1.
Royal Victorian Order
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The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch of the Commonwealth realms, members of the monarchs family, the present monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Sovereign of the order, its motto is Victoria, and its official day is 20 June. The orders chapel is the Savoy Chapel in London, the organisation was founded a year preceding Victorias Diamond Jubilee, so as to give the Queen time to complete a list of first inductees. The orders official day was made 20 June of each year, in 1902, King Edward VII created the Royal Victorian Chain as a personal decoration for royal personages and a few eminent British subjects and it was the highest class of the Royal Victorian Order. It is today distinct from the order, though it is issued by the chancery of the Royal Victorian Order. The order was open to foreigners from its inception, the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Queen Elizabeth II then appointed her daughter, Anne, Princess Royal, to the position in 2007. Foreigners may be admitted as members, there are no limits to the number of any grade. Retiring Deans of the Royal Peculiars of St, prior to 1984, the grades of Lieutenant and Member were classified as Members and Members, respectively, but both with the post-nominals MVO. On 31 December of that year, Queen Elizabeth II declared that those in the grade of Member would henceforth be Lieutenants with the post-nominals LVO. Upon admission into the Royal Victorian Order, members are given various insignia of the organisation, each grade being represented by different emblems and robes. For Knights and Dames Grand Cross, Commanders, and Lieutenants, the orders ribbon is blue with red-white-red stripe edging, the only difference being that for foreigners appointed into the society, their ribbon bearing an additional central white stripe. For Knights Grand Cross, the ribbon is 82.5 millimetres wide, for Dames Grand Cross 57.1 millimetres, for Knights and Dames Commander 44.4 millimetres, and for all other members 31.7 millimetres. Though after the death of a Knight or Dame Grand Cross their insignia may be retained by their family, the collar must be returned. Knights and Dames Grand Cross also wear a mantle of blue satin edged with red satin and lined with white satin. Since 1938, the chapel of the Royal Victorian Order has been the Queens Chapel of the Savoy, in central London, upon the occupants death, the plate is retained, leaving the stalls festooned with a record of the orders Knights and Dames Grand Cross since 1938. There is insufficient space in the chapel for the display of knights and dames banners, founded by Michael Jackson, the group has, since 2008, gathered biennially. The practice of notifying the Prime Minister of Canada of nominees ended in 1982, in Canada, the order has come to be colloquially dubbed as the Royal Visit Order, as the majority of appointments are made by the sovereign during her tours of the country. Persons have been removed from the order at the monarchs command, anthony Blunt, a former surveyor of the Queens Pictures, was in 1979 stripped of his knighthood, after it was revealed that he had been a spy
Royal Victorian Order
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Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
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Queen Victoria pictured at age 81, four years after she founded the Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
Royal Victorian Order
2.
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon. She was the last Empress consort of India, born into a family of British nobility, she came to prominence in 1923 when she married Albert, Duke of York, the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. The couple and their daughters embodied traditional ideas of family and public service and she undertook a variety of public engagements and became known as the Smiling Duchess because of her consistent public expression. In 1936, her husband became king when his brother, Edward VIII. She accompanied her husband on diplomatic tours to France and North America before the start of World War II, during the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. In recognition of her role as an asset to British interests, after the war, her husbands health deteriorated and she was widowed at the age of 51. Her elder daughter, aged 25, became the new queen, on the death of Queen Mary in 1953, Elizabeth became the most senior member of the British royal family after the sovereign, and was viewed as the family matriarch. In her later years, she was a popular member of the family. She continued a public life until just a few months before her death at the age of 101, seven weeks after the death of her younger daughter. Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the youngest daughter and the ninth of ten children of Claude Bowes-Lyon, Lord Glamis, other possible locations include Forbes House in Ham, London, the home of her maternal grandmother, Louisa Scott. Her birth was registered at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, near the Strathmores English country house, St Pauls Walden Bury, which was also given as her birthplace in the census the following year. She was christened there on 23 September 1900, in the parish church, All Saints. She spent much of her childhood at St Pauls Walden and at Glamis Castle and she was educated at home by a governess until the age of eight, and was fond of field sports, ponies and dogs. When she started school in London, she astonished her teachers by precociously beginning an essay with two Greek words from Xenophons Anabasis and her best subjects were literature and scripture. After returning to education under a German Jewish governess, Käthe Kübler. On her fourteenth birthday, Britain declared war on Germany, four of her brothers served in the army. Her elder brother, Fergus, an officer in the Black Watch Regiment, was killed in action at the Battle of Loos in 1915, another brother, Michael, was reported missing in action on 28 April 1917. Three weeks later, the family discovered he had captured after being wounded
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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Portrait by
Richard Stone, 1986
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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Glamis Castle, the Strathmores' Scottish home
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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Elizabeth (back row second from left) as a bridesmaid at the wedding of
Princess Mary and
Viscount Lascelles, 1922
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
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The Duke (right) and Duchess of York in
Queensland, 1927
3.
George VI
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George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death. He was the last Emperor of India and the first Head of the Commonwealth, known as Albert until his accession, George VI was born in the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria, and was named after his great-grandfather Albert, Prince Consort. As the second son of King George V, he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his life in the shadow of his elder brother. He attended naval college as a teenager, and served in the Royal Navy, in 1920, he was made Duke of York. He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and they had two daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, in the mid-1920s, he had speech therapy for a stammer, which he never fully overcame. Georges elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936, however, later that year Edward revealed his desire to marry divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson. British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin advised Edward that for political and religious reasons he could not marry a divorced woman, Edward abdicated in order to marry, and George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor. During Georges reign, the break-up of the British Empire and its transition into the Commonwealth of Nations accelerated, the parliament of the Irish Free State removed direct mention of the monarch from the countrys constitution on the day of his accession. The following year, a new Irish constitution changed the name of the state to Ireland, from 1939, the Empire and Commonwealth – except Ireland – was at war with Nazi Germany. War with Italy and Japan followed in 1940 and 1941, respectively, though Britain and its allies were ultimately victorious in 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union rose as pre-eminent world powers and the British Empire declined. After the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947, George remained king of countries, but relinquished the title of Emperor of India in June 1948. Ireland formally declared itself a republic and left the Commonwealth in 1949, George adopted the new title of Head of the Commonwealth. He was beset by problems in the later years of his reign. He was succeeded by his eldest daughter, Elizabeth II, George was born at York Cottage, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, during the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria. His father was Prince George, Duke of York, the second and eldest-surviving son of the Prince and his mother was the Duchess of York, the eldest child and only daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Teck. His birthday was the 34th anniversary of the death of his great-grandfather, Albert, uncertain of how the Prince Consorts widow, Queen Victoria, would take the news of the birth, the Prince of Wales wrote to the Duke of York that the Queen had been rather distressed. Two days later, he again, I really think it would gratify her if you yourself proposed the name Albert to her. Consequently, he was baptised Albert Frederick Arthur George at St. Mary Magdalenes Church near Sandringham three months later, within the family, he was known informally as Bertie
George VI
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Formal portrait, c. 1940–46
George VI
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Four kings: Edward VII (far right), his son George, Prince of Wales, later George V (far left), and grandsons Edward, later Edward VIII (rear), and Albert, later George VI (foreground), c. 1908
George VI
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Prince Albert (left) at an
RAF dinner in 1919 with
Sir Hugh Trenchard (centre) and
Christopher Courtney (right)
George VI
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The Duke and Duchess (centre, reading programmes) at
Eagle Farm Racecourse,
Brisbane, 1927
4.
