Richard was the third son of Oliver Cromwell, he was appointed the second ruling Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, serving for just nine months. Unlike his father, Richard lacked military experience and as such failed to gain respect or support from his New Model Army. Richard was eventually 'persuaded' to resign from his position as Lord Protector and exiled himself to France until 1680, when he returned to England.
THE RESTORATION
CHARLES II 1660 – 1685
Son of Charles I, also known as the Merry Monarch. After the collapse of the Protectorate following the death of Oliver Cromwell and the flight of Richard Cromwell to France, the Army and Parliament asked Charles to take the throne. Although very popular he was a weak king and his foreign policy was inept. He had 13 known mistresses, one of whom was Nell Gwyn. He fathered numerous illegitimate children but no heir to the throne. The Great Plague in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666 took place during his reign. Many new buildings were built at this time. St. Paul's Cathedral was built by Sir Christopher Wren and also many churches still to be seen today.
JAMES II and VII of Scotland 1685 - 1688
The second surviving son of Charles I and younger brother of Charles II. James had been exiled following the Civil War and served in both the French and Spanish Army. Although James converted to Catholicism in 1670, his two daughters were raised as Protestants. James became very unpopular because of his persecution of the Protestant clergy and was generally hated by the people. Following the Monmouth uprising (Monmouth was an illegitimate son of Charles II and a Protestant) and the Bloody Assizes of Judge Jeffries, Parliament asked the Dutch prince, William of Orange to take the throne.
William was married to Mary, James II's Protestant daughter. William landed in England and James fled to France where he died in exile in 1701.
WILLIAM III 1689 - 1702 and MARY II 1689 – 1694
On the 5 November 1688, William of Orange sailed his fleet of over 450 ships, unopposed by the Royal Navy, into Torbay harbour and landed his troops in Devon. Gathering local support, he marched his army, now 20,000 strong, on to London in The Glorious Revolution. Many of James II's army had defected to support William, as well as James's other daughter Anne. William and Mary were to reign jointly, and William was to have the Crown for life after Mary died in 1694. James plotted to regain the throne and in 1689 landed in Ireland. William defeated James at the Battle of the Boyne and James fled again to France, as guest of Louis XIV.
ANNE 1702 – 1714
Anne was the second daughter of James II. She had 17 pregnancies but only one child survived - William, who died of smallpox aged just 11. A staunch, high church Protestant, Anne was 37 years old when she succeeded to the throne. Anne was a close friend of Sarah Churchill, the Duchess of Marlborough. Sarah's husband the Duke of Marlborough commanded the English Army in the War of Spanish Succession, winning a series of major battles with the French and gaining the country an influence never before attained in Europe. It was during Anne's reign that the United Kingdom of Great Britain was created by the Union of England and Scotland.
After Anne's death the succession went to the nearest Protestant relative of the Stuart line. This was Sophia, daughter of Elizabeth of Bohemia, James I 's only daughter, but she died a few weeks before Anne and so the throne succeeded to her son George.
Notes
The Dissolution of the Monasteries - Роспуск монастырей — процесс секуляризации монастырей, происходивший при короле Генрихе VIII. Одно из главнейших исторических событий в истории Англии XVI века.
The Book of Common Prayer - Книга общественного богослужения, или Книга общих молитв — краткое название нескольких взаимосвязанных теологических документов церквей Англиканского сообщества.
the Gunpowder Plot was hatched – пороховой заговор затевался
the Monmouth uprising - Восстание Монмута в 1685 году (в просторечии «восстание с вилами») — неудачная попытка свергнуть Якова II, который стал королем Англии после смерти своего старшего брата Карла II 6 февраля 1685 года. Яков II не пользовался популярностью, так как был католиком, а англиканскому большинству не нравился «папистский» король. Живший в Голландии протестант Джеймс Скотт, 1-й герцог Монмут, внебрачный сын Карла II, выдвинул свои притязания на престол и, высадившись в Англии, попытался свергнуть Якова II. После поражения при Седжмуре он был схвачен и обезглавлен.
Unit 4
THE HANOVARIANS
GEORGE I 1714 -1727
Son of Sophia and the Elector of Hanover, great-grandson of James I. The 54 year old George arrived in England able to speak only a few words of English with his 18 cooks and 2 mistresses in tow. George never learned English, so the conduct of national policy was left to the government of the time with Sir Robert Walpole becoming Britain's first Prime Minister. In 1715 the Jacobites (followers of James Stuart, son of James II) attempted to supplant George, but the attempt failed. George spent little time in England - he preferred his beloved Hanover, although he was implicated in the South Sea Bubble financial scandal of 1720. He suffered a stroke on the road between Delden andNordhorn on 9 June 1727, and was taken by carriage to the Prince-Bishop's palace at Osnabrück where he died in the early hours of 11 June 1727. He was buried in the chapel ofLeine Castle but his remains were moved to the chapel at Herrenhausen after World War II.
