The British Royal Family: Monarchy Tradition

Puntos clave

Everyone knows who Queen Elizabeth II was, but, how did she come to the throne? Were there any other important queens before her? And why is King Charles III the current monarch? Let's learn the history of the British Royal Family!

Info 1: The Origins of English Royalty

The English monarchy appeared in 878, when Alfred the Great proclaimed himself King of England. Therefore, this monarchy has more than 12 centuries of history! The current royal family descends from the famous Queen Victoria.

Info 2: Queen Victoria I

Victoria was born on May 24, 1819, in London. Her parents were the king, George III, and a German princess. She inherited the throne when she was 18 years old. 

In 1840, at the age of 20, she married Prince Albert of Germany. They had nine children, and Victoria arranged the marriage of all her sons and daughters until all of them were married into royal and noble families across Europe. She succeeded in seating her grandchildren on the thrones of Russia, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Romania, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. 

She created a big and royal family tree! This achievement gave her the nickname "the Grandmother of Europe". In fact, she was the grand-grand-mother of Queen Elizabeth II, the last and beloved Queen of England. 

Info 3: The Windsor

Queen Victoria belonged to the German house of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but during World War I her grandson, George V, changed the family name to Windsor, inspired by Windsor Castle. This happened in 1917 and the name still remains in the family.

Info 4: Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II was born in 1926. She married Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, who rejected his rights as heir to the throne, but received the title of Duke of Edinburgh in return. 

Elizabeth succeeded to the throne in 1952, when she was 25 years old. In fact, in 2022 she became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, which marks 70 years in the throne. She was the longest reigning and oldest monarch in the world! The previous record was held by Queen Victoria.

Succession of Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II and Philip had four children: Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward. When Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022, Prince Charles, now King Charles III, inherited the throne. The successor of Charles will be Prince William of Wales, and little Prince George will be after him.

Info 4: The power of the Royal Family

King Charles III, like other British queens and kings before him, is not only the Head of the State, but the Head of Anglican Church and the armed forces too. The British monarch is also Head of the Commonwealth, an association of 54 independent countries, most of which were once colonies of the British Empire, like Australia, New Zealand or Canada. The King or Queen is Head of State of 16 member states.

Info 5: Key vocabulary

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