Kings and Queens of GreatBritain

Dinu Iulia

Kings of Great Britain or just characters?

King Arthur :King or battle commander ?

He fought everywhere. He

won great victories

The war was a way of life in Arthur's day. Just after he pulled the Sword from the Stone, he hurried to Bedegraine and defeated a rogue band of 11 powerful men who had rebelled against his leadership.He fought in battles and sent his knights out to do battle.Finally,he was mortally wounded in a particularly bloody battle. His life was full of battle.

None of the facts, however, precludes Arthur from also being a King. Nennius may have intended his phrase to imply that Arthur was one of the Kings alongside whom he fought, yet he was the greatest warrior among them. If the more formal title of Dux or Comes was meant, then perhaps a High-Kingship is implied as tradition would suggest. Early sources, no doubt, assumed that everyone already knew Arthur was a King, as with most Royal entries in the Annales Cambriae. There was no need to announce it.

Duncan and MacBeth Differece between history and Shakespeare’s

creation

Duncan and MacBeth were both Kings of Scotland and cousins.

Duncan was a much weaker character than Malcolm and a terrible leader.

Respected for his strong leadership qualities, MacBeth was a wise king who ruled successfully for 17 years.

Shakespeare's 'Macbeth', written nearly 400 years ago, is widely accepted as one of his great tragedies and rated alongside 'Hamlet', 'King Lear' and 'Julius Caesar'. But how historically correct is it?

In the play Duncan is portrayed as a strong, wise and elderly king whereas in reality he was a young, weak and ineffective ruler. Shakespeare's Macbeth has virtually no legitimate claim to the throne whereas the real MacBeth had a respectable claim through his mother's side.

However it has to be asked - who would have heard of these two Scottish kings had it not been for Shakespeare and the

'Scottish Play'?

Worst Kings of Great Britain

King George IV King Joh Lacklandand

He had an extravagant lifestyle ; He had a poor relationship with both his father and his wife, Caroline of Brunswick whom he even forbade to attend his coronation ;He introduced the unpopular Pains and Penalties Bill in a desperate, unsuccessful, attempt to divorce his wife ;Taxpayers were angry at his wasteful spending in time of war ; He did not provide national leadership in time of crisis, nor a role model for his people ; His ministers found his behavior selfish, unreliable, and irresponsible .

King George IV, notorious for womanising and lavishly squandering money while his people struggled through an economic crisis, has been voted Britains worst monarch.

He was a cruel, capricious, untrustworthy and paranoid man, whose failings as a human being were made manifest by the corrupting influence of power ;

He was physically unattractive, spoke badly, and was totally lacking in dash, charm, and physical prowess ;

On 15 July, beside the River Thames at Runnymede, King John I of England was humiliatingly forced to sign the Magna Carta and effectively cede power to the Barons.

‘’John was a tyrant. He was a wicked ruler who did not know how to behave like a King. Hell is too good a place for him.”

Cruelest Queens of Great Britain

Queen Elizabeth I : An evil tyrant? Queen Mary I : Lady Mary or Bloody Mary?and

She was as cruel as any ruler could get ;She had thousands of Catholics in Ireland and England murdered ;She even ordered piracy and raiding of Spanish ships ;She was also heavily involved in slave trading movement as she sponsored slavers to capture Africans ;She also gave Queen Mary of Scots refuge but she kept her prisoner for 19 years before finally killing her ;

She used her single status as a policy tool.

She had Jane Grey and John Dudley imprisoned and executed ;She married the spanish prince Phillip, so that she could produce an heir to the throne and prevent her half sister Elizabeth from succeeding to the throne ;She persuaded Parliament to repeal the Protestant laws, due to this fact many Protestant leaders were executed.The persecution of Protestants earned Mary her infamous name "Bloody Mary".

Elizabeth's birth was one of the most exciting political events in 16th century European history.

Interesting Fact The only time when there was no King or Queen in Britain was when the

country was a republic between 1649 and 1660. (In 1649 King Charles I was executed and Britain became a Republic for eleven years. The monarchy was restored in 1660.)

Kings and Queens of England

Titles and Honours

Duke, DuchessCreated 1337. Highest rank of peerage.

Marquis (also Marques), MarchionessCreated 1385. Rank above Earl, below a Duke.

Earl (Count), CountessCreated c.800. Chief royal representative in the shires, replacing the AngloSaxon equivalent, "ealdorman".

Viscount, ViscountessCreated 1440. Rank in peerage below Earl, above Baron. Originally, a viscount was a sheriff of a shire (county) and was the Earl's deputy.

Baron, BaronessCreated c.1066. Lowest rank of the peerage, usually applied to tenants-in-chief, the holders of land granted to them directly by the monarch.

BaronetCreated 1611. A special hereditary rank, above Knight and below Baron, introduced by James I for the purpose of raising money for the supression of the rebellion in Ulster. Baronets were required to pay £1,080 for the privilege of their rank.

LordNot a title, per se, but a form of address for a marquis, an earl, a viscount, a baron, a younger son of a duke or marquis, or a bishop.

 

Queen Elizabeth II

The Queen has 8 grandchildren: William, Harry, Peter, Zara, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise and James .

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was born in London on April, 21 1926, first child of the Duke and Duchess of York, subsequently King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Five weeks later she was christened in the chapel of Buckingham Palace and was given the names Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor. The Queen ascended the throne on February 6, 1952 upon the death of her father, King George VI. Her Coronation followed on June 2, 1953.

The Royal Family

The Queen is supported in her official duties by other working members of the Royal Family who carry out a wide range of public engagements.

The Royal Household aims to provide exceptional support and advice to The Queen, enabling her to serve the nation and its people. It employs approximately 1,200 staff, of whom approximately 450 are funded by the taxpayer. The staff work across a wide range of professions, including catering, housekeeping, accountancy, secretarial, media relations, human resources, art curatorship and strategic planning.

The Royal Household

The Royal Household departments

The Royal Collection Departme

ntThe Lord

Chamberlain's Office

The Privy Purse and Treasurers

Office

The Master of the Household's

Department

The Private Secretary's

Office