1.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
–
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, its dependencies and its overseas territories. The monarchs title is King or Queen, the current monarch and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne on the death of her father, King George VI, on 6 February 1952. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, as the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces, from 1603, when the Scottish monarch King James VI inherited the English throne as James I, both the English and Scottish kingdoms were ruled by a single sovereign. From 1649 to 1660, the tradition of monarchy was broken by the republican Commonwealth of England, the Act of Settlement 1701 excluded Roman Catholics, or those who married Catholics, from succession to the English throne. In 1707, the kingdoms of England and Scotland were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain, and in 1801, the British monarch became nominal head of the vast British Empire, which covered a quarter of the worlds surface at its greatest extent in 1921. After the Second World War, the vast majority of British colonies and territories became independent, George VI and his successor, Elizabeth II, adopted the title Head of the Commonwealth as a symbol of the free association of its independent member states. The United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth monarchies that share the person as their monarch are called Commonwealth realms. In the uncodified Constitution of the United Kingdom, the Monarch is the Head of State, oaths of allegiance are made to the Queen and her lawful successors. God Save the Queen is the British national anthem, and the monarch appears on postage stamps, coins, the Monarch takes little direct part in Government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majestys Government, which comprises Ministers, primarily the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they have the direction of the Armed Forces of the Crown, the Civil Service and other Crown Servants such as the Diplomatic and Secret Services. Judicial power is vested in the Judiciary, who by constitution, the Church of England, of which the Monarch is the head, has its own legislative, judicial and executive structures. Powers independent of government are legally granted to public bodies by statute or Statutory Instrument such as an Order in Council. The Sovereigns role as a monarch is largely limited to non-partisan functions. This role has been recognised since the 19th century, the constitutional writer Walter Bagehot identified the monarchy in 1867 as the dignified part rather than the efficient part of government. Whenever necessary, the Monarch is responsible for appointing a new Prime Minister, the Prime Minister takes office by attending the Monarch in private audience, and after kissing hands that appointment is immediately effective without any other formality or instrument. Since 1945, there have only been two hung parliaments, the first followed the February 1974 general election when Harold Wilson was appointed Prime Minister after Edward Heath resigned following his failure to form a coalition. Although Wilsons Labour Party did not have a majority, they were the largest party, the second followed the May 2010 general election, in which the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form the first coalition government since World War II
2.
British Armed Forces
–
They also promote Britains wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and provide humanitarian aid. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the leading military. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the armed forces by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, with the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India and this ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began. The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East, approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations, reflecting Britains new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War, the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. By the mid-1970s, the forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, however the Dhofar Rebellion and The Troubles emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War. Since the end of the Cold War, an international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare. In addition to the campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. As Sovereign and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Armed Forces, the Queen, however, remains the ultimate authority of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to the monarch. It has been claimed that this includes the power to prevent unconstitutional use of the armed forces, responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees, the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of representatives of the services
3.
Victoria Cross
–
The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855. Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, recommended, assessed, gazetted and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field. Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
4.
Distinguished Conduct Medal
–
The Distinguished Conduct Medal, post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, the medal was also awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies. Prior to the institution of this decoration, there had been no medal awarded by the British government in recognition of acts of gallantry in the Army. One known prior award for acts of gallantry by other ranks was the unofficial Sir Harry Smiths Medal for Gallantry, although the British government initially disapproved of Sir Harrys institution of the medal, it subsequently paid for it and thereby gave it recognition, but not official status. Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal are entitled to the post-nominal letters DCM, a Bar to the medal, introduced in 1881, could be awarded in recognition of each subsequent act of distinguished conduct for which the medal would have been awarded. During the First World War, the concern arose that the number of medals which were being awarded would devalue the prestige of those already awarded. The Military Medal for bravery in battle on land was instituted on 25 March 1916. The lesser Military Medal was usually awarded for bravery from this date, around 25,000 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded during the First World War, while approximately 1,900 were awarded during the Second World War. The medal could also be awarded to personnel serving in any of the Sovereigns forces in the British Empire. It remained an exclusively Army award until 1942, when other ranks of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, in May 1894, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various military medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony introduced this system in August and September 1894 respectively, other territories which made use of the opportunity were Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In respect of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, two versions are known to have been awarded, both King Edward VII versions. A territorial version of the Distinguished Conduct Medal was also approved for the Union of South Africa in 1913, More than 300 members of the Union Defence Forces were awarded the applicable British versions of the decoration during the two World Wars. These three decorations were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, to serve as the second award for gallantry for all ranks of all the Arms of the Service. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk,36 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, the suspender of all versions of the medal is an ornamented scroll pattern. The manner of attachment of the suspender to the medal varied between medal versions and, on early versions, allows the medal to swivel, all medals awarded bear the recipient’s number, rank, name and unit on the rim. From 1902, after the accession of King Edward VII, the effigy of the reigning monarch replaced the trophy of arms, King Edward VII – EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. King George V, bareheaded – GEORGIVS V BRITT, OMN, REX ET IND, King George V, crowned – GEORGIVS•V•D•G•BRITT•OMN•REX•ET•INDIÆ•IMP•
5.
