The Royal Family has always been an important part of the United Kingdom. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British Monarch to be crowned since 1603.
For hundreds of years, Britain had been a monarchy with a king or queen on the throne who ruled alongside Parliament. However, in 1649 King Charles I was executed and from then on Parliament had more power than a monarch.
In 1701 Queen Anne died without having any children and Parliament decided that the new king should be a foreign ruler – George I. He was from Germany and not royal at all but he agreed to rule as a British King on certain conditions. This is how the Act of Settlement came into being – it said that only Protestants could sit on the throne and if there were no Protestant heirs left then any future
The royal family is a dynastic family that is largely regimented by tradition and protocol. The members of the royal family typically have a large staff, including their own personal secretaries, chefs, gardeners, and dressmakers.
The centuries-old traditions of court life have been debated in recent years. In 2010, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles announced his intention to become the first British king to reign outside England since Henry VIII in 1547.
In 2012 it was announced that Prince William would take over from his mother as head of state when she dies or abdicates from the throne. When he became King he inherited her many roles which include being president of the Commonwealth, supreme commander of the armed forces, and Duke of Cornwall among others.