GEORGE II 1727 – 1760
He was more English than his father, but still relied on Sir Robert Walpole to run the country. George was the last English king to lead his army into battle at Dettingen in 1743. In 1745 the Jacobites tried once again to restore a Stuart to the throne. Prince Charles Edward Stuart, 'Bonnie Prince Charlie', landed in Scotland. He was routed at Culloden Moor by the army under the Duke of Cumberland, known as 'Butcher' Cumberland. Bonnie Prince Charlie escaped to France with the help of Flora MacDonald, and finally died a drunkard's death in Rome.
GEORGE III 1760 – 1820
He was a grandson of George II and the first English-born and English-speaking monarch since Queen Anne. His reign was one of elegance and the age of some of the greatest names in English literature - Jane Austen, Byron, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth. It was also the time of great statesmen like Pitt and Fox and great captains like Wellington and Nelson. in 1773 the 'Boston Tea Party' was the first sign of the troubles that were to come in America. The American Colonies proclaimed their independence on July 4th 1776. George was well meaning but suffered from a mental illness due to intermittent porphyria and eventually became blind and insane. His son ruled as Prince Regent after 1811 until George's death.
GEORGE IV 1820 – 1830
Known as the 'First Gentleman of Europe'. He had a love of art and architecture but his private life was a mess, to put it mildly. He married twice, once in 1785 to Mrs. Fitzherbert, secretly as she was a Catholic, and then in 1795 to Caroline of Brunswick. Mrs. Fitzherbert remained the love of his life. Caroline and George had one daughter, Charlotte in 1796 but she died in 1817. George was considered a great wit, but was also a buffoon and his death was hailed with relief.
WILLIAM IV 1830 – 1837
Known as the 'Sailor King' (for 10 years the young Prince William, brother of George IV, served in the Royal Navy), he was the third son of George III. Before his accession he lived with a Mrs. Jordan, an actress, by whom he had ten children. When Princess Charlotte died, he had to marry in order to secure the succession. He married Adelaide of Saxe-Coburg in 1818. He had two daughters but they did not live. He hated pomp and wanted to dispense with the Coronation. The people loved him because of his lack of pretension. During his reign England abolished slavery in the colonies in 1833. The Reform Act was passed in 1832, this extended the franchise to the middle-classes on a basis of property qualifications.
VICTORIA 1837 – 1901
Victoria, born May 24, 1819, was the daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld. She ascended the throne upon the death of William IV. Barely eighteen, she refused any further influence from her domineering mother and ruled in her own stead. Popular respect for the Crown was at low point at her coronation, but the modest and straightforward young Queen won the hearts of her subjects. She wished to be informed of political matters, although she had no direct input in policy decisions. The Reform Act of 1832 had set the standard of legislative authority residing in the House of Lords, with executive authority resting within a cabinet formed of members of the House of Commons; the monarch was essentially removed from the loop. She respected and worked well with Lord Melbourne, Prime Minister in the early years of her reign, and England grew both socially and economically.
Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840, who replaced Melbourne as the dominant male influence in Victoria's life. Victoria did nothing without her husband's approval. His death from typhoid in 1861 deeply affected Victoria's psyche - she went into seclusion for more than 25 years, not emerging until the Golden Jubilee of 1887, the celebration of her fiftieth year on the throne. An entire generation was raised without ever having seen the face of their Queen.
The reform of government allowed England to avoid the politically tumultuous conditions sweeping across Europe in the mid-nineteenth century. The continent experienced the growing pains of conservatism, liberalism and socialism, and the nationalistic struggle for political unification. England focused on developing industry and trade and expanding its imperial reach; during the reign of Victoria, the empire doubled in size, encompassing Canada, Australia, India and various locales in Africa and the South Pacific. Her reign was almost free of war, with an Irish uprising (1848), the Boer Wars in South Africa (1881, 1899-1902) and an Indian rebellion (1857) being the only exceptions. Victoria was named Empress of India in 1878. England avoided continental conflict from 1815 through 1914, the lone exception being the Crimean War (1853-56).
