Surely, many are interested in the question of why in the British Isles the royal throne is occupied not by the king, but by the Queen of Great Britain. Eight dynasties have successively been replaced in England since the formation of an independent state in the 9th century, but there still exists a consanguinity between their members, since the first representative of a new surname always married a woman from the previous one. Thus, the British can proudly claim that the current ruling Elizabeth II comes directly from William the Conqueror.
In England, the primacy of queens began with the Stuart house. Now there is a tradition according to which, only the Queen of Great Britain is considered a real monarchy, while her husband is just a prince. Naturally, it must be borne in mind that England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland constitute a constitutional monarchy, and therefore the queen only reigns, but does not rule. The management function is performed by the Prime Minister with his office. Her Majesty performs representative functions, makes appeals to citizens for the New Year and is actively involved in charity work.
Unlike continental Europe, England was more tolerant of the leadership of women on the throne. This country knew many glorious monarchies who ruled a power and even an empire with an “iron hand”. Among them can be called Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anna. But the most significant trace in the history of not only England, but also of other states was left by Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. This wonderful woman was on the throne for more than 63 years, and the whole era of her reign is called Victorian.
Alexandrina Victoria - such is her full name, since the godmother was the Russian emperor Alexander I - was released in 1819. Until 1837 she bore the title of Duchess of Kent. When her closest relative, William IV, died, he did not have legal heirs. In this regard, she received a new title - the Queen of Great Britain - at a ceremony held on June 28, 1838. The Crown of India was added to the list of her ranks in 1876. With her death in 1901, the history of the Hanover dynasty ended. The Victorian era marked the greatest prosperity of the British Empire, its industrial power, but also, surprisingly, the era of Puritanism and moral rigorism.
In 1840, Victoria married her cousin, Duke Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, who was granted the title of prince in 1857. They had nine children. Through dynastic marriages of these children, as well as grandchildren, the monarch of England received the nickname "Grandmother of Europe": her descendants began to rule in Germany (Kaiser Wilhelm II Hohenzollern is her grandson), Spain and even Russia (Alexander’s granddaughter married Nicholas II;
Thus, Tsarevich Alexei is the great-grandson of the Queen of England). It is claimed that Victoria passed the hemophilia gene to her male descendants.
This queen of Great Britain was beloved by the people. Her name was given to many objects discovered during her reign: a water lily in the tropics of British Guiana, Victoria Regia, a waterfall, one of the largest lakes and even an asteroid discovered by astronomer J. Hind in 1850.
Now on the throne of the constitutional monarchy is the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth 2, who was born in 1926. She ascended the throne in 1953. Her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was not traditionally crowned. He took the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty as a vassal. The monarch couple had four children. Now they have eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter, who was born in 2011 and received the name Savannah.