Queen Elizabeth II (Kráľovná Alžbeta II.)

Queen Elizabeth II (Kráľovná Alžbeta II.)

Princess Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born in London at 17 Bruton Street, at 2.40am on April 21, 1926. In 1930, Princess Margaret Rose was born, a sister of Princess Elizabeth. The family of four was very close¹. In 1937 the two Princesses attended their parents´ coronation² in Westminister Abbey.

Princess Elizabeth studied at home with her younger sister. Elizabeth met her future husband, Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, in 1934 and 1937. After another meeting at the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth in July 1939, Elizabeth – though only 13 years old – fell in love³ with Philip, and they began to exchange⁴ letters. They married on 20 November 1947 at Westminister Abbey. Elizabeth and Philip received⁵ 2500 wedding gifts from around the world.

They have four children, eight grandchildren and one great – grandchild. Prince Charles, now The Prince of Wales, heir⁶ apparent⁷ to the throne, was born in 1948 and his sister, Princess Anne, now The Princess Royal, two years later. After Princess Elizabeth became Queen, their third child, Prince Andrew, arrived in 1960 and the fourth, Prince Edward, in 1964.

Baby prince Charles

¹close: blízky ⁶ heir: dedič

² coronation: korunovácia  ⁷ apparent: zrejmý

³ fall in love: zaľúbiť sa

⁴ exchange: vymeniť

⁵ receive: dostať, prijať

On Wednesday, 6 February 1952, Princess Elizabeth received⁵ the news of her father´s death. Her Coronation took place⁸ in Westminister Abbey on 2 June 1953. Elizabeth´s popularity sank⁹ to a low point¹⁰ in the 1990s. Under pressure¹¹ from public opinion, she began to pay income tax¹² for the first time, and Buckingham Palace was opened to the public. In 2002, Elizabeth had a Golden Jubilee as queen. Her sister and mother died in February and March. In summer of 2006 The Queen celebrated her 80th birthday and she travelled with all her family through the Western Isles of Scotland. In 2012 Elizabeth has a Diamond Jubilee as a queen (60 years as a queen). She is the longest-lived and second-longest-reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. This year she will open the 2012 Summer Olympics on 27 July and the Paralympics on 29 August in London.

Elizabeth and her husband Philip

Jej úplný titul ako kráľovnej Spojeného kráľovstva znie:

po anglicky: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

po slovensky: Alžbeta Druhá, z Božej milosti Spojeného kráľovstva Veľkej Británie a Severného Írska a jej iných kráľovstiev a teritórií kráľovná, hlava Spoločenstva, ochrankyňa viery".

⁸ take place: konať sa

⁹ sink : klesať

¹⁰ low point: nízka úroveň

¹¹ pressure: tlak

¹² income tax: daň z príjmu