The Royal Family

At present the British royal family is headed by Queen Elizabeth. When the Queen was born on the 21^st of April 1926, her grandfather, King George V, was on the throne and her uncle was his heir. The death of her grandfather and the abdication of her uncle brought her father to the throne as King George VI.

As a child she studied constitutional history and law as well as art and music. In addition she learned to ride. As she grew older she began to take part in public life, making her first broadcast at the age of 14.

The marriage of the young Princess Elisabeth to Philip, Duke of Edinburgh took place in 1947. She came to the throne after her father's death in 1952 and was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

Among Queen Elizabeth's many duties are the regular visits to foreign countries and especially those of the Commonwealth. The Queen has done much to signify the formalities of the monarchy, including allowing the ВВС to make a documentary film about the every day of the royal family. She also started the tradition of the “walkabout”, when she walks among the public crowds and stops to talk to some people.

The Queen's heir is Charles, Prince of Wales, who was born in 1948, married Lady Diana Spencer and has two children, Prince William and Prince Harry. The death of his wife, Diana, Princess of Wales (often called in mass media Princess Di) in 1997 turned out to be one of the greatest shocks for many people in Great Britain and abroad. In spite of the gossips and contradictions in mass media concerning her personality, she won the affection of great number of people by her beauty and generosity. She was one of the most popular members of the Royal Family widely admired for her commitment to helping children and supporting the aged and ill, particularly AIDS sufferers.

The Queen's other children are Princess Ann, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The Queen Mother, the widow of the late King George VI, celebrated her ninetieth birthday in 1990. The Queen's only sister, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, is well-known for her charity work.

Vocabulary:

abdication	[xbdI'keISqn]	отречение
throne	[Trqun]	трон, престол
to make one's broadcast	['brLdkRst]	выступать в радиопередаче
duke	[djHk]	герцог
mass media	[mxs'mJdIq]	средства массовой информации
generosity	[GFnq'rOsItI]	щедрость, благородство
commitment	[kq'mItmqnt]	приверженность
signify	['sIgnIfaI]	выражать
late		покойный

The Royal Family from the Reign of King George VI up to September 1990 (order of succession to the throne)

1. The Prince of Wales 8. Ann, Princess Royal

2. Prince William of Wales 9. Peter Philips

3. Prince Henry of Wales 10. Zara Philips

4. The Duke of York 11. Princess Margaret

5. Princess Beatrice of York 12. Viscount Linely

6. Princess Eugenie of York 13. Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones

7. Prince Edward

Names:

King George	['GLG]	Георг VI, английский король с 1936 г., из Виндзор­ской династии.
Queen Elizabeth	[IlIzq'bqT]	королева Елизавета II
Princess Margaret	[prIn'sFs 'mRgqrit]		принцесса Маргарет
Charles, Prince of Wales	['CRlz]	Чарльз, принц Уэльский
Prince William of Wales	['wIljqm]	принц Уильям
Prince Henry of Wales	['henrI]	принц Генри
Lady Diana Spencer	['leIdI daI'xnq]	леди Диана Спенсер
Andrew, Duke of York	['xndrH 'djHk qv'jLk]				Эндрю, герцог Йоркский
Princess Beatrice of York	[prIn'sFs 'bIetrIs qv'jLk]	Беатрис, принцесса Йоркская
Princess Eugenie of York	[prIn'sFs 'jHGeInI qv'jLk]	Юджин, принцесса Йоркская
Prince Edward	['prIns 'edwqd]	принц Эдвард
Ann, Princess Royal	['xn prIn'sFs 'rOiql]			принцесса Анна
Peter Philips	['pJtq 'fIlIps]	Питер Филипс
Zara Philips	['zRrq 'fIlIps]	Зара Филипс
David, Viscount Linely	['deIvId 'vaIkaunt 'laInlI]					Давид, виконт Лайнли
Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones	['leIdI 'sFqrq 'RmstrON 'Gqunz]		леди Сара Армстронг-Джонс