1inglish

Elizabeth II - the Queen of Great Britain reigned. Full name — Elizabeth Alexandra Maria. She received her name in honor of her mother (Elizabeth), grandmother (Maria) and great-grandmother (Alexandra).

Elizabeth was born on April 21, 1926 in London.
The eldest daughter of Prince Albert, Duke of York (the future King George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.

In 1930, Elizabeth's only sister, Princess Margaret, was born.
Elizabeth always took care of her sister and even instructed her. The elder sister was always reserved, neat and thrifty.
.

Elizabeth as a child

Prince Albert, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and
their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret
The personality of Elizabeth II was formed against the background of universal care and love. From early childhood, great attention was paid to her upbringing and education.

Sisters Elizabeth and Margaret

.
As a child, Elizabeth received a home education. In addition to the usual school subjects, she was taught the basics of economics, jurisprudence and constitutional law. She was particularly interested in the history of Great Britain. The training program also included horse riding, dancing and music lessons. She was introduced to palace etiquette by her mother, the Duchess of York.

She always knew how to insist and show character. In April 1942, despite the objections of Pope George VI, the daughter went to the London Labor Exchange and registered as a volunteer willing to help the front.

Having mastered the profession of a driver in a military transport training center and qualified as an ambulance driver,
Elizabeth was able to change tires on a truck, disassemble and assemble the engine.
She received the military rank of lieutenant.

In 1939, at the Dartmouth Naval College, which the royal couple visited, Elizabeth met Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten.
As Elizabeth later admitted, she fell in love with Philip at first sight – and only later learned that on his mother's side he was a direct descendant of Queen Victoria.

It all ended with the fact that Philip made a marriage proposal to Princess Elizabeth. She said yes.

The lovers were married on November 20, 1947 and were awarded the titles of Dukes of Edinburgh.

Elizabeth and Philip lived together for 75 years

Four children were born in the family of Elizabeth and Philip: Charles (November 14, 1948), Anna (August 15, 1950), Andrew (February 19, 1960) and Edward (March 10, 1964)

The Queen with her husband and children in different years.

Members of the Royal Family

King George VI died
on February 6, 1952. Elizabeth, who was on vacation in Kenya, was proclaimed queen.
Princess Elizabeth with her father.

The coronation ceremony took place at Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.
Her coronation ceremony was broadcast on television for the first time.

Queen Elizabeth and Philip, Duke of Edinburgh after the coronation ceremony.
The Queen and her husband certainly complement each other.

The full title of Elizabeth II in the UK sounds like "Her Majesty Elizabeth II, by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other kingdoms and territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the faith."

In 2012, the 60th ("diamond") anniversary of Elizabeth II's stay on the throne was solemnly celebrated in the UK and other countries.
.

The duties of the Queen include opening parliamentary sessions, receiving high-ranking officials arriving in the country, participating in the banner-carrying ceremony, presenting awards and honorary titles, delivering a Christmas address to the residents of her kingdom, etc.

Her working day begins with viewing a summary of the latest news prepared by the secretariat and a report on the parliamentary session held the day before. In these morning hours, she signs important state documents.

The Queen performs most of her official duties in the afternoon. Many of them are connected with trips to other parts of the country. Several times a month, she attends official ceremonies, such as the opening of monuments, the commissioning of new hospitals, the launching of ships, etc. In the evening hours, the Queen usually looks through documents coming from various ministries of Great Britain and from the Commonwealth countries.

Every year Her Majesty addresses both houses of Parliament. By tradition, she arrives at the House of Lords in a carriage, dressed in a royal robe and with a crown on her head.
In fact, the Queen reserves the right to appoint a prime minister and dissolve parliament, but in practice no monarch has used this right over the past couple of centuries.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain pays regular business visits to the Queen, during which he informs her about the most important events and decisions of the government.

Hats of Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II is the real queen of the hat style, it is almost impossible to see her without a headdress at public events.

The British queen is always elegant and always in a hat, matched to the outfit. Elizabeth II's clothes and hats are sewn by court designers.

Elizabeth's favorite hobby is breeding dogs and racehorses. The Queen's favorite animals are Corgi dogs.

Royal dogs live in palaces and castles, travel in limousines with a driver, fly on private planes and helicopters, and accompany their titled mistress everywhere. Dogs are allowed to walk freely in the royal apartments.