George V
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George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. He was the son of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. From the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession behind his father and his own brother, Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence. From 1877 to 1891, George served in the Royal Navy, on the death of his grandmother in 1901, Georges father became King-Emperor of the British Empire, and George was created Prince of Wales. He succeeded his father in 1910 and he was the only Emperor of India to be present at his own Delhi Durbar. His reign saw the rise of socialism, communism, fascism, Irish republicanism, the Parliament Act 1911 established the supremacy of the elected British House of Commons over the unelected House of Lords. In 1917, George became the first monarch of the House of Windsor, in 1924 he appointed the first Labour ministry and in 1931 the Statute of Westminster recognised the dominions of the Empire as separate, independent states within the Commonwealth of Nations. He had health problems throughout much of his reign and at his death was succeeded by his eldest son. George was born on 3 June 1865, in Marlborough House and he was the second son of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Albert Edward and Alexandra. His father was the eldest son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and he was baptised at Windsor Castle on 7 July 1865 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. As a younger son of the Prince of Wales, there was expectation that George would become king. He was third in line to the throne, after his father and elder brother, George was only 17 months younger than Albert Victor, and the two princes were educated together. John Neale Dalton was appointed as their tutor in 1871, neither Albert Victor nor George excelled intellectually. For three years from 1879, the brothers served on HMS Bacchante, accompanied by Dalton. They toured the colonies of the British Empire in the Caribbean, South Africa and Australia, and visited Norfolk, Virginia, as well as South America, the Mediterranean, Egypt, Dalton wrote an account of their journey entitled The Cruise of HMS Bacchante. Between Melbourne and Sydney, Dalton recorded a sighting of the Flying Dutchman, after Lausanne, the brothers were separated, Albert Victor attended Trinity College, Cambridge, while George continued in the Royal Navy. He travelled the world, visiting many areas of the British Empire, during his naval career he commanded Torpedo Boat 79 in home waters then HMS Thrush on the North America station, before his last active service in command of HMS Melampus in 1891–92. From then on, his rank was largely honorary
George V
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Coronation portrait by
Sir Luke Fildes, 1911
George V
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George as a young boy, 1870
George V
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George, 1893
George V
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York Cottage at
Sandringham House: George and his wife lived here from 1893 to 1926.
5.
Edward VIII
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Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January 1936 until his abdication on 11 December the same year. Edward was the eldest son of George V and Mary of Teck and he was named Prince of Wales on his sixteenth birthday, nine weeks after his father succeeded as king. As a young man, he served in the British Army during the First World War, Edward became king on his fathers death in early 1936. However, he showed impatience with court protocol, and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, he caused a crisis by proposing marriage to Wallis Simpson. When it became apparent that he could not marry Wallis and remain on the throne and he was succeeded by his younger brother, George VI. With a reign of 326 days, Edward was one of the monarchs in British history. After his abdication, he was created Duke of Windsor and he married Wallis in France on 3 June 1937, after her second divorce became final. Later that year, the couple toured Germany, after the war, Edward spent the rest of his life in retirement in France. Edward was born on 23 June 1894 at White Lodge, Richmond Park and he was the eldest son of the Duke and Duchess of York. His father was the son of the Prince and Princess of Wales and his mother was the eldest daughter of Francis and Mary Adelaide, Duke and Duchess of Teck. At the time of his birth, he was third in the line of succession to the throne and he was baptised Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David in the Green Drawing Room of White Lodge on 16 July 1894 by Edward White Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury. The names were chosen in honour of Edwards late uncle, who was known to his family as Eddy or Edward and he was always known to his family and close friends by his last given name, David. As was common practice with children of the time, Edward. One of Edwards early nannies often abused him by pinching him before he was due to be presented to his parents and his subsequent crying and wailing would lead the Duke and Duchess to send him and the nanny away. The nanny was discharged after her mistreatment of the children was discovered, Edwards father, though a harsh disciplinarian, was demonstrably affectionate, and his mother displayed a frolicsome side with her children that belied her austere public image. She was amused by the children making tadpoles on toast for their French master, initially Edward was tutored at home by Helen Bricka. Upon his parents return, Edward was placed under the care of two men, Frederick Finch and Henry Hansell, who brought up Edward and his brothers
Edward VIII
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In ceremonial dress at age 16 Portrait by
Arthur Stockdale Cope
Edward VIII
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British Royalty
Edward VIII
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Edward (second from left) with his father
George, Duke of York, and his younger brother and sister (
Prince Albert and
Princess Mary), photograph by George's mother
Alexandra, 1899
Edward VIII
–
Edward serving as a midshipman on board the
Hindustan, 1910
6.
