For the first-year undergraduates

Read the text and answer the questions based on the text:

1. Is the Queen of the UK also the Queen of some other countries?

        2.What are the powers of the monarch in the UK?

        3. Who does the real power in the Uk belong to?

        4. What is the Commonwealth?

        5. How many countries does it unite?

        6. Who is Head of the Commonwealth?

          

The British Monarchy Today

     The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch reigns (but doesn’t rule the country) with the support of Parliament The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name, It is her government, her armed forces, her law courts and so on. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done however on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.

     Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain.  The process of decolonization began in 1947 with the independence of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. Now, apart from Hong Kong and a few small islands, there is no longer an empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence over the former colonies of the British Empire. An association of the former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It unites 53 countries such as Ireland, Burma, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand …

     The Queen is very rich as are other members of the royal family. In addition, the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.