The Queen or the Parliament

    I have two favourite subjects English and History. In History I am very interested

 in political systems of different countries. But I have always wanted to understand the constitutional monarchy of Great Britain.

    The United Kingdom is one of six constitutional monarchies within the European Community and this institution dates back in Britain to the Saxon King Egbert. Since the age of absolute monarchy there has been a gradual decline in the Sovereign's power and, while formally still the head of the executive and the judiciary, commander-in-chief of all the armed forces and temporal governor of the Church of England, nowadays monarchs reign but they do not rule.

    By statute and convention no monarch may be of Roman Catholic faith, nor marry someone of that faith; and the title to the throne passes to the male line of the family in order of descent and, if there are no sons, to the daughters in order of descent.

    Although many people consider the monarchy to be somewhat anachronistic and undemocratic institution, the Queen continues to enjoy the support of the vast majority of Britons and she does have certain undeniably useful functions. Besides carrying out important ceremonial duties, she also acts as a "unifying force" in both the Constitution and the nation, lying outside of the politi­cal debate. Moreover, her regular meetings with successive Prime Ministers and personal contacts with numerous foreign leaders mean that she is better informed than most ministers.

     That’s why I made up my mind to study the problem: the Queen or the Parliament in the United Kingdom.