Herbert Henry Spender-Clay
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Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was an English soldier and Conservative Party politician. He sat in the House of Commons from 1910 to 1937, Spender-Clay was educated at Eton and Sandhurst, and in 1896 was commissioned as an officer of the 2nd Life Guards. He served in the Second Boer War, and resigned his commission in 1902 to take up farming on his fathers estate in Surrey and he was elected at January 1910 general election as the Member of Parliament for the Tunbridge division of Kent. He was re-elected in December 1910, and when the division was abolished in boundary changes for the 1918 general election he was returned as a Coalition Conservative for the new Tonbridge division and he held that seat through a further six general elections until his death. He died on 15 February 1937 at his London home on Hyde Park Street, Herbert Henry Spender-Clay was born on 4 June 1875, the only son of Joseph Spender-Clay and Sydney Garrett. He was a Godson of Rev John Harden Clay, the son of Herberts great uncle Rev John Clay, at the age of 29, he married on 29 October 1904, Pauline Astor, who was then 24. She was the daughter of William Waldorf Astor, 1st Viscount Astor. He was the son of John Bowyer Buchanan Nichols of Lawford Hall, Essex. He was appointed Ambassador to the Netherlands and they lived at Lawford Hall, Manningtree Essex, and he was buried at St Marys, Lawford. Where and when she died is not known and they had two sons and two daughters. Rachel Pauline Spender-Clay was born on 19 January 1907, married at the age of 22 on 6 February 1929 in St James Piccadilly to 27-year-old Hon and they had a son and a daughter. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1929, and made CMG and they lived at Ford Manor, Lingfield, Sussex and also had a London house at 21 Hill Street. He died on 15 February 1937 at Dormansland at the age of 61, hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Herbert Spender-Clay
Herbert Henry Spender-Clay
–
Herbert Henry Spender-Clay in 1917
7.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
World War II
–
Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
World War II
–
The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
World War II
–
Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
World War II
–
Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
8.
Political Warfare Executive
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The Executive was formed in August 1941, reporting to the Foreign Office. The staff came mostly from SO1, which had been until then the arm of the Special Operations Executive. Roundell Palmer later replaced Dalton when he was moved to become President of the Board of Trade, ivone Kirkpatrick, an advisor to the BBC and formerly a diplomat in Berlin, also joined the committee, while Leeper left to become British Ambassador to Greece. PWE included staff from the Ministry of Information, the elements of the Special Operations Executive. Its main headquarters was at Woburn Abbey with London offices at the BBCs Bush House, as the Political Warfare Executive was a secret department, when dealing with the outside world it used the covername Political Intelligence Department. The main forms of propaganda were in the form of radio broadcasts and printed postcards, PWE created a number of clandestine radio stations including Gustav Siegfried Eins, Soldatensender Calais and Kurzwellesender Atlantik. This latter source was used to broadcast lists of streets that had been destroyed, after D-Day most of PWEs white propaganda staff transferred to the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF. At the end of World War II PWE were tasked with the re-education of German Prisoners of War, as with different types of propaganda, PWE used the same white, grey, and black classifications for German POWs. Prisoners classed as black were considered dangerous ardent Nazis, with anti-Nazis classed as white, ISBN 1-903608-08-2 The Fourth Arm - Psychological Warfare 1938-45, Charles Cruickshank. ISBN 0-7067-0212-3 The Black Game - British Subversive Operations Against the Germans During the Second World War, ISBN 0-7181-1718-2 British Propaganda to France, 1940-1944, Machinery, Method and Message, Tim Brooks. ISBN 978-0-7486-2519-2 OSS - The Psychology of War, Over 2000 images of OSS documents show a side of World War II. PsyWar. Org - Black Propaganda and propaganda leaflets database, A website with articles on black propaganda. The site has a library of propaganda leaflets from World War I to the present day. The PsyWar Society, The website for the PsyWar Society - an international organisation for psychological warfare historians and collectors of aerial propaganda leaflets
Political Warfare Executive
–
Sefton Delmer (1958)
9.
Royal Horticultural Society
–
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England, as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861. The Royal Horticultural Society is the UKs leading gardening charity and claims to be the world’s largest gardening charity, the RHS quotes its charitable purpose as The encouragement and improvement of the science, art and practice of horticulture in all its branches. The current Director General is Sue Biggs, the charity promotes horticulture through flower shows such as the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, RHS Tatton Park Flower Show and RHS Cardiff Flower Show. It also supports training for professional and amateur gardeners, the creation of a British horticultural society was suggested by John Wedgwood in 1800. The society would also award prizes for gardening achievements, Wedgwood discussed the idea with his friends, but it was four years before the first meeting, of seven men, took place, on 7 March 1804 at Hatchards bookshop in Piccadilly, London. Banks proposed his friend Thomas Andrew Knight for membership, the proposal was accepted, despite Knights ongoing feud with Forsyth over a plaster for healing tree wounds which Forsyth was developing. Knight was President of the society from 1811–1838, and developed the societys aims, in 2009, more than 363,000 people were members of the society, and the number increased to more than 414,000 in 2013. Membership and fellowship of the society were previously decided by election, Fellowship may be secured through a suggested £5,000 donation each year. Members and Fellows of the Royal Horticultural Society are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MRHS and FRHS, respectively. The Royal Horticultural Societys four major gardens in England are, Wisley Garden, near Wisley in Surrey, Rosemoor Garden in Devon, Hyde Hall in Essex and Harlow Carr in Harrogate, the Societys first garden was in Kensington, from 1818–1822. In 1821 the society leased part of the Duke of Devonshires estate at Chiswick to set up an experimental garden, from 1827 the society held fêtes at the Chiswick garden, and from 1833, shows with competitive classes for flowers and vegetables. In 1861 the RHS developed a new garden at South Kensington on land leased from the Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851, the Chiswick garden was maintained until 1903–1904, by which time Sir Thomas Hanbury had bought the garden at Wisley and presented it to the RHS. RHS Garden Wisley is thus the societys oldest garden, Rosemoor came next, presented by Lady Anne Berry in 1988. Hyde Hall was given to the RHS in 1993 by its owners Dick, Dick Robinson was also the owner of the Harry Smith Collection which was based at Hyde Hall. The most recent addition is Harlow Carr, acquired by the merger of the Northern Horticultural Society with the RHS in 2001 and it had been the Northern Horticultural Societys trial ground and display garden since they bought it in 1949. In 2013, more than 1.63 million people visited the four gardens, in 2015, the RHS announced plans for a fifth garden at Worsley New Hall, Greater Manchester, under the name RHS Garden Bridgewater. The RHS is well known for its flower shows which take place across the UK. The most famous of these shows being the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and this is followed by the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and RHS Tatton Park Flower Show in Cheshire
Royal Horticultural Society
–
London flower show in Lawrence Hall
Royal Horticultural Society
–
RHS logo
10.
