Elizabeth
2 is the Queen of Great Britain. She was born in Windsor on 21 April
1926. Her full name is Elizabeth-Mary-Alexander Windsor. Her pet name is
Lilibet. She was educated at home, taught to read and write by her
parents. She knew foreign languages. Elizabeth was made her speech on
the radio in 1940. She was learned to drive. She was married Prince
Philip in 1947. Her first son Prince Charles was born in 1948. She came
to throne in 1952. Elizabeth was crowned in Westminster Abbey on 2 June
1953.
Now
she plays an important role in the country. She travels a lot. The Queen
has got four children: Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and
Prince Edward. She has five official residences in Britain; Buckingham
Palace and Windsor among them.
I’d
like to speak about Elizabeth 1 and Queen Victoria. Elizabeth
1
came to throne in 1558. She had many of her father’s qualities
including common sense and the strength of character. Like him, she
understood the people. She loved hunting and dancing. She traveled a lot
round the country. She wanted to know her people and to be known by them.
Her soldiers and sailors admired her courage [мужество].
The
universities were surprised at her leaning, for she could speak Latin,
Greek and several modern languages. She enjoyed a joke. During her reign
Queen Elizabeth solved her first problem, the Church. The Anglican
Church under Elizabeth followed a middle course. Most people in Britain
wanted what her father, Henry 8, had given them: a reformed Catholic
Church that used the English language and was free from foreign
influence. And they got what they wanted. Elizabeth’s next problem was
to keep her enemies quiet until her country was strong enough to defend
itself. The greatest danger came from Spain. In July 1588
the
Spanish Armada of 130 Spanish ships arrived in the Channel. The English
ships were faster than slow Armada. The English guns could shoot farther.
After the battle less than half of the proud Armada came back to its
home ports. This defeat of Spain was very important for England, though
some people said that the Spanish Armada was defeated more by bad
weather than by English guns.
During
Elizabeth’s reign England sent its explorers to different lands. They
tried to find a quick way to India round the north of Russia. As a
result they came to Archangelsk, were welcomed in Moscow and opened a
new trade with
Russia.
England wanted to find empty lands where it could plant her own colonies.
Queen Elizabeth’s reign was also famous for arts and theater
development. Elizabeth was a good musician herself. English music was
then among the best in Europe. Many great men whote poety, drama was
also famous. William Shakespeare’s plays were written in the years of
her reign.
Queen
Victoria
was a strong queen. Her monument you can see in front of Buckingham
Palace. Queen Victoria came to throne in 1837 and reigned until her
death in 1901. She ruled for the longest period in the English history,
for 64 years! Victoria married a German, Prince Albert, but he died at
the age of 42 in 1861. That was a great tragedy for Queen Victoria. She
left London and never lived in the city where she had been so happy with
her husband and nine children (5 daughters and 4 sons). But there are
places in London that reminds us of their love. One of them is the Royal
Albert Hall – a very large concert hall where the best musicians of
the world perform classical music. In front of the Albert Hall there is
a monument to Prince Albert built by Queen Victoria. Another place is
theVictoria and Albert museum (V & A) with its rich collections of
paintings and other works of art. The family life of Queen Victoria
touched people’s hearts. But this is not only reason why Queen
Victoria became very popular. During her reign Britain became a rich
industrial country with a developed trade, an empire with a lot of
colonies.