From a young age, Elizabeth was interested in horses and engaged in horse riding. She has been faithful to this hobby for many decades.

In the narrow circle of the family, the little heir to the throne received the nickname Lilibet, because for a long time she could not learn to pronounce her full name correctly. King George VI often said of his daughters: Lilibet is my pride, and Margaret is my joy.
The laws of Great Britain do not apply to the Queen as an individual, so she cannot be sued.
Elizabeth II is the oldest British (English) monarch in history.
Interesting facts from the biography of Queen Elizabeth II

Celebrating a birthday twice is an old English tradition for crowned heads. The first, actual, birthday of Her Majesty is celebrated modestly — with her family at Windsor Castle near London, and the second, official, is equated to national holidays and is celebrated on a grand scale on one of the Saturdays of June.

No matter what anyone says about the strictness of English etiquette, the queen allows herself small weaknesses. Paparazzi repeatedly caught the moment when, while at public social events, Elizabeth was not embarrassed by her position and the surrounding crowd and publicly corrected her makeup.

The Queen has an extensive collection of jewelry, most of which are so-called royal regalia (crowns, scepters). The rest of the jewels, including the largest pink diamond in the world, the queen inherited or as a gift.

Born April 21, 1926, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom
Died on September 8, 2022 (96 years old)
Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain died at the age of 97. Buckingham Palace announced this on Thursday, September 8.
"The Queen passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle this afternoon," the statement said.

In total, Elizabeth II reigned for over 70 years. She became the longest-reigning and oldest monarch in the history of Great Britain. At the time of her death, she was also the longest-serving and oldest head of State in the world.

UK Attractions

Tower of London
The Tower is the historical center of the capital of England and a fortress on the north bank of the Thames. About 3 million people visit the attraction every year. It is believed that the order for the construction of the fortress was given by William I the Conqueror, who defeated the Anglo-Saxon troops at the Battle of Hastings, after which he was crowned in Westminster. The stone castle became an impregnable fort of the Old World and has been preserved to this day almost in its original form, since it has never been destroyed in the entire history of its existence.
For many centuries, the Tower has been used as a residence of monarchs, a mint, a prison, a treasury, an armory, an observatory and even a menagerie.

Big Ben
Big Ben is a 96—meter clock tower located in the northeastern part of the British Parliament in Westminster. Although the actual name of the tower is the Clock Tower, it is often referred to as Big Ben, Big Tom or Big Ben Tower. The Clock Tower is one of the most recognizable structures in London and is its hallmark. Since its creation, in 1859, the tower has served as the most reliable clockwork in London, and has also been involved in the celebration of any national event. Big Ben is often mistakenly called the tower itself. In fact, this nickname is the bell, and the tower itself is officially called the "Elizabeth Tower"

Madame Tussauds Museum
One of the most famous museums and symbols of London — the Wax Museum opened in 1835. It is named after Marie Tussauds. The first figures of the Tussauds Museum in London were short-lived, could be stored for only a few years. After the death of Marie Tussauds, her sons took care of preserving the figures and creating a more durable way of making them.
Modern technologies have given sculptors ample opportunities to improve figures — artificial skin, visually close to the present, eye and nail plates. Dentists are working on the smile of the figures, and hairdressers and craftsmen are implanting hair, making a hairstyle.

Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is both movable and hanging. Its length is 244 meters, and the height of the towers reaches 65 meters.
Two movable wings of the bridge weigh more than 1000 tons, during the lifting for the passage of ships, they can be raised at an angle of up to 83 degrees. Despite the huge weight and length of 61 meters, the wings rise within one minute.
The need for such a structure arose as a result of the sharp economic recovery of the country, which contributed to the growth of the population and transport. Construction began on June 21, 1886 and lasted 8 years. Over 400 people worked on the construction of the Tower Bridge. One day in 1952, a bus with passengers turned out to be on the bridge, at the time of its dilution, the driver accelerated and forced the car to fly from one wing to another.

Buckingham Palace
This is the official residence of the monarchs of Great Britain, where the current Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II, as well as Prince Philip and the Earl and Countess of Wessex now live. In addition, official receptions and ceremonies and banquets are held here. The Buckingham Palace building itself was built back in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham and was then considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
Since then, the building has retained the name "Buck House" or "Buckingham House". 58 years later, in 1762, King George III bought the house. visiting the palace is allowed only in August and September, when the Queen leaves here. Therefore, not all guests of London manage to visit inside.