Godparent
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A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a childs baptism, although the term has also been used in a legal sense. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother, as early as the 2nd century AD, infant baptism had begun to gain acceptance among Christians for the spiritual purification and social initiation of infants. The requirement for some confession of faith necessitated the use of adults who acted as sponsors for the child and they vocalized the confession of faith and acted as guarantors of the child’s spiritual upbringing. Normally, these sponsors were the parents of a child, as emphasized in 408 by St. Augustine who suggested that they could, it seems exceptionally. Within a century, the Corpus Juris Civilis indicates that parents had been replaced in this role almost completely and this was clarified in 813 when the Council of Munich prohibited natural parents from acting as godparents to their own children. This pattern was marked by the creation of legal barriers to marriage that paralleled those for other forms of kin, as confirmation emerged as a separate rite from baptism from the 8th century, a second set of sponsors, with similar prohibitions, also emerged. Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin preserved infant baptism against the attacks of more radical reformers including Anabaptists, in 888, the Catholic Council of Metz attempted to limit the number to one, but proliferation seems to have continued. In early 14th-century Spain, as many as 20 godparents were being chosen, in England, the Synod of Worcester stipulated three sponsors, and this has remained the norm in the Church of England. The Council of Trent attempted to limit the numbers of godparents to one or two, but practice has differed across the Catholic world. They were abolished in 1644 by the Directory of Public Worship promulgated by the English Civil War Parliamentary regime, after the Restoration in 1660, they were reintroduced to Anglicanism, with occasional objections, but dropped by almost every dissenting church. There is some evidence that the institution had lost some of its social importance as well as its universality. At present, in the Church of England, relatives can stand as godparents, godparents should be both baptized and confirmed, but the requirement for confirmation can be waived. There is no requirement for clergy to baptize those from outside their parishes, as a result, individual clergy have considerable discretion over the qualifications of godparents. Many contemporary Anglican rites likewise require parents and godparents to respond on behalf of infant candidates, the Catholic institution of godparenthood survived the Reformation largely unchanged. Someone who belongs to another Christian church cannot become a godparent, a witness does not have any religious role recognized by the Church. Lutherans follow a similar theology of godparents as Roman Catholics and they believe that godparents help with their Christian upbringing, especially if they should lose their parents. Lutherans, like Roman Catholics, believe that a godparent must be both a baptized and confirmed Christian, some Lutherans also follow the Roman Catholic tradition that a Christian who is not affiliated with the Lutheran denomination may serve as a witness rather than a godparent. The Orthodox institution of godparenthood has been the least affected of the traditions by change
Godparent
–
Detail from the "Baptism Window" at
St. Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee, showing godparents from the mid-20th century.
Godparent
–
The
baptismal font at the
Cathedral of Magdeburg.
Godparent
–
Brit Mila—the
sandek holds the baby boy
11.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
–
Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in South West England as Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay, he is the heir apparent in British history. He is also the oldest person to be next in line to the throne since Sophia of Hanover, Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After earning a bachelor of degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons, Prince William later to become Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, in 1996, the couple divorced, following well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died in a car crash in Paris the following year, in 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles has sought to raise awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment. As an environmentalist, he has received awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world. His support for alternative medicine, including homeopathy, has been criticised by some in the medical community and he has been outspoken on the role of architecture in society and the conservation of historic buildings. Subsequently, Charles created Poundbury, a new town based on his theories. He has authored a number of books, including A Vision of Britain, A Personal View of Architecture in 1989 and he was baptised in the palaces Music Room by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher, on 15 December 1948. When Prince Charles was aged three his mothers accession as Queen Elizabeth II made him her heir apparent. As the monarchs eldest son, he took the titles Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince. Charles attended his mothers coronation at Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953, seated alongside his grandmother, as was customary for upper-class children at the time, a governess, Catherine Peebles, was appointed and undertook his education between the ages of five and eight. Buckingham Palace announced in 1955 that Charles would attend school rather than have a private tutor, Charles then attended two of his fathers former schools, Cheam Preparatory School in Berkshire, England, followed by Gordonstoun in the north-east of Scotland. He reportedly despised the school, which he described as Colditz in kilts. Upon his return to Gordonstoun, Charles emulated his father in becoming Head Boy and he left in 1967, with six GCE O-levels and two A-levels in history and French, at grades B and C, respectively. Tradition was broken again when Charles proceeded straight from school into university
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
–
The Prince of Wales in
Jersey, July 2012
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
–
Signature
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
–
Telegram announcing the birth of Prince Charles to the
Governor-General of New Zealand
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales
–
Queen Elizabeth II formally invests the Prince of Wales with
his coronet, 1969
12.
Birkhall
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Birkhall is a 53,000 acre estate on Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located alongside the River Muick to the southwest of Ballater, the property was built in 1715. The property was acquired from the Gordon family who had acquired it from the Farquharsone family, Birkhall was acquired by Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, as part of the Balmoral estate in 1849 and given to his eldest son, Edward, Prince of Wales. Victoria bought Birkhall back to provide accommodation for her staff and extended family in 1884, Birkhall was occupied by Dighton Probyn, Keeper of the Privy Purse to Edward VII and Comptroller to Queen Alexandra in the late 19th century. King George V lent Birkhall in the 1930s to the Duke and Duchess of York who holidayed here with their children, Princess Elizabeth, the house was redecorated by the Yorks who also replanted the gardens. Birkhall was inherited by Charles, Prince of Wales in 2002 and he also spent his second honeymoon here in 2005 with the Duchess of Cornwall. In 2011, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, a fine wire suspension bridge erected in 1880 by John Harper crosses the River Muick here
Birkhall
–
View of Birkhall
13.
Balmoral Castle
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Balmoral Castle /bælˈmɒrəl/ is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, near the village of Crathie,6.2 miles west of Ballater and 6.8 miles east of Braemar. They remain as the property of the royal family and are not the property of the Crown. Soon after the estate was purchased by the family, the existing house was found to be too small. The architect was William Smith of Aberdeen, although his designs were amended by Prince Albert, the castle is an example of Scots Baronial architecture, and is classified by Historic Scotland as a category A listed building. The new castle was completed in 1856 and the old castle demolished shortly thereafter, the Balmoral Estate has been added to by successive members of the royal family, and now covers an area of approximately 50,000 acres. It is an estate, including grouse moors, forestry, and farmland, as well as managed herds of deer, Highland cattle. King Robert II of Scotland had a lodge in the area. Historical records also indicate that a house at Balmoral was built by Sir William Drummond in 1390, the estate is recorded in 1451 as Bouchmorale, and later was tenanted by Alexander Gordon, second son of the 1st Earl of Huntly. A tower house was built on the estate by the Gordons, in 1662 the estate passed to Charles Farquharson of Inverey, brother of John Farquharson, the Black Colonel. The Farquharsons were Jacobite sympathisers, and James Farquharson of Balmoral was involved in both the 1715 and 1745 rebellions and he was wounded at the Battle of Falkirk in 1746. The Farquharson estates were forfeit, and passed to the Farquharsons of Auchendryne, in 1798, James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife, acquired Balmoral and leased the castle. Sir Robert Gordon, a brother of the 4th Earl of Aberdeen. He made major alterations to the castle at Balmoral, including baronial-style extensions that were designed by John Smith of Aberdeen. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert first visited Scotland in 1842, five years after her accession to the throne, during this first visit they stayed at Edinburgh, and at Taymouth Castle in Perthshire, the home of the Marquess of Breadalbane. They returned in 1844 to stay at Blair Castle and, in 1847, during the latter trip they encountered weather that was extremely rainy, which led Sir James Clark, the queens physician, to recommend Deeside instead, for its more healthy climate. Sir Robert Gordon died in 1847 and his lease on Balmoral reverted to Lord Aberdeen, in February 1848 an arrangement was made—that Prince Albert would acquire the remaining part of the lease on Balmoral, together with its furniture and staff—without having seen the property first. The royal couple arrived for their first visit on 8 September 1848, Victoria found the house small but pretty, and recorded in her diary that, All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils. The surrounding hilly landscape reminded them of Thuringia, Alberts homeland in Germany, quickly, the house was confirmed to be too small and, in 1848, John and William Smith were commissioned to design new offices, cottages, and other ancillary buildings
Balmoral Castle
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Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle
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After 1830, Sir Robert Gordon made major alterations to the original castle - lithograph by Josef Kriehuber, 1846
Balmoral Castle
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Coronation portrait of Victoria - by George Hayter, 1837
Balmoral Castle
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Balmoral Castle - a principal
keep similar to that of
Craigievar Castle is the central feature of the castle, while a large
turreted country house is attached
14.
Ballater
–
Ballater is a burgh in Aberdeenshire, Scotland on the River Dee, immediately east of the Cairngorm Mountains. Situated at an elevation of 213 m, Ballater is a centre for hikers and known for its spring water and it is home to more than 1500 inhabitants. Ballater railway station was closed in 1966 but remains in use as a centre with an exhibition recording the villages royal connection. Many buildings date from the Victorian era and the centre of the village is a conservation area, the old railway station/ visitor centre was substantially damaged by fire in May 2015 and is now closed. Balmoral Castle, the British Royal Familys holiday home, lies approximately 12 km west, birkhall lies about 2 km south-west of Ballater. Victoria Barracks is used by the Royal Guard for the castle, local stores had for decades Royal Warrants bestowed upon them. Five years after the passing of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, who had granted them, several shops still display the arms marking the royal warrant. A Met Office weather station collects weather data at Balmoral, just over 7 miles to the west of Ballater, like the rest of Scotland and the British Isles, Ballater experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. Its upland position means temperatures throughout the year are cooler than lower-lying areas, Ballater is a centre for tourism in Royal Deeside, with the Cairngorms and Balmoral Castle nearby. There are two bike hire shops in the village, the old Ballater station, containing Queen Victorias waiting room, is now a visitor centre with a replica royal carriage. Balmoral Castle is a 10-minute drive from the village, there are many walks from the village. For the easy going walker, there is Craigendarroch, a small, about 12 km south-west of Ballater is Loch Muick. From there experienced walkers can head up the prominent mountain, Lochnagar, Ballater is the home of many challenging walks due to the abundance of Munroes in the area. The River Dee flows through Ballater, and is famous for salmon fishing, events in the town include, The Ballater Walking Festival each May attracts many hillwalkers of all levels. Participants are guided through the hills and valleys of the eastern Cairngorms, the Ballater Boules Challenge, on alternate Sundays from November to March each year, provides an alternative sport when the weather is not cold enough for the traditional game of curling. Victoria Week, held annually in August, is a celebration of Ballaters connection with Queen Victoria, the village has its own tongue in cheek, on-line newspaper, the Ballater Bugle. Recently five Ballater residents refurbished the Automobile Associations Patrol Box at Cambus OMay, there is a bus garage located near to the village centre which provides an hourly public service to Aberdeens Union Square bus station. The bus company was granted permission to build a new site at Pannanich Road in December 2014, in April 2015 the bus station was re-opened as a Co-Operative supermarket
Ballater
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Glenmuick Parish Church, in the square.
Ballater
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The old railway station now used as a visitor and exhibition centre.
15.
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
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The 24 years between his two terms as Prime Minister is the longest gap between terms of office of any Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield and he held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, and Baron. He is also a great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II through her maternal grandmother, Lord Titchfield was the eldest son of William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland and Margaret Cavendish-Harley and inherited many lands from his mother and his maternal grandmother. He was educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, on 8 November 1766, Portland married Lady Dorothy Cavendish, a daughter of William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire and Charlotte Boyle. They were parents of six children, William Bentinck, 4th Duke of Portland. Married Charles Greville, and they had three sons, Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville, Algernon Greville, and Henry William Greville, paternal grandfather of Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, ancestor of the 6th and latest dukes of Portland, and of Lady Ottoline Morrell. Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck married Lady Mary Lowther, daughter of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale,16 September 1820, had issue, through his son Charles, Portland is a great-great-great-grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II. He was elected to sit in the Parliament for Weobley in 1761 before entering the Lords when he succeeded his father as Duke of Portland the next year. In April 1783, Portland was brought forward as titular head of a government as Prime Minister, whose real leaders were Charles James Fox. He served as First Lord of the Treasury in this ministry until its fall in December of the same year, during his tenure the Treaty of Paris was signed formally ending the American Revolutionary War. In 1789, Portland became one of vice presidents of Londons Foundling Hospital. This charity had become one of the most fashionable of the time, at its creation, fifty years earlier, Portlands father, William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, had been one of the founding governors, listed on the charitys royal charter granted by George II. In 1793, Portland took over the presidency of the charity from Lord North and he continued to serve in the cabinet until Pitts death in 1806—from 1801 to 1805 as Lord President of the Council and then as a Minister without Portfolio. Portlands second government saw the United Kingdoms complete isolation on the continent but also the beginning of recovery, in late 1809, with Portlands health poor and the ministry rocked by the scandalous duel between Canning and Castlereagh, Portland resigned, dying shortly thereafter. He was Recorder of Nottingham until his death in 1809, the 3rd Duke of Portland died at Bulstrode Park, Buckinghamshire, after an operation to remove a kidney stone on 30 October 1809 and was buried in St Marylebone Parish Church, Marylebone, London. He had lived expensively, with an income of £17,000 a year, he had debts at his death computed at £52,000, which were paid off by his succeeding son selling off some property including Bulstrode. The Portland Vase of Roman glass was given its due to its having been owned by Portland at his family residence at Bulstrode Park. Portland parish in Jamaica was named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the Titchfield School, founded in 1786, also in the parish is also named in his honor
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
–
His Grace The Duke of Portland
KG PC
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
–
Lady Dorothy Cavendish, wife of William Cavendish Bentinck. (
George Romney)
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
–
Memorial to the 3rd Duke of Portland at the family vault in
St Marylebone Parish Church
16.
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
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Richard Colley Wesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley KG PC PC was styled Viscount Wellesley from birth until 1781 and was known as Earl of Mornington from 1781 until 1799. He was an Irish and British politician and colonial administrator and he was the eldest son of The 1st Earl of Mornington, an Irish peer, and Anne, the eldest daughter of The 1st Viscount Dungannon. He was also the brother of Field Marshal The 1st Duke of Wellington and he first made his name as Governor-General of India between 1798 and 1805 and later served as Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Wellesley was born in 1760 in Ireland, where his family were part of the Ascendancy and he was educated at the Royal School, Armagh, Harrow School and Eton College, where he distinguished himself as a classical scholar, and at Christ Church, Oxford. He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland in 1782, due to the extravagance of his father and grandfather, he found himself so indebted that he was ultimately forced to sell all the Irish estates. However, in 1781 he was appointed to the position of Custos Rotulorum of Meath. In 1784 he joined also the British House of Commons as member for Bere Alston, soon afterwards he was appointed a Lord of the Treasury by William Pitt the Younger. Mornington seems to have caught Pitts large political spirit in the period 1793 to 1797, Robert Clive won and Warren Hastings consolidated the British ascendancy in India, but Mornington extended it into an empire. On the voyage outwards, he formed the design of annihilating French influence in the Deccan, soon after his landing, in April 1798, he learned that an alliance was being negotiated between Tipu Sultan and the French republic. Mornington resolved to anticipate the action of the enemy, and ordered preparations for war, the first step was to effect the disbandment of the French troops entertained by the Nizam of Hyderabad. The invasion of Mysore followed in February 1799, and the campaign was brought to a conclusion by the capture of Seringapatam on 4 May 1799. In 1803, the restoration of the Peshwa proved the prelude to the Mahratha war against Sindhia and he found the East India Company a trading body, but left it an imperial power. He was an excellent administrator, and picked two of his brothers for his staff, Arthur was his military adviser, and Henry was his personal secretary. He founded Fort William College, a training centre intended for those who would be involved in governing India, a free-trader like Pitt, he endeavoured to remove some of the restrictions on the trade between Britain and India. He reached England just in time to see Pitt before his death and he had been created a Peer of Great Britain in 1797, and in 1799 became Marquess Wellesley in the Peerage of Ireland. He formed a collection of over 2,500 painted miniatures in the Company style of Indian natural history. A motion by James Paull to impeach Wellesley due to his expulsion of the traders from Oudh was defeated in the House of Commons by 182 votes to 31 in 1808. Resolutions condemning him for the abuse of power were moved in both the Lords and Commons, but defeated by large majorities, in 1809 Wellesley was appointed ambassador to Spain
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
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The Most Honourable The Marquess Wellesley
KG PC PC (Ire)
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
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Wellesley in his red-coated officer's uniform.
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
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Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland was painted by
Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun in 1791.
Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley
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The Marquess Wellesley by
John Philip Davis ("Pope" Davis).
17.
Anne Wellesley
–
Lady Charles Bentinck, born Anne Wellesley, and previously known as Lady Abdy, was a British aristocrat and a great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth II. Bentinck was a daughter of Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, and his mistress, Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland and her paternal grandparents were Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, and Anne Hill, daughter of Arthur Hill-Trevor, 1st Viscount Dungannon. Her paternal uncles included Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, William Wellesley-Pole, 3rd Earl of Mornington and her parents were married six years after her birth, on 29 March 1794, at which point she was legitimized. On 3 July 1806 Anne married her first husband, Sir William Abdy and their marriage lasted nine years, but remained childless. Abdy had introduced her to his friend Lord Charles Bentinck, a son of former British Prime Minister William Cavendish-Bentinck. At some point during her first marriage, Anne and Lord Charles became lovers and they eloped on 5 September 1815, following which Abdy brought a suit for criminal conversation for 30,000 pounds, but won only 7,000 pounds in damages. During the discussion of the bill, the customary provision against remarriage was struck out in the House of Lords. Sir William Abdy was granted a divorce by the consent to a special Act of Parliament on 25 June 1816. Anne and Lord William were married on 23 July 1816, enabling their first child to be born three weeks later. -Gen. Arthur Cavendish-Bentinck He married first Elizabeth Sophia Hawkins-Whitshed and they were parents of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 6th Duke of Portland. He married secondly Augusta Browne, 1st Baroness Bolsover and they were parents of Lady Ottoline Morrell
Anne Wellesley
–
Her parents, the
Marquess of Wellesley and Hyacinthe-Gabrielle Roland
Anne Wellesley
18.
