THE QUEEN AND PARLIAMENT It is rather difficult to understand the British way of ruling the country. In Britain the Queen is the Head of State, but in fact she doesn’t rule the country as she has no power. The Queen is the symbol of the country, its history and its traditions. She is very rich. She travels about the United Kingdom, meets different people and visits schools, hospitals and other special places. So do all the members of the Royal Family: the Queen’s husband, her son Prince Charles, the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne and Princess Margaret, the Queen’s sister. At the beginning of the 20th century many countries all over the world were ruled by Britain. Among them were the British colonies and they were all part of the British Empire. India, Pakistan and Ceylon, for example, were also part of the Empire. Now these countries are independent states. But in 1949 Britain and the former colonies founded the Commonwealth.4 The Commonwealth includes many countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth and the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The real power in the country belongs to the British Parliament and to the British Government. The British Parliament has two houses: the House of Commons1 and the House of Lords.2 The House of Lords does not have much power but it is very important as it can discuss and change laws, it can delay laws too. The House of Commons makes laws about the policy of the country, taxes3 and many other things. The members of the House of Lords are not elected, they are selected.4 These members are permanent. They are often aristocrats, people of the church, lawyers and former politicians or life peers. The members of the House of Commons are elected. The British people elect 650 members of the House of Commons every five years. задать 10 разных вопросов пожалуйста