The Monarchy
Britain is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state. In practice, she reigns, but does not rule. The country is governed, in her name, by the Government, a body of ministers, which is called the Cabinet (consists of 22 leading ministers), who are responsible to Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Phillip, the Duke of Edinburgh and acceded to the throne on 6 February 1953. She was officially crowned on 2 June 1953. Her official title is: “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.” But the title is varied for those other member states of the Commonwealth (16 in number), to suit the particular circumstances of each. Other member states are republics or have their own monarchies.
The seat of the monarchy is in Great Britain. In the other nations of the Commonwealth of which the Queen is head of state, her representative is the Governor-General.
The Parliament
Britain’s origins and traditions are to be found in its four countries (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland). They are represented in the Parliament at Westminster (London), which is the supreme legislative authority in the country.
The Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Sovereign formally summons and dissolves Parliament and generally opens each new annual session with a speech from the throne. The House of Lords is made up of hereditary peers and peeresses, including the Law Lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties of the House, and the Lords Spiritual (the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and other 24 bishops). The House of Commons is voted in general elections and consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). The chief officer of the House is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the House. The House of Commons is the ultimate law-making authority.
General elections are held every five years. Eighteen is the minimum voting age; the candidates must be over 21. There are four main political parties: Conservative, Labour, Liberal and Social Democratic parties. The winning party forms the Government. The ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister (the leader of the winning party). The second party becomes official Opposition and forms the Shadow Cabinet. The MPs who are members of the Opposition are called back-benchers.
The British constitution, unlike that of most of other countries, is not written as a single document. It is based on custom, tradition and common law. More simply, the constitution is unwritten. It can be altered ( = changed) by an Act of Parliament, or by general agreement to change the custom.
• accede – nastoupit, usednout
• dissolves – rozpustit
• grace – milost
• heir – nástupce, dědic
• hereditary – dědičný, odvěký
• peer – šlechtic, člen Sněmovny lordů
• preside – předsedat
• realm – království
• sovereign – panovník
• summon – svolat
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