Obverse and reverse
–
In this usage, obverse means the front face of the object and reverse means the back face. The obverse of a coin is commonly called heads, because it depicts the head of a prominent person. In fields of scholarship outside numismatics, the front is more commonly used than obverse. For prints and drawings with material on both sides the one judged as more significant will be the recto, a convention now exists typically to display the obverse to the left and the reverse to the right in photographs and museum displays, but this is not invariably observed. Following this principle, in the most famous of ancient Greek coins, the tetradrachm of Athens, the obverse is the head of Athena, similar versions of these two images, both symbols of the state, were used on the Athenian coins for more than two centuries. The opposite side may have varied from time to time and this change happened in the coinage of Alexander the Great, which continued to be minted long after his death. The various Hellenistic rulers who were his successors followed his tradition and this script alone style then was used on nearly all Islamic coinage until the modern period. The type of Justinian II was revived after the end of Iconoclasm, without images, therefore, it is not always easy to tell which side will be regarded as the obverse without some knowledge. After 695, Islamic coins avoided all images of persons and usually, the side expressing the Six Kalimas is usually defined as the obverse. The form of currency follows its function, which is to serve as an accepted medium of exchange of value. Traditionally, most states have been monarchies where the person of the monarch, if not provided for on the obverse, the reverse side usually contains information relating to a coins role as medium of exchange. Additional space typically reflects the countrys culture or government, or evokes some aspect of the states territory. Regarding the euro, some regarding the obverse and reverse of the euro coins exists. This rule does not apply to the coins as they dont have a common side. A number of the used for obverse national sides of euro coins were taken from the reverse of the old pre-euro coins of some individual countries. Several countries continue to use portraits of the monarch and the Republic of Ireland continues to use the State Arms. The Chrysanthemum Crest was no longer used after the war, and so, the side on which the date continues to be regarded as the reverse. Following ancient tradition, the obverse of coins of the United Kingdom almost always feature the head of the monarch
6.
St Edward's Crown
–
St Edwards Crown is one of the oldest Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and the centrepiece of the coronation regalia. Named after Edward the Confessor, it has traditionally used to crown English and British monarchs at their coronation ceremonies. The current version was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661, Edward the Confessor wore the first crown of this name at Easter, Whitsun and Christmas. It may have incorporated elements of a crown that belonged to Alfred the Great, in 1066, St Edwards Crown was reputedly used at the coronation of William the Conqueror. It was subsequently used for the coronations of William II, Henry I, Stephen, Henry II, Richard I, at the first coronation of Henry III in 1216, a chaplet was used instead of the crown. From this it was inferred by the German historian, Reinhold Pauli, however, Arthur Penrhyn Stanley maintained that the original crown and regalia were kept in the Treasury until the time of Henry VIII, and survived until 1642. It was supposedly used in 1533 to crown the wife of Henry VIII. During the English Civil War in 1642, Parliament sold the medieval St Edwards Crown, the British monarchy was eventually restored in 1661, and in preparation for the coronation of Charles II, a new St Edwards Crown was made by Sir Robert Vyner. It is 30 cm tall and weighs 2.23 kg and its purple velvet cap is trimmed with ermine. In 1671, Colonel Thomas Blood briefly stole the crown from the Tower of London, a new monde was created for the coronation of James II, and for William III the base was changed from a circle to an oval. St Edwards Crown was placed on the coffin of Edward VII for his lying in state, imitation pearls on the arches and base were replaced with golden beads. It was also smaller to fit George V, the first monarch to be crowned with St Edwards Crown in over 200 years. When not used to crown the monarch, St Edwards Crown was placed on the altar during the coronation, however, it did not feature at all at the coronation of Queen Victoria. Before 1649, it was usual for a monarch to be crowned with the original St Edwards Crown, images based on the crown are used in coats of arms, badges, logos and various other insignia throughout the Commonwealth realms to symbolise the monarchs royal authority. In these contexts, it replaced the Tudor Crown in 1953 by order of Queen Elizabeth II, use of the crowns image in this way is by permission of the monarch. Coronation crown Canadian royal symbols St Edwards Crown at the Royal Collection, the Crown Jewels at the Royal Family website
7.
