英国女王Queen Elizabeth IIu Real name: Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsoru Birth: 21 April 1926 in Londonu Children: 3 sons, 1 daughterThe Role of the MonarchBefore the English Bourgeois Revolution:(1) He personally exercised supreme executive, legislativeand judicial power.(2) He manipulated the election of the Archbishop.(3) He could grant lands and wealth to his favorites.(4) He could appoint his followers to important positions.(5) He conferred noble titles.(6) He could have anyone arrested, put into prison or todeath.What powers does the Queen have?Superficially, she is:1) official head of state2) head of the legal system of Britain3) head of the judiciary3) commander-in-chief of the armed forces4) head of the Church of EnglandShe appoints the Prime Minister, ministers, and important officials and officers.- She presides the great state functions- She gives many important honors and awards.- She concludes treaties and declares war.- She remits all or part of the sentence passed on a criminal by granting a royal pardon赦免令 .A less well known role of the Queen, which is nevertheless very important to British politics, is that of a confidante to the Prime Minister. Her long experience and her politically neutrality make her a good source of informed observation on the day to day problems of governanceThe culture of the United Kingdom is rich and varied, and has been influential on culture on a worldwide scale. It is a European state, and has many cultural links with its former colonies, particularly those that use the English language (the Anglosphere). Considerable contributions to British culture have been made over the last half-century by immigrants from the Indian Subcontinent and the West Indies. The origins of the UK as a political union of formerly independent states has resulted in the preservation of distinctive cultures in each of the home nations. Language Main article: Languages in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom has no official language. English is the main language and the de facto official language, spoken monolingually by an estimated 95% of the UK population. However, some nations and regions of the UK have frameworks for the promotion of their autochthonous languages. In Wales, English and Welsh are both widely used by officialdom, and Irish and Ulster Scots enjoy limited use alongside English in Northern Ireland, mainly in publicly commissioned translations. Additionally, the Western Isles council area of Scotland has a policy to promote Scottish Gaelic. Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, which is not legally enforceable, the UK Government has committed itself to the promotion of certain linguistic traditions. Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Cornish are to be developed in Wales, Scotland and Cornwall respectively. Other native languages afforded such protection include Irish in Northern Ireland, Scots in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where it is known in official parlance as Ulster Scots or Ullans but in the speech of users simply as Scotch, and British Sign Language. The Arts Literature Sherlock Holmes, played here by Jeremy Brett, was created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle.Main article: British literature The earliest native literature of the territory of the modern United Kingdom was written in the Celtic languages of the isles. The Welsh literary tradition stretches from the 6th century. Irish poetry also represents a more or less unbroken tradition from the 6th century to the present day, with the Ulster Cycle being of particular relevance to Northern Ireland. Anglo-Saxon literature includes Beowulf, a national epic, but literature in Latin predominated among educated elites. After the Norman Conquest Anglo-Norman literature brought continental influences to the isles. English literature emerged as a recognisable entity in the late 14th century, with the rise and spread of the London dialect of Middle English. Geoffrey Chaucer is the first great identifiable individual in English literature: his Canterbury Tales remains a popular 14th-century work which readers still enjoy today. Following the introduction of the printing press into England by William Caxton in 1476, the Elizabethan era saw a great flourishing of literature, especially in the fields of poetry and drama. From this period, poet and playwright William Shakespeare stands out as arguably the most famous writer in the world. The English novel became a popular form in the 18th century, with Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe (1719), Samuel Richardsons Pamela (1740) and Henry Fieldings Tom Jones (1745). After a period of decline, the poetry of Robert Burns revived interest in vernacular literature, the rhyming weavers of Ulster being especially influenced by literature in Scots from Scotland. The following two centuries continued a hug