MATURITA – BRITAIN DIFFICULTY / Free audio at www.fl exibooks.cz/drive.

The British Royal Family Britain has been ruled by kings and queens for over a thousand years. Royal families have always been popular with visitors, but is today's Royal Family just a tourist a raction? / ALASTAIR S. EDWARDS (UK)

What does the Royal Family actually do? Charity Members of the Royal Family do most of their work in Th e Royal Family also plays an important role in the areas of public and charitable service, and help to supporting4 and encouraging5 the public and char- make the country stronger. ity sectors. Some members of the Royal Family have also established their own charities - for example, Th e Younger members of the Royal Family who go to school Prince's Trust and Th e Princess Royal Trust for Carers, or are in military training – such as Prince Harry – don't a charity which provides advice and help for people have full-time offi cial duties1, but they play a role in acting as carers6. important national events2 and celebrations. Th e Royal Family also supports the work of the Armed Visits and events in the UK Forces7. Members of the Royal Family have offi cial relationships with many units of the Forces, and oft en Each year the Queen and other members of the Royal visit soldiers, sailors and pilots at home and abroad. Family make nearly 3,000 visits to diff erent places in So the Royal Family is very busy and in addition to all the United Kingdom. Th ey open new buildings, meet this, they receive and answer over 100,000 letters and local people and visit businesses, schools, hospitals and e-mails each year! other public buildings as well as projects, military units and charities. The Queen Visits and events abroad Th e most important member of the Royal Family is Members of the Royal Family oft en represent the Queen Elizabeth the Second. Th e Queen is Head of State Queen and the nation in Commonwealth or other in the United Kingdom, and she is also the monarch of countries to strengthen3 Britain's diplomatic and eco- 15 Commonwealth countries, including Australia, Can- nomic relations. ada and Jamaica. She is the UK's constitutional mon-

1 | drivee / April 2015 Maturita extrass – Printer-friendly version arch, which means she does not ‘rule’ the country, but billion for charity. Also, tourists coming to the UK to has important ceremonial and formal roles. She is also see the royal palaces bring in countless millions. Some Head of the justice system, Head of the Armed Forces people say that a republican head of state would be less and Head of the Church8. In Government, the Queen expensive, but the German presidency costs about the opens each new session of Parliament, closes Parliament same as the Queen, and how many tourists go to Berlin before a general election9, and agrees to all new laws10 to see the president? made in Parliament. She also names the Prime Minister and meets him (or her) every week. What do think?

Th e Queen and her family never vote11 or stand for 43% of people in the UK think that the Royal Family is election. Th e Queen must be neutral so that she can worth the £36.1 million it receives each year from the represent all people in the country. taxpayer13. 66% of people think that Britain is a bet- ter place with a Royal family, and only 14% think that Honours the country should become a republic. 42% say that Charles, Prince of should inherit14 the throne, Only the Queen can give titles of honour12, including while 38% feel that it should pass directly to his son knighthoods* and awards for bravery**. Honours are William, the Duke of Cambridge, instead. given to all kinds of people - sports personalities, art- ists, politicians and doctors - but also ordinary people It seems the British Royal Family will survive another who work hard for their country. Some famous people century. Prince George, William and Kate's fi rst child, who have received honours are Sean Connery (Scot- born in 2013, will most probably become king. But he'll tish actor), Bob Geldof (Irish singer) and Cliff Richard have to wait for his father and his grandfather before he (British singer). can start trying on !

How much does the Royal Family cost? LANGUAGE NOTE Th e monarchy only costs 69p a year for every person * knighthood – the highest award given by the Queen in Britain. But Queen Elizabeth II has made about £1.4 – the title is Sir for a man or Dame for a woman * * bravery (noun), brave (adjective) – not frightened of anything; heroic, strong DID YOU KNOW? Queen Elizabeth's full name is 211 words long! Here is the short version of her title: VOCABULARY Queen Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God 1 duty [ˈdjuːtɪ] – povinnost Queen of this Realm and of Her other Realms and 2 Territories, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender event [ɪˈvent] – událost of the Faith. 3 to strengthen [ˈstreŋθən] – posílit 4 to support [səˈpɔːt] – podporovat 5 to encourage [ɪnˈkʌrɪdʒ] – povzbuzovat MATURITA QUESTIONS 6 carer [ˈkeərə] – opatrovník • The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. 7 Armed Forces (of the United Kingdom) [ɑːmd fɔːsɪz] What does that mean? – ozbrojené síly (Spojeného království) 8 • Who is the UK monarch today? Church (of ) [tʃɜːtʃ] – církev (anglikánská) 9 election [ɪˈlekʃn] – volby • What does the Royal Family do in the UK? 10 law [lɔː] – zákon • What does the Royal family do abroad? 11 to vote [vəʊt] – volit 12 • Do the British like the Royal Family? title of honour [ˈtaɪtl əv ˈɒnə] – čestný titul 13 taxpayer [ˈtæksˌpeɪə] – daňový poplatník • Would you like to have a queen, too? 14 to inherit [ɪnˈherɪt] – zdědit

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