Monarchy and democracy

In Britain, the country that prides itself on championing democracy, existence of a monarchy seems to be irrational.Despite the obvious contradiction between democracy and monarchy, the Queen and the Royal Family have remained immensely popular as the symbol of the state, the symbol of the unity of the nation, the symbol of the stability and the guarantee of smooth changes of government, because officially the Monarch's politics are those which are carried out by the government of the day.

In the 19th century, seeing that they could not rely only on the support of the diminishing aristocracy, Queen Victoria and her husband Albert began making royalty more public, consciously offering to the nation a model of family life. With Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887 the government remodelled monarchy, laying emphasis on its ancient rituals as embodying the soul of the nation. And the people liked it. Since World War I when the ruling monarch King George V began to visit working-class areas and attended the first Football Cup Final at Wembley chatting with people, there was a strong tendency to speak of close relationship between common people and the Royal Family, to speak of England as one happy family. This feeling and popularity of the Monarchy was still more strengthened by the refusal of George VI to leave London during air attacks on the capital during World War II. By remaining in Buckingham Palace after it was hit and by visiting the most badly bombed parts of London George VI and his consort, Elizabeth (the Queen Mother), became the most loved people of Britain. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II who ascended the throne in 1952, the Monarchy caused great national and international interest. It has become an ideal which is deeply cultivated and supported by almost 80 % of its population.

Notes to the text:

to champion – защищать, бороться за

to embody – олицетворять

consort – супруг(а) (о королевской семье)

Task 15. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following words and word combinations: очевидное противоречие, чрезвычайно популярный, полагаться на, королевская власть, сознательно, пятидесятилетний юбилей, придавать значение чему-либо, олицетворять дух нации, обычные люди, укреплять, царствование, взойти на престол.

Task 16. Guess the words used in the text by their definitions: to become smaller, Queen’s husband, to be present at, to talk in a friendly way, to make stronger, a period when a queen (king) rules.

Task 17. Answer the questions:

1. What do the Queen and the Royal Family embody?

2. How did the Queen and her husband make royalty more public in the 19th century?

3. What did George V and George VI do to strengthen the popularity of the monarchy?

4. When did Queen Elizabeth II ascend the throne?

5. How many people in Britain support the monarchy?

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