The London Gazette
–
The London Gazette claims to be the oldest surviving English newspaper and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the UK, having been first published on 7 November 1665 as The Oxford Gazette. This claim is made by the Stamford Mercury and Berrows Worcester Journal. It does not have a large circulation, in turn, The London Gazette carries not only notices of UK-wide interest, but also those relating specifically to entities or people in England and Wales. However, certain notices that are only of specific interest to Scotland or Northern Ireland are also required to be published in The London Gazette, the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes are published by TSO on behalf of Her Majestys Stationery Office. They are subject to Crown Copyright, the London Gazette is published each weekday, except for Bank Holidays. The official Gazettes are published by The Stationery Office, the content, apart from insolvency notices, is available in a number of machine-readable formats, including XML and XML/RDFa via Atom feed. The London Gazette was first published as The Oxford Gazette on 7 November 1665. Charles II and the Royal Court had moved to Oxford to escape the Great Plague of London, the Gazette was Published by Authority by Henry Muddiman, and its first publication is noted by Samuel Pepys in his diary. The King returned to London as the plague dissipated, and the Gazette moved too, the Gazette was not a newspaper in the modern sense, it was sent by post to subscribers, not printed for sale to the general public. Her Majestys Stationery Office took over the publication of the Gazette in 1889, publication of the Gazette was transferred to the private sector, under government supervision, in the 1990s, when HMSO was sold and renamed The Stationery Office. In time of war, dispatches from the conflicts are published in The London Gazette. People referred to are said to have mentioned in dispatches. When members of the forces are promoted, and these promotions are published here. Man tally-ho, Miss piano, Wife silk and satin, Boy Greek and Latin, the phrase gazetted fortune hunter is also probably derived from this. Notices of engagement and marriage were also published in the Gazette. Gazettes, modelled on The London Gazette, were issued for most British colonial possessions
The London Gazette
–
The London Gazette, dated 14–17 May 1705 detailing the return of
John Leake from
Gibraltar after the
Battle of Cabrita Point.
The London Gazette
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The London Gazette: later reprint of the front page from 3–10 September 1666, reporting on the
Great Fire of London.
19.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
20.
Scotland
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Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east. In addition to the mainland, the country is made up of more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles, the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles, titles, the legal system within Scotland has also remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland, Scotland constitutes a distinct jurisdiction in both public and private law. Glasgow, Scotlands largest city, was one of the worlds leading industrial cities. Other major urban areas are Aberdeen and Dundee, Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union. This has given Aberdeen, the third-largest city in Scotland, the title of Europes oil capital, following a referendum in 1997, a Scottish Parliament was re-established, in the form of a devolved unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, having authority over many areas of domestic policy. Scotland is represented in the UK Parliament by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs, Scotland is also a member nation of the British–Irish Council, and the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland comes from Scoti, the Latin name for the Gaels, the Late Latin word Scotia was initially used to refer to Ireland. By the 11th century at the latest, Scotia was being used to refer to Scotland north of the River Forth, alongside Albania or Albany, the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass all of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages. Repeated glaciations, which covered the land mass of modern Scotland. It is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, the groups of settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, and the first villages around 6,000 years ago. The well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period and it contains the remains of an early Bronze Age ruler laid out on white quartz pebbles and birch bark. It was also discovered for the first time that early Bronze Age people placed flowers in their graves, in the winter of 1850, a severe storm hit Scotland, causing widespread damage and over 200 deaths. In the Bay of Skaill, the storm stripped the earth from a large irregular knoll, when the storm cleared, local villagers found the outline of a village, consisting of a number of small houses without roofs. William Watt of Skaill, the laird, began an amateur excavation of the site, but after uncovering four houses
Scotland
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Edinburgh Castle. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of this early settlement is unclear.
Scotland
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Flag
Scotland
–
The class I
Pictish stone at
Aberlemno known as Aberlemno 1 or the Serpent Stone.
Scotland
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The
Wallace Monument commemorates
William Wallace, the 13th-century Scottish hero.
21.
Nobility
–
The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be largely honorary, and vary from country to country and era to era. There is often a variety of ranks within the noble class. g, san Marino and the Vatican City in Europe. Hereditary titles often distinguish nobles from non-nobles, although in many nations most of the nobility have been un-titled, some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil. The term derives from Latin nobilitas, the noun of the adjective nobilis. In modern usage, nobility is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies and it rapidly came to be seen as a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is based on income. Being wealthy or influential cannot, ipso facto, make one noble, various republics, including former Iron Curtain countries, Greece, Mexico, and Austria have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se, usually privileges were granted or recognised by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small and it also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, that is, from the proceeds of these possessions, work involving manual labour or subordination to those of lower rank was either forbidden or frowned upon socially. In some countries, the lord could impose restrictions on such a commoners movements. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting, in France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. In some parts of Europe the right of war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimised, in France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a nobles prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged, if erected by the crown into, e. g. a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled, in other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. Nobility might be inherited or conferred by a fons honorum
Nobility
–
Detail from
Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry), c. 1410, month of April
Nobility
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Nobility offered protection in exchange for service
Nobility
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French aristocrats, c. 1774
Nobility
–
A French political cartoon of the three orders of
feudal society (1789). The rural third estate carries the clergy and the nobility.
22.