The national pride connected with the name of Victoria - the term Victorian England, for example, stemmed from the Queen's ethics and personal tastes, which generally reflected those of the middle class. The Golden Jubilee brought her out of her shell, and she again embraced public life. She toured English possessions and even visited France (the first English monarch to do so since the coronation of Henry VI in 1431). When she died of old age, an entire era died with her.
Lytton Strachey chronicled her last days with the sentimentality that had developed by the end of her reign, in the biography, Queen Victoria: " By the end of the year the last remains of her ebbing strength had almost deserted her; and through the early days of the opening century it was clear that her dwindling forces were kept together only by an effort of will. On January 14, she had at Osbourne an hour's interview with Lord Roberts, who had returned victorious from South Africa a few days before. She inquired with acute anxiety into all the details of the war; she appeared to sustain the exertion successfully; but, when the audience was over, there was a collapse. On the following day her medical attendants recognised that her state was hopeless; and yet, for two days more, the indomitable spirit fought on; for two days more she discharged the duties of a Queen of England. But after that there was an end of working; and then, and not till then, did the last optimism of those about her break down. The brain was failing and life was gently slipping away. Her family gathered round her; for a little more she lingered, speechless and apparently insensible; and, on January 22, 1901, she died." Victoria's was the longest reign in English history.
EDWARD VII 1901 – 1910
A much loved king, the opposite of his dour father. He loved horse-racing, gambling and women. This Edwardian Age was one of elegance. Edward had all the social graces and many sporting interests, yachting and horse-racing - his horse Minoru won the Derby in 1909. Edward married the beautiful Alexandra of Denmark in 1863 and they had six children. The eldest, Edward Duke of Clarence, died in 1892 just before he was to marry Princess Mary of Teck. When Edward died in 1910 it is said that Queen Alexandra brought his current mistress Mrs. Keppel to his bedside to take her farewell. His best known mistress was Lily Langtry, the 'Jersey Lily'
HOUSE OF WINDSOR
GEORGE V 1910 – 1936
George had not expected to be king, but when his elder brother died he became the heir-apparent. He had joined the Navy as a cadet in 1877 and loved the sea. He was a bluff, hearty man with a 'quarter-deck' manner. In 1893 he married Princess Mary of Teck, his dead brother's fiancee. His years on the throne were difficult; the First World War in 1914 - 1918 and the troubles in Ireland which lead to the creation of the Irish Free State were considerable problems. In 1932 he began the royal broadcasts on Christmas Day and in 1935 he celebrated his Silver Jubilee. His latter years were overshadowed by his concern about the Prince of Wales and his infatuation with Mrs. Simpson.
EDWARD VIII ( June 1936 - abdicated December 1936)
Edward was the most popular Prince of Wales England has ever had. Consequently when he renounced the throne to marry Mrs. Wallis Simpson the country found it almost impossible to believe. The people as a whole knew nothing about Mrs. Simpson until early in December 1936. Mrs. Simpson was an American, a divorcee and had two husbands still living. This was unacceptable to the Church as Edward had stated that he wanted her to be crowned with him at the Coronation which was to take place the following May. Edward abdicated in favour of his brother and took the title, Duke of Windsor. He went to live abroad. On 28 May 1972, the Duke died at his home in Paris, less than a month before his 78th birthday. His body was returned to Britain, lying in state at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
GEORGE VI 1936 – 1952
George was a shy and nervous man with a very bad stutter, the exact opposite of his brother the Duke of Windsor, but he had inherited the steady virtues of his father George V. He was very popular and well loved by the English people. The prestige of the throne was low when he became king but his wife Elizabeth and his mother Queen Mary were outstanding in their support of him.
The Second World War started in 1939 and throughout the King and Queen set an example of courage and fortitude. They remained at Buckingham Palace for the duration of the war in spite of the bombing. The Palace was bombed more than once. The two Princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, spent the war years at Windsor Castle. George was in close touch with the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill throughout the war and both had to be dissuaded from landing with the troops in Normandy on D-Day. The post-war years of his reign were ones of great social change and saw the start of the National Health Service. The whole country flocked to the Festival of Britain held in London in 1951, 100 years after the Great Exhibition during Victoria's reign.
Notes
South Sea Bubble - " пузырь Южных морей" (кризис фондового рынка Великобритании, наступивший в 1720 г. в результате значительного падения цен акций Компании Южных Морей (South Sea Company) после их спекулятивного роста; является примером финансовой пирамиды)
Bonnie Prince Charlie - Карл Эдуард Стюарт, известный также как Красавчик принц Чарли или Молодой Претендент, — предпоследний представитель дома Стюартов и якобитский претендент на английский и шотландский престолы как Карл III в 1766—1788 годах.