Duke of Wellington's Regiment
–
The Duke of Wellingtons Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Kings Division. In 1702 Colonel George Hastings, 8th Earl of Huntingdon, was authorised to raise a new regiment, as was the custom in those days the regiment was named Huntingdons Regiment after its Colonel. As Colonel succeeded Colonel the name changed, but in 1751 regiments were given numbers, in 1782 the regiments title was changed to the 33rd Regiment, thus formalising an association with the West Riding of Yorkshire which, even then, had been long established. The first Duke of Wellington died in 1852 and in the following year Queen Victoria, in recognition of the regiments long ties to him, in 1881, following the Childers Reforms, the 33rd was linked with the 76th Regiment of Foot, who shared their depot in Halifax. The two regiments became, respectively, the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Duke of Wellingtons Regiment, in 1948 the 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated into a single battalion, the 1st Battalion. On 6 June 2006 the Dukes were amalgamated with the Prince of Waless Own Regiment of Yorkshire, following further mergers, in 2012, the battalion was redesignated as the new 1st Battalion of the regiment. In Korea, the Dukes desperate defence of the Hook position halted the last major Chinese attempt to break the United Nations Line before the truce, in July 1953, brought the war to an end. In Cyprus the battalion was successful in Operation Golden Rain, destroying a major EOKA terrorist group operating in the Troodos Mountains in 1956. In 1964 the battalion joined the NATO deterrence in Germany on the front line in the Cold War and they were amongst the first units to cross the border from Kuwait in the 2003 Iraq War. The Duke of Wellingtons Regiment was originally formed in 1702 as Huntingdons Regiment, as regiments at that time took the name of the Colonel taking it over it became, - Henry Leighs Regiment, then Robert Duncansons Regiment and George Wades Regiment. On 31 August 1782 Lord Cornwallis heard that the King had approved of the new title, the 76th Regiment was originally raised, by Simon Harcourt as Lord Harcourts Regiment on 17 November 1745 and disbanded in June 1746. Following the loss of Minorca, to the French, it was reraised in November 1756 as the 61st Regiment, but renumbered to 76th, by General Order in 1758, and again disbanded in 1763. A second battalion raised by that regiment in October 1758, for service in Africa, was renumbered as the 86th Regiment and it was disbanded at Stirling Castle in March 1784. The regiment was raised for service in India by the Honorable East India Company in 1787. In 1881 the 76th Regiment, which shared the same Depot in Halifax as the 33rd, was linked to the 33rd, under the Childers Reforms, in January 1921 it was again retitled to The Duke of Wellingtons Regiment, or DWR for short. Within months of its raising the regiment was despatched to join Malboroughs army in Holland. After five months and only two battles it was sent to Portugal, along with five other of Malboroughs best regiments, the 33rd fought in many battles including Valencia de Alcantara, Zaragossa, and less favourably at Almansa and Brihuega. The 33rd itself had a reputation for its professionalism and capability
8.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
9.
Royal Welch Fusiliers
–
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and to part in the imminent war with France. The Royal accolade was earned fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713 and it was one of the oldest infantry regiments in the British Army, hence the archaic spelling of the word Welch instead of Welsh.56. During those decades, the regiment itself unofficially used the Welch form, the regiment was amalgamated with the Royal Regiment of Wales on 1 March 2006, to become the 1st Battalion, Royal Welsh. The regiment primarily recruited from North Wales and it should not be confused with the Welch Regiment, which recruited from South and West Wales. The regiment was formed by Lord Henry Herbert at Ludlow in March 1689 to oppose James II, in the following year, it fought at the Siege of Athlone in June and the Battle of Aughrim in July. The regiment embarked for Flanders in 1694 for service in the Nine Years War and it fought at the Siege of Namur in July 1695. The regiment returned to Flanders in 1701 for service in the War of the Spanish Succession, it saw action at the Battle of Schellenberg in July 1704, the regiment returned to Flanders in 1742 for service in the War of the Austrian Succession. It was in action at the Battle of Dettingen in June 1743, the regiment embarked for Germany in 1758 for service in the Seven Years War. It fought at Battle of Minden in August 1759, the Battle of Warburg in July 1760, the regiment was sent to North America for service in the American Revolutionary War in 1773. The light infantry and grenadier companies of the Fusiliers saw bloody action at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775, All companies, except the grenadiers who were garrisoning New York City, fought at the Battle of Guilford Court House in March 1781. The regiment participated in every campaign up to the Siege of Yorktown in September 1781. At the surrender of Yorktown, the Royal Welch Fusiliers was the only British regiment not to surrender its colours, the regiment embarked for the West Indies in 1794 for service in the French Revolutionary Wars. It took part in the capture of Port-au-Prince in Haiti in 1795 before returning home in 1796 and it also took part in the Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland in August 1799 and fought at the Battle of Alkmaar in October 1799. It then went to Egypt for the Battle of Alexandria in March 1801, the regiment embarked for the Peninsula in 1810. It saw action at the Battle of Albuera in May 1811, the Siege of Badajoz also in May 1811 and the Battle of Salamanca in July 1812. It then pursued the French Army into France and fought at the Battle of the Pyrenees in July 1813, the Battle of Nivelle in November 1813 and the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. It also took part in the Battle of Waterloo in June 1815 when it fought under Lieutenant Colonel Hugh Mitchell, in the nineteenth century, the regiment took part in the Crimean War, the Second Opium War, the Indian Mutiny and the Third Anglo-Burmese War
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_Ribbon.png){kind=small}
_ribbon_-vector.svg){kind=small}
_-_ribbon_bar.png){kind=small}
_ribbon_bar.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_UK.png){kind=small}
_UK.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
ribbon.jpg){kind=small}
_Ribbon.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
_UK_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
_ribbon.png){kind=small}
