ROYAL TRADITIONSBudarina Victoria

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Great Britain has many holidays, festivals, customs and traditions, which are accurately observed. One of the most exciting features in England is its

Royal traditions.

In 2013 The Queen celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of her Coronation. The coronation ceremony has remained essentially the same over a thousand years. For the last 900 years, the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey, London. Present are representatives of the Houses of Parliament, Church and State. The coronation is an occasion for celebration.

Coronation

The Queen is the only person in Britain with two birthdays. Herreal birthday is on April 21st, but she has an official birthday, too.That’s on the second Saturday in June. And on the Queen’s

officialbirthday, there is a traditional ceremony called the Trooping of theColour. It’s a big parade with brass bands and hundreds of soldiersat Horse.

The Trooping of the Colour

The Guards march in front ofthe Queen. The Guards aretrooping the colour. Thousandsof Londoners and visitors watchHorse Guards Parade.

The Trooping of the Colour

This happens every day at Buckingham Palace, the Queen’s home in London. Soldiers stand in front of the palace. Eachmorning these soldiers change. One group leaves and anotherarrives. In summer and winter tourists stand outside the palace at11.30 every morning and watch the Changing of the Guard.

The changing of the Guard

The Order of the Garter ceremony has a long history. King Edward IIIstarted the Order in the fourteenth century. At that time, the people in the Order were the twenty-four Bravest knights in England. Now the knights of the Order aren’t all soldiers. They are members of the House of Lords, church leaders or politicians. The Queen is the Sovereign of the Order of the Garter.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter

In June the Order has a traditional ceremony atWindsor Castle. It’s the home of the Order of the

Garter.

The Most Noble Order of the Garter

All the knights wear the traditional clothes or «robes» of the Order. These robes are very heavy but they are an important part of one of Britain’s oldest tradition.

Remembrance DayThe Remembrance Day ceremony is held on the second Sunday in November at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The nation pays homage to those who died in two world wars and in many other lesser conflicts from the twentieth century to the present. The Queen, other members of the Royal Family for the two-minute silence. Her Majesty then lays a wreath of poppies at the foot of the Cenotaph. A member of the Royal Family takes the salute.

Parliament, not the RoyalFamily, controls modern Britain.But traditionally the Queen opens Parliament every autumn.She travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses ofParliament in a gold carriage. Atthe Houses of Parliament theQueen sits on a «throne» in theHouse of Lords. Then she readsthe «Queen’s Speech».

The State opening of Parliament

Maundy Thursday is the day before Good Friday, atEaster. On that day the Queen gives Maundy Money to agroup of old people. This tradition is over 1000 years old.

Maundy Money

This historic ceremony dates fromthe twelfth century, when the Crownclaimed ownership of all mute swans. At that time swans were regarded as a delicious dish at banquets and feasts.

Swan-upping

Swan-upping Today on the River Thames there are hundreds of swans. A lot ofthese beautiful white birds belong to the king or queen. Then the Queen’s swan keeper goes, in a boat, from London Bridge to Henley. He looks at all the young swans and marks the royal ones. Swan Upping takes place in the third week of July each year. Children from local schools are invited every year to watch this.

Royal AscotAscot Racecourse was founded by Queen Anne in 1711 and since that time, a further eleven monarchs have leant their patronage to the Royal race course. The Royal Meeting held annually in the third week in June. The Queen has owned 22 winners at Royal Ascot.

Services of Thanksgiving

From time to time, Services of Thanksgiving are held to commemorate special events. Such services may be held to celebrate an event of national importance or which relates to an organization linked to the Royal Family. Services of Thanksgiving are usually held in notable churches in London and around the UK.

Today gun salutes mark special occasions on certain days of the year. The number of rounds fired in a Royal salute depends on the place and occasion.

Gun Salutes

Gun salutes occur on the following Royal anniversaries:6 February - Accession Day21 April - The Queen's birthday2 June - Coronation Day10 June - The Queen's official birthday14 November - The State Opening of Parliament

Chelsea Flower Show

It is open to the public until the final day, which is Saturday. The aim of the exhibitions is to encourage amateur gardeners of all standards to try to achieve similar displays in their own gardens.

The Queen regularly attends the opening of the show, which begins with Press Day on the Monday. Her Majesty is often accompanied by other members of the Royal Family.

Royal Garden Party

Over 30,000 people attend. Every summer, The Queen hosts at least three at Buckingham Palace, as well as one at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

With tea, cakes and a beautiful garden to stroll in, garden parties are among the most relaxed and informal Royal events.

The Ceremony of the Keys

This is ceremony at which The Queen is received in the city of Edinburgh by the City Chamberlain. Her Majesty is given the keys of the city and is welcomed to "your ancient kingdom of Scotland".

Investitures An Investiture is a very special day when an individual who has been awarded an honour receives their award in person from The Queen. Around 25 Investitures are held each year. The majority happen in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace. Investitures are also occasionally held overseas, during a State visit by The Queen or a foreign visit by another member of the Royal Family.

On Christmas Day at 3.00 in the afternoon, the Queen makes aspeech on radio and TV. It’s ten minutes long. In it she talks to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. TheCommonwealth is a large group of countries. In the past they

were all in the British Empire. Australia, India, Canada and New Zealand are among the 49 members.

The Queen’s Christmas speech

Thank you for your attention!