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Should the Queen Be An Empress? An empire is a group of nations with one supreme ruler. The UK contains four countries England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as well as the Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. So would the title Britannic Empress (or something similar) be more fitting for our Queen?

The Empire no longer exists, so therefore she could not be referred to as an Empress. The British Empire became a group of countries called the Commonwealth. Some old colonial countries are still a part of the Commonwealth, but India, for instance, left long ago.

The Queen is known as 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. King George VI, the Queen's father, was the last King-Emperor.

This was the best answer as chosen by voters at Yahoo! Answers

Why is the Queen referred to as the second Elizabeth? Her mother was also Queen Elizabeth, so shouldn't this Queen be Elizabeth III?

No. The "numbering" of a monarch applies to those who are regnant (reigning as the sovereign). The current Queen is regnant, meaning that it was through her birthright - not her marriage - that she became Queen. It was the same situation for Queen Elizabeth I. The Queen Mother, however, held the title of Queen through her marriage to a king, making her a consort to the monarch, not a monarch herself.

Why is Prince Philip not King Philip?

This is a similar situation to the question above. When a woman marries a king, she assumes the title of queen because her husband will still hold the higher rank. She is known as a "Queen Consort". If a female holds the title of Queen because that is her birthright, she holds the higher rank. Thus, it would be inappropriate for Philip to be titled king since that would outrank Her Majesty, who is of the blood royal.

England has had a previous "King Consort", however. Mary I had a "King Consort" from from 1554 to 1558 - the future King Philip II of Spain.

Note: The only husband of a reigning queen to be granted the official title of "Prince Consort" was Queen Victoria's husband, Albert.

What are the jewelled pictures pinned to Her Majesty's shoulder?

The jewelled portraits are known as Royal Family Orders, which are given by the sovereign to female members of the Royal Family. The badge features a portrait of the Monarch, surrounded by diamonds with the royal cypher on the back side. It is attached to a silk bow, the color of which varies from sovereign to sovereign. (Light blue - George V; pink - George VI; yellow - The Queen.) The Queen wears the Family Orders of her father George VI and her grandfather George V, while her family members wear her order only.

Where can I purchase a title? Is this even possible?

No. Do not pay ANYTHING to buy a title. These are not real titles. Anything that is a true title will be handed down through descendants within a family or bestowed personally by a member of the British Royal Family (or a genuine European Monarchy - see list). Visit the Earl of Bradford’s web site "FakeTitles.com" to get insight into the scam being deployed on naive people everywhere. For these and other peer related answers, please visit Burke's Peerage.

Why does the Queen sign things with an "R", and have an "R" in her cypher? I thought her surname was Windsor.

Her Majesty's surname is indeed Windsor. The "R" simply stands for "Regina", a term from the days of the Roman Empire meaning queen. For a male, it would be "Rex", the term for king.

In the old days, when India was part of the empire, Queen Victoria would sign her name with an "RI" meaning "Regina Imperatrix" - Queen Empress.

What is the order of precedence in rank in the United Kingdom?

Dukes, Marquesses, Earls, Viscounts, and Barons. The Archbishop of Canterbury, however, is the highest non-royal. Bishops of the Church of England rank immediately above the Barons. Titles in that order: Duke(Duchess); Marquess(Marchioness); Earl(Countess); Viscount(Viscountess); Lord(Lady).

What kind of tea does Queen Elizabeth drink? What time of day and what else does she have at teatime?

The Queen - as I've heard - drinks Darjeeling tea and with it she eats jammy dodgers, small round sandwiches with jam in the middle. She also has cucumber sandwiches and little cakes. Teatime is usually at three or four in the afternoon.      

Why does Her Majesty have a birthday on April 21 and then again in June?

April 21, 1926 was the birthday of our present sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II. Every year the family celebrates in April, but it has long been customary for the nation to celebrate her birthday on a day in the summer (better chance of nice weather, one may suspect). The month of June is when her birthday is celebrated publicly, and on this day, the Trooping the Colour ceremony is held. The practice of celebrating the official birthday on the second Thursday of June began in the reign of The Queen's father, King George VI (whose actual birthday was on 14th December). For the first seven years of her reign this was continued. But in 1959, for general reasons of convenience, it was changed to the second Saturday. Nowadays it may be on the first, second, or even the third Saturday in June.      

How does one address a peer or member of the Royal Family?

There are a number of ways. It depends on whether you are addressing someone socially or by correspondence. According to Debrett's, when addressing the Queen, it is laid out like this:

On the envelope, for formal and state documents:

"The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty" otherwise "Her Majesty The Queen".
Commencement:
"Madam," or "May it please your Majesty".
Conclusion:
"I have the honour to remain Madam, Your Majesty's most humble and obedient servant".
Personal address:
"Your Majesty", and thenceforward as "Ma'am".

For Princes & Princesses:

On the envelope:
(i) the son of a Sovereign "His Royal Highness The Prince [Charles]";
(ii) other Princes "His Royal Highness Prince [Michael of Kent]";
(iii) Duke "His Royal Highness The Duke of [Gloucester]". Commencement, "Sir".
Conclusion:
"I have the honour to be, Sir, Your Royal Highness's most humble and obedient servant".
Personal address: "Your Royal Highness", and thenceforward as "Sir".

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Fast Facts

King Harold II, a former holder of the title Earl of Wessex, enjoyed a rapid rise to fame before his horrific end at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. He inherited the title of Earl of Wessex from his father Godwin in 1053, having previously been the Earl of East Anglia.

Queen Victoria's best known line, "We are not amused", seems to fit well with all of the stern, unsmiling photos of her. But, there's no actual proof of her uttering this famous phrase; what she HAS been known to say was, "I was very much amused."

The name England comