1.
Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
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The royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the Royal Arms for short, is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Variants of the Royal Arms are used by members of the British royal family. In Scotland, there exists a version of the Royal Arms. The crest is a statant guardant lion wearing the St Edwards Crown, the dexter supporter is a likewise crowned English lion, the sinister, a Scottish unicorn. According to legend a free unicorn was considered a dangerous beast, therefore the heraldic unicorn is chained. In the greenery below, a thistle, Tudor rose and shamrock are depicted, motto Dieu et mon Droit in the compartment below the shield, with the Union Rose, Shamrock and Thistle engrafted on the same stem. The Royal Arms as shown above may only be used by the Queen herself and they also appear in courtrooms, since the monarch is deemed to be the fount of judicial authority in the United Kingdom and law courts comprise part of the ancient royal court. Judges are officially Crown representatives, demonstrated by the display of the Royal Arms behind the bench in all UK courts. In Northern Ireland, the Royal Arms cannot be displayed in courtrooms or on court-house exteriors and they may be shown on the exterior of court buildings that had them in place prior to the 2002 law. However, when used by the government and not by the monarch personally and this is also the case with the sovereigns Scottish arms, a version of which is used by the Scotland Office. The Royal Arms have regularly appeared on the produced by the Royal Mint including, for example, from 1663, the Guinea and, from 1983. In 2008, a new series of designs for all seven coins of £1 and below was unveiled by the Royal Mint, the monarch grant Royal Warrants to select businesses and tradespeople which supply the Royal Household with goods or services. This entitles those business to display the Royal Arms on their packaging and it is customary for churches throughout the United Kingdom whether in the Church of England or the Church of Scotland to display the Royal Arms to show loyalty to the Crown. This protocol equally applies to the principal residences in Scotland. When the monarch is not in residence the Union Flag, or in Scotland the ancient Royal Standard of Scotland, is flown. The widely sold British newspaper The Times uses the Hanoverian Royal Arms as a logo, whereas its sister publication, The Sunday Times, displays the current Royal Arms. The Royal Arms are also displayed in all courts in British Columbia, as well as in other Canadian provinces such as Ontario, the Royal Arms were also displayed by all Viceroys of Australia as representation of their Crown authority
2.
Chris Grayling
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Christopher Stephen Grayling PC is a British Conservative Party politician and former author who has been the Secretary of State for Transport since July 2016. Grayling was born in London and studied History at Cambridge University and he published a number of books as well as working for the BBC and Channel 4 before going into politics. First elected to Parliament in the 2001 general election for Epsom and Ewell, from 2007 he became the Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and in 2009 he was appointed Shadow Home Secretary. Following the 2010 general election and the formation of the Coalition Government, in September 2012, he was appointed to the UK Cabinet in a reshuffle, replacing Kenneth Clarke as the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from 2012 to 2015. He was the first non-lawyer to have served as Lord Chancellor for at least 440 years and he was the Leader of the House of Commons and the Lord President of the Council between 2015 and 2016. Grayling was appointed as Transport Secretary in July 2016, when Theresa May became Prime Minister, Grayling was born in London and grew up in Buckinghamshire, where he was educated at the Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe. He then went to Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where he graduated with an upper-second class Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1984, Grayling joined BBC News in 1985 as a trainee, becoming a producer in 1986. He left the BBC in 1988 to join Channel 4 as an editor on its Business Daily television programme and he rejoined the BBC in 1991 as a business development manager on BBC Select. He became a management consultant in 1997 with Burson Marsteller, where he remained until his election to Parliament, prior to joining the Conservative Party, Grayling was a member of the Social Democratic Party. Grayling was selected to contest the Labour-held marginal seat of Warrington South at the 1997 general election and he was elected as a councillor for the Hillside ward in the London Borough of Merton in 1998 and remained on the council until 2002. Grayling was elected to the House of Commons to represent the Surrey seat of Epsom, Grayling held the seat with a majority of 10,080 and has been returned as MP there since. He made his speech on 25 June 2001. He became a Spokesman for Education and Skills by Michael Howard in 2003, in June 2007, he was made Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a post he held until January 2009 when he became Shadow Home Secretary. Grayling became known as a national politician through his attack dog pressure on leading Labour politicians and he was heavily involved in the questioning of David Blunkett, the then Work and Pensions Secretary, over his business affairs which led to Blunketts resignation in 2005. Grayling also challenged Tony Blair and his wife Cherie over the money made from lectures while Blair was Prime Minister. He also challenged minister Stephen Byers over his handling of the Railtrack collapse, between 2001 and 2009, Grayling claimed expenses for his flat in Pimlico, close to the Houses of Parliament, despite having a constituency home no further than 17 miles away. Grayling says he uses the flat when working very late because he needs to work very erratic, during the Parliamentary expenses scandal, The Daily Telegraph reported that Grayling refitted and redecorated the flat in 2005 costing over £5,000. Graylings expenses issue was seen as embarrassing for the Conservative Party as he had previously criticised Labour ministers for being implicated in sleaze scandals, as Shadow Home Secretary, Grayling provoked controversy in August 2009 when he compared Manchesters Moss Side area to the American TV crime drama The Wire
3.
Monarchy of the United Kingdom
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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
4.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
5.
Politics of the United Kingdom
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The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The highest court is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the UK political system is a multi-party system. Since the 1920s, the two largest political participation have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives. A Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government held office from 2010 until 2015, with the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland received home rule in 1920, though civil unrest meant direct rule was restored in 1972. Support for nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s though only in the 1990s did devolution actually happen. Today, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and executive, the United Kingdom government remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the government of the Republic of Ireland. It is a matter of dispute as to increased autonomy. A2014 referendum on independence led to a rejection of the proposal, in Northern Ireland, a smaller percentage vote for Irish nationalist parties. The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and this system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire. The British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the chief of state of the United Kingdom, though she takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate executive power over government lies. The head of Her Majestys Government, the minister, also has weekly meetings with the sovereign. In practice, this means that the leader of the party with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has a majority, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government, about twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the Cabinet and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the government. In accordance with convention, all ministers within the government are either Members of Parliament or peers in the House of Lords. In practice, members of parliament of all parties are strictly controlled by whips who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation. The Prime Minister is the most senior minister in the Cabinet and they are responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers, and formulating government policy
6.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
7.
Charles, Prince of Wales
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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
8.
Theresa May
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Theresa Mary May is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party, having served as both since July 2016. She has been the Member of Parliament for Maidenhead since 1997, may identifies as a one-nation conservative and has been characterised as a liberal conservative. She is the second female Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader after Margaret Thatcher, the daughter of a vicar, May grew up in Oxfordshire. From 1977 until 1983, she worked for the Bank of England, after unsuccessful attempts to be elected to the House of Commons in 1992 and 1994, she was elected as the MP for Maidenhead in the 1997 general election. She was also Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2002 to 2003, after the formation of a coalition government following the 2010 general election, May was appointed Home Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, giving up the latter role in 2012. Reappointed after the Conservative victory in the 2015 general election, she went on to become the longest-serving Home Secretary since James Chuter Ede over 60 years previously. She won the first and second ballot of Conservative MPs by a significant margin and was due to face a vote of Conservative Party members in a contest with Andrea Leadsom, leadsoms withdrawal from the election on 11 July led to Mays appointment as party leader the same day. She was appointed Prime Minister on 13 July, as Prime Minister, Mays focus has primarily been on withdrawing the UK from the European Union. Born on 1 October 1956 in Eastbourne, Sussex, May is the child of Zaidee Mary. Her father was a Church of England clergyman who was chaplain of an Eastbourne hospital and he later became vicar of Enstone with Heythrop and finally of St Marys at Wheatley, to the east of Oxford. Mays mother was a supporter of the Conservative Party. May was educated primarily in the sector but with a short spell at an independent Catholic school. She initially attended Heythrop Primary School, a school in Heythrop, followed by St. Julianas Convent School for Girls, a Roman Catholic independent school in Begbroke. At the age of 13, May won a place at the former Holton Park Girls Grammar School, during her time as a pupil, the Oxfordshire education system was reorganised and the school became the new Wheatley Park Comprehensive School. May then attended the University of Oxford where she read geography at St Hughs College, between 1977 and 1983 May worked at the Bank of England, and from 1985 to 1997 as a financial consultant and senior advisor in International Affairs at the Association for Payment Clearing Services. Both Mays parents died during this period, her father in a car accident in 1981, may served as a councillor for Durnsford ward on the London Borough of Merton from 1986 to 1994, where she was Chairman of Education and Deputy Group Leader and Housing Spokesman. May then stood at the 1994 Barking by-election, which was prompted by the death of Labour MP Jo Richardson. The seat had been held by Labour since it was created in 1945 and Labour candidate Margaret Hodge was expected to win easily
9.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
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