Stonehenge
In the English county of Wiltshire, just 13 kilometers from the city of Salisbury, there is an ancient megalithic stone structure — Stonehenge. Covered with many secrets, it invariably attracts scientists, researchers and, of course, travelers. Even in the translation of the word "Stonehenge" there are discrepancies.
Someone is inclined to believe that the name comes from the literal translation from English stone hedge — "stone fence". Others (referring to the language of the ancient Celts), translate the name of this place as "dancing stones". The date of the beginning of construction is about 3100 BC. The purpose of the construction of Stonehenge was unknown for a very long time. In the XVIII century, there was an assumption about an ancient observatory, which forced researchers to associate Stonehenge with druids. The "cult" and "astronomical" variants were also joined by a connection with alien beings.

Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress that was built in the 12th century on the Castle Rock. Previously, it served as nothing more than the residence of the monarchs of Scotland. The castle building acquired a modern look already in the 17th century. On the territory of Edinburgh Castle there is a chapel named after St. Margaret.
The castle is the oldest building in the whole country. It is distinguished by its modesty and small size, and its appearance is comparable to the ancient buildings of the Celts. Inside the castle, you can admire the treasures of the kings of Scotland displayed there. These include such relics as the crown, the Skunk Stone. It was on it that the coronation of all the monarchs of the country took place. Also, an exhibition dedicated to the Scottish united forces is presented on the territory of Edinburgh Castle.

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre
The history of the famous theater was accomplished in three stages: in 1599, at the expense of the troupe of actors Lord Chamberlain's Men, to which William Shakespeare also belonged, the first building of the Globe Theater was built, which was destroyed by fire in 1613. A year later, the theater building was restored, and lasted until 1642.
And finally, in 1997, the modern building of the Globe Theater was opened, recreated according to the descriptions and parts of the foundation found during archaeological excavations. The Globe Theater was very popular due in large part to the fact that all the plays of Shakespeare and other outstanding playwrights of that era were staged on its stage. In 1613, during the premiere of Shakespeare's Henry VIII, a fire broke out in the theater: a stage cannon accidentally set fire to the thatched roof over the stage, and the theater burned to the ground. The tragic end of the first "Globe" marked the change of literary and theatrical eras: around the same time Shakespeare stopped writing plays, said goodbye to the world of theater and left for Stratford.

Sherlock Holmes Museum
The Sherlock Holmes Museum has existed since 1990 and is a popular attraction in London, attracting fans of the famous detective from all over the world.
The address of 221b Baker Street is fictional, as is the extraordinary detective Sherlock Holmes.
The creators of the museum used the house at number 239, and after years of disputes, they received from the Westminster authorities the right to change the official address to the one that is known to everyone from books and films about Sherlock. The rooms of the famous Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson and Mrs. Hudson are filled with details familiar from numerous stories and novels by Arthur Conan Doyle. Victorian furniture, carpets, fireplaces, dishes, old newspapers, inkwells create a pleasant atmosphere of good old England, and a laboratory for chemical experiments, a lot of smoking pipes and even an anatomical collection of Dr. Watson will help to get into the spirit of your favorite detectives to a greater extent.

Westminster Abbey
Sobornaya cerkovь Svyatogo Petra V Westminster, beginning all the time to call Westminster Abbey-from the main point of view of the Great Britain - Gothic church of Westminster (London), to the west of Westminster Palace.
It was built intermittently from 1245 to 1745, but retains a Gothic appearance. The traditional place of coronation and burial of the monarchs of Great Britain. The construction of the abbey church that exists today (that is, the "Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Westminster") began in 1245 under Henry III, who personally chose Westminster Abbey as his tomb. For many centuries, the monastery complex was the third most important center of scholarship and education in the country (after Cambridge and Oxford).

British Museum
The British Museum is the largest and most popular historical and art museum in the UK. Its permanent collection contains more than 8 million exhibits covering the history of world culture from its inception to the present day. It was created in 1753 by order of King George II of Great Britain on the basis of the collection of the physician, naturalist and scientist Sir Hans Sloan.
The museum opened for visitors 6 years later in the Montague House mansion, on the same site there is a modern building of the British Museum. The most popular is the exposition dedicated to Egyptian art, rivaling only the Cairo Egyptian Museum in the completeness of the exhibits, as well as the halls of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.