The Monarch

The Monarch is only a formal head of State. According to the constitutional doctrine “the monarch reigns, but he does not rule.” He is the symbolic head of the nation and of the Commonwealth.

As the symbolic head of the nation he / she perform a wide range of social and ceremonial functions. He holds receptions, State banquets, dinner parties, lunches and the like. He visits various parts of Britain every year and inaugurates scientific, artistic, industrial, charitable works of national importance. He is the personification of the State and theoretically every Act of State is done in his name - every paper sent out by a government department is marked “On Her/His Majesty’s Service”.

As the symbolic head of the executive body, the Monarch:

1. Summons, prorogues and dissolves Parliament. The power to dissolve Parliament includes the power to fix the date for a new general election.

2. Appoints all Ministers in the Government.

3. Appoints the archbishops and bishops of the Church of England.

4. Makes appointments to all important State offices.

5. Confers peerages, baronetcies, knighthoods and other honours - the names of people to be honoured are announced twice a year, on New Year’s Day and on the 6^th of June (the Sovereign’s official birthday). The names of persons who appear on the “Honour List” are those of men and women who have distinguished themselves in their careers: in politics, industry, science, literature, art, sport, etc.

It is worthy of remembering that the Monarch acts only on the advice of the Prime Minister. This means in practice that all these constitutional functions of the Monarch are in reality the functions of the Prime Minister, who is still effective head of the Executive Power.

Every Tuesday the Queen is visited by the Prime Minister, with whom she has a weekly audience when she is in London. Over the reign, Her Majesty has given regular Tuesday evening audiences to 10 Prime Ministers.

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.)

The longest reigning monarch is Queen Victoria who reigned for 63 years. Queen Elisabeth II has reigned for more than 50 years. Only five kings and queens in British history have reigned for 50 years or more. These are: Queen Victoria 1837-1901 (63 years 216 days); king George III 1760-1820 (59 years 96 days); James IV of Scotland/ James I of England 1567-1625 (57 years 246 days); Edward III 1327-1377 (50 years); king Henry III 1216-1272 (56 years);

Notes* a power, n. - повноваження to dissolve, v. - розпускати The Sovereign, n. - суверен, монарх “On Her Majesty’s Service” - від імені її величності to reign, v. - царювати, панувати, владарювати charitable work - доброчинний захід (робота) peerage, peerdom - каста перів рeerage book - книга перів baronetcy, n. - титул баронета knighthood, n. - лицарство to confer, v. - присвоювати звання

to summon, v. - скликати to fix the date, v. - призначити дату, зустріч in one’s name - від чийогось імені to be personification - бути уособленням to hold receptions - робити прийом to inaugurate, v. - урочисто вводити на посаду to prorogue, v. - назначати перерву у роботі парламенту prorogation, n. - перерва у роботі парламенту to distinguish oneself, v. - відзначатися to appoint, v. - призначати на посаду

Talking Points*

What does it mean to be a formal head of state for a monarch?

What are the “obligations” of the monarch?

How does the monarch act?

Task 1. Make up a dialogue on the text and reproduce it. Make use of the following formulas: “as far as we know”, “generally speaking”, “I would like to say a few words about”, “I would like to stress that “, “to tell you the truth”, “broadly speaking”- відверто кажучи.

Unit 3

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