British peerage
–
The peerage is a legal system historically comprising hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, comprising various noble ranks, and forms a constituent part of the British honours system. The term peerage can be used collectively to refer to the entire body of nobles, and individually to refer to a specific title. British peerage title holders are termed peers of the Realm, New Labour, elected to power in 1997, sought to eject all hereditary peers from Parliament but PM Tony Blair relented by allowing only 92 members to remain by legislation enacted in 1999. The House of Lordss purpose is now that of a legislative chamber. Peerages are created by the British monarch, like all Crown honours, HMG recommends to the Sovereign who to be elevated to the peerage, after external vetting by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. The Sovereign, traditionally the fount of honour, cannot hold a British peerage, succession claims to existing hereditary peerages are regulated by the House of Lords Committee for Privileges and Conduct and administered by The Crown Office. The modern-day parliamentary peerage is a continuation of the renamed medieval baronage system which existed in feudal times, certain other office-holders such as senior clerics and Freemen of the Cinque Ports were deemed barons. This right, entitlement or title, began to be granted by decree in the form of a Writ of Summons from 1265, additionally, many holders of smaller fiefdoms per baroniam ceased to be summoned to parliament, resulting in baronial status becoming personal rather than territorial. In the UK, five peerages co-exist, namely, The Peerage of England — titles created by the Kings, the Peerage of Scotland — titles created by the Kings and Queens of Scotland before 1707. The Peerage of Ireland — titles created for the Kingdom of Ireland before the Act of Union of 1801, the Peerage of Great Britain — titles created for the Kingdom of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. The Peerage of the United Kingdom — most titles created since 1801 to the present, Peers are of five ranks, in descending order of hierarchy, Duke comes from the Latin dux, leader. The first duke in a peerage of the British Isles was created in 1337, Marquess comes from the French marquis, which is a derivative of marche or march. This is a reference to the borders between England, Scotland, and Wales, a more evident in the feminine form. The first marquess in a peerage of the British Isles was created in 1385, earl comes from the Old English or Anglo-Saxon eorl, a military leader. The meaning may have been affected by the Old Norse jarl, meaning free-born warrior or nobleman, during the Danelaw, since there was no feminine Old English or Old Norse equivalent for the term, Countess is used, from the Latin comes. Viscount comes from the Latin vicecomes, vice-count, Baron comes from the Old Germanic baro, freeman. In the Peerage of Scotland alone, a holder of the rank is not called a Baron. Barons in Scotland were traditionally holders of feudal dignities, not peers, baronets, while holders of hereditary titles, are not peers since baronetcies have never conferred noble status, although socially they came to be regarded as part of the aristocracy
British peerage
–
Peers wear ceremonial
robes, whose designs are based on their rank.
British peerage
–
Ranks of Peerage
23.
British nobility
–
The British nobility refers to the noble families of the United Kingdom. In everyday speech, the British nobility consists of peers and their families, { however, members of the peerage carry the titles of Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Peers ranked from Marquess to Baron are frequently referred to generically as Lords, however, the Scottish Baron, an official title of nobility in the United Kingdom, is addressed as The Baron of X. The untitled nobility consists of all those who bear formally matriculated, or recorded, other than their designation, such as Gentleman or Esquire, they enjoy no privilege other than a position in the formal orders of precedence in the United Kingdom. Scottish lairds names include a description of their lands in the form of a territorial designation, in Scotland, a territorial designation implies the rank of Esquire, thus this is not normally added after the name, Lairds are part of Scotlands landed gentry and—where armigerous —minor nobility. The Peerage is a term used both collectively to refer to the body of peerage titles, and individually to refer to a specific title. All modern British honours, including peerage dignities, are created directly by the British monarch, the Sovereign is considered the fount of honour, and as the fountain and source of all dignities cannot hold a dignity from himself, cannot hold a British peerage. Before the twentieth century, peerages were generally hereditary and, descended in the male line. The eldest son of a Duke, Marquess or Earl almost always one of his fathers subsidiary titles as a courtesy title, for instance. The modern peerage system is a vestige of the custom of English kings in the 12th and 13th centuries in summoning wealthy individuals to form a Parliament. The economic system at the time was manorialism, and the privilege of being summoned to Parliament was related to the amount of land one controlled. In the late 14th century, this began to be granted by decree. Non-hereditary positions began to be created again in 1867 for Law Lords, in 1958, the Life Peerages Act enabled life peers to sit in the House of Lords, and from then on the creation of hereditary peerages rapidly became obsolete, almost ceasing after 1964. This, however, is only a convention and was not observed by former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who asked the Queen to create three hereditary peerages. Until changes in the century, only a proportion of those holding Scottish and Irish peerages were entitled by that title to sit in the House of Lords. Until constitutional reforms in 1999, possession of a title in the peerage entitled its holder to a seat in the House of Lords. Since then, only 92 hereditary peers are entitled to sit in the House of Lords, of which 90 are elected by the hereditary peers by ballot and replaced on death. Typically, those due to inherit a peerage—or indeed have done so, in recent times—have been educated at one of the public schools
British nobility
–
Lady Margaret Beaufort
British nobility
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George, 2nd Earl of Warrington
British nobility
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Elizabeth de Clare
British nobility
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The Lord Bishop William Smyth
24.
Countries of the United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom comprises four countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Within the United Kingdom, a sovereign state, Northern Ireland, Scotland. England, comprising the majority of the population and area of the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are not themselves listed in the International Organization for Standardization list of countries. However the ISO list of the subdivisions of the UK, compiled by British Standards, Northern Ireland, in contrast, is described as a province in the same lists. Each has separate governing bodies for sports and compete separately in many international sporting competitions. Northern Ireland also forms joint All-Island sporting bodies with the Republic of Ireland for most sports, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man are dependencies of the Crown and are not part of the UK. Similarly, the British overseas territories, remnants of the British Empire, are not part of the UK, southern Ireland left the United Kingdom under the Irish Free State Constitution Act 1922. * Figures for GVA do not include oil and gas revenues generated beyond the UKs territorial waters, various terms have been used to describe England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Wales was described as the country, principality, and dominion of Wales, outside Wales, England was not given a specific name or term. The Laws in Wales Acts have subsequently been repealed, the Acts of Union 1707 refer to both England and Scotland as a part of a united kingdom of Great Britain The Acts of Union 1800 use part in the same way to refer to England and Scotland. The Northern Ireland Act 1998, which repealed the Government of Ireland Act 1920, the Interpretation Act 1978 provides statutory definitions of the terms England, Wales and the United Kingdom, but neither that Act nor any other current statute defines Scotland or Northern Ireland. Use of the first three terms in other legislation is interpreted following the definitions in the 1978 Act and this definition applies from 1 April 1974. United Kingdom means Great Britain and Northern Ireland and this definition applies from 12 April 1927. In 1996 these 8 new counties were redistributed into the current 22 unitary authorities, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are regions in their own right while England has been divided into nine regions. The official term rest of the UK is used in Scotland, for example in export statistics and this term is also used in the context of potential Scottish independence to mean the UK without Scotland. The alternative term Home Nations is sometimes used in sporting contexts, the second, or civic group, contained the items about feeling British, respecting laws and institutions, speaking English, and having British citizenship. Contrariwise, in Scotland and Wales there was a much stronger identification with each country than with Britain, studies and surveys have reported that the majority of the Scots and Welsh see themselves as both Scottish/Welsh and British though with some differences in emphasis. The propensity for nationalistic feeling varies greatly across the UK, and can rise and it reported that 37% of people identified as British, whilst 29% identified as Irish and 24% identified as Northern Irish
Countries of the United Kingdom
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