He suffered a stroke –он перенес инсульт
with a very bad stutter – очень сильно заикался
D-Day - День Д — общепринятое военное обозначение дня начала какой-либо военной операции. День Д — дата высадки союзных войск в Нормандии 6 июня 1944 года.
Unit 5
ELIZABETH II 1952
Queen Elizabeth II was born Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, in London, to Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI), and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. She married Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh in 1947, became queen on February 6, 1952, and was crowned on June 2, 1953.
Early Life
At the time of her birth, no one thought Elizabeth would someday become queen of Great Britain. Her father, Prince Albert, was the second son of King George V and Queen Mary. Elizabeth got to enjoy the first decade of her life with all the privileges of being a royal without the pressures of being the heir apparent.
Elizabeth and her younger sister Margaret were educated at home by tutors. Their studies included French, mathematics, history and geography. They also took dancing, singing and art lessons.
In 1936, the course of Elizabeth's life changed with the death of her grandfather, King George V. Her uncle became King Edward VIII, but he was in love with American divorcee Wallis Simpson and had to choose between the crown and his heart. In the end, Edward chose Simpson and Elizabeth's father, Prince Albert, became King George VI.
With the outbreak of World War II, Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, largely stayed out of London, spending much of their time at Winsor Castle. From there, she made one of her famous radio broadcasts reassuring the children of Britain who had been evacuated from their homes and families. The 14-year-old princess, showing her calm and firm personality, told them that "in the end, all will be well for God will care for us and give us victory and peace."
Elizabeth soon started taking on other public duties. Appointed Colonel-in-Chief of the Grenadier Guards by her father, Elizabeth made her first public appearance inspecting the troops in 1942. She also began to accompany her parents on official visits within Great Britain.
In 1945, Elizabeth joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service to help in the war effort. She trained side-by-side with other British women to be an expert driver and mechanic. While her volunteer work only lasted a few months, it offered Elizabeth a glimpse into a different, non-royal world.
Marriage and Accession
Elizabeth first met Philip Mountbatten, son of Prince Andrew of Greece, when she was only 13 and was smitten with him from the start. Distant cousins, the pair kept in touch over the years and eventually fell in love. At the time of their marriage in 1947, Great Britain was still recovering from the ravages of World War II. The ceremony was held at London's Westminster Abbey on November 20. The couple wasted no time in producing an heir. Son Charles was born the following year and daughter Anne arrived in 1950.
On February 6, 1952, King George VI died, and Elizabeth assumed the responsibilities of the ruling monarch. She and Prince Philip had been in Kenya at the time of her father's death. Her official coronation took place in June, 1953, in Westminster Abbey. And for the first time, the ceremony was broadcast on television allowing people from across the globe witness the pomp and spectacle of the event.
In her new role, Queen Elizabeth II had new political duties. She held weekly meetings with the country's prime minister, starting with Winston Churchill and met with every PM after him.
Queen Elizabeth's long and mainly peaceful reign has been marked by vast changes in her people's lives, in her country's power, how Britain is viewed abroad, and how the monarchy is regarded and portrayed. As head of the Commonwealth, Elizabeth II traveled extensively. She also made visits to other countries as a representative of Britain, including a groundbreaking trip to Germany in 1965. Elizabeth became the first monarch to tour there since World War I. As a constitutional monarch, Elizabeth does not weigh in on political matters, nor does she reveal her political views. However, she confers regularly with her Prime Ministers, and is known to have good working relationships with many including Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher.
When Elizabeth became queen, post-war Britain still had a substantial empire, dominions, and dependencies. However, during the 1950s and 1960s, many of these possessions achieved independence and the British Empire evolved into the Commonwealth of Nations. During the 1970s and 1980s, as head of state, Queen Elizabeth traveled extensively to represent the United Kingdom at significant events. She attended the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa, Canada and traveled to the United States for the 200 anniversary celebration of America’s independence from Great Britain.
A Royal Mother
Elizabeth had two more children—sons Andrew and Edward—in the early 1960s. She worked tirelessly to protect the image of the monarchy and to prepare for its future. In 1969, she officially made Prince Charles her successor by granting him the title of Prince of Wales. Approximately 200 million people tuned in to see the ceremony on television.
