and this was very important during the wars of 1914-18 and 1939-45.
Head of state
Whoever the British Monarch is at the time, they have certain powers vested in them. These are significant and include the ability to bestow honours (knighthoods etc), pass legislation and even appoint Prime Ministers, so the role of the British Monarch is still a very powerful one.
Queen Elizabeth II has other roles and functions to perform for her country too including official roles to play in other organisations such as the Armed Forces and the Church of England.
Head of nation
As mentioned earlier, the Royal Family and in particular the Queen or Monarch, often acts as a national source of identity and pride. Queen Elizabeth II represents how many UK citizens feel about their country, it’s history, culture and self. It’s an important role and provides many people with a strong sense of stability and continuity.
Members of the Royal Family
When the Queen is carrying out her national duties the other members of the Royal Family help with a wide range of public engagements, charities and personal interests.
Currently the Royal Family is made up of the:
- Queen and her consort, The Duke of Edinburgh
- The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall
- Prince William of Wales and Prince Harry of Wales
- The Duke of York
- Princess Beatrice of York and Princess Eugenie of York
- The Earl and Countess of Wessex
- Viscount Severn and Lady Louise Windsor
- The Princess Royal – The Queen’s daughter
- The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and The Duke and Duchess of Kent and Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.
Titles
Those who carry the titles HM – His or Her Majesty or HRM – His or Her Royal Highness are always considered members of the Royal Family. All of the above have one of these titles.