To continue the rule of the Windsor family, Elizabeth pressured Prince Charles to marry. In 1981, he finally decided to marry 19-year-old Diana Spencer. The wedding drew enormous crowds in the streets of London and millions watched the proceedings on television. Public opinion of the monarchy was especially strong at that time.
The following year, Elizabeth worried about her second son Andrew. Prince Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in the British Royal Navy during the Falklands War of 1982. Britain went to war with Argentina over the Falklands Islands, a clash that lasted for several weeks. While more than 250 British soldiers died in the conflict, Prince Andrew returned home safe and well much to his mother's relief.
Threats and Scandals
Elizabeth, as queen, has seen the monarchy come under attack during her lifetime. The once-revered institution has weathered a number of storms, including death threats against the royal family. In 1979, Elizabeth suffered a great personal loss when Lord Mountbatten, her husband's uncle, died in a terrorist bombing.
In June 1981, Elizabeth herself had a dangerous encounter. She was riding in the Trooping the Colour, a special military parade to celebrate her official birthday, when a man in the crowd pointed a gun at her. He fired, but, fortunately, the gun was loaded with blanks.
In 1997, Elizabeth went under intense media scrutiny herself in the wake of Princess Diana's death. Her incredibly popular ex-daughter-in-law, sometimes nicknamed the People's Princess, died in a car crash in Paris on August 31. The queen was at her estate Balmoral with Prince Charles and his two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, at the time. For days, Elizabeth remained silent while the country mourned Diana's passing and she was sharply criticized for her lack of response. Stories circulated that the queen did not want to give Diana a Royal funeral, which only fueled public sentiment against her. Nearly a week after Diana's death, Elizabeth returned to London and issued a statement on the late princess.
Later Years
After the start of the 21st century, Elizabeth experienced two great losses. She said good-bye to both her sister Margaret and her mother in 2002. Only a few weeks later, Elizabeth's mother, known as the Queen Mother, died at Royal Lodge on March 30 at the age of 101.
Known to be a stickler for ceremony and tradition, Elizabeth has shown signs of softening her stance. She had objected to the relationship between Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, especially because the pair had been involved while the prince was married. When the pair married in 2005, Elizabeth and Prince Philip had a reception in their honor at Windsor Castle.
Elizabeth has also emerged as a devoted grandmother to Prince William and Prince Harry. Prince William has said that she offered invaluable support and guidance as he and Catherine Middleton planned their 2011 wedding. That same year, Elizabeth showed that the crown still had symbolic and diplomatic power when she became the first monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland since it gained independence in the 1920s.
Elizabeth has modernized the monarchy as well. She had dropped some of its formalities and made some of sites and treasures more accessible to the public. As Britain and other nations have struggled financially in recent years, she has welcomed the elimination of the Civil List, which was a public funding system of the monarchy that dates back roughly 250 years. The royal family continues to receive some government support, but the queen has had to cut back on spending.
Despite the occasional call to step aside for Prince Charles, Elizabeth has remained steadfastly on the throne. Some of her duties have been passed on to her eldest son, but she still maintains a busy schedule of her own. Elizabeth handles roughly 430 engagements each year and supports more than 600 charitable organizations and programs.
Now in her eighties, she celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2013. The celebration marked her 60 years as queen. As part of the jubilee festivities, a special service was held at Westminster Abbey on June 2nd,
In 2013, Elizabeth celebrated another happy event. Her grandson, Prince William, and his wife, Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, welcomed their first child, a son named George Alexander Louis—known officially as "His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge"—on July 22, 2013. Elizabeth visited her new great-grandson after William and Kate returned home to Kensington Palace from the hospital.
On May 2, 2015, Prince William and Kate Middleton welcomed their second child, a daughter and the Queen's fifth great-grandchild.
Personal Life
Not one for the spotlight, Elizabeth likes to spend her free time on quiet pastimes. She likes to read mysteries, work on crossword puzzles and even to watch wrestling on television.
For much of her life, Elizabeth has surrounded herself with dogs. She especially known for her love of corgis. Also a horse enthusiast, Elizabeth breeds thoroughbreds and attends several racing events each year.
The Queen became the longest-lived British monarch in 2007. If she is still reigning on 10 September 2015, she will surpass her great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, as the longest-reigning British monarch and second-longest reigning in Canadian history (surpassed only by King Louis XIV). She is the world's oldest reigning monarch and second-longest-serving current head of state (after King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand). She does not intend to abdicate, though the proportion of the sovereign's duties performed by Prince Charles is expected to continue to increase as Elizabeth, who will celebrate her ninetieth birthday in 2016, reduces her commitments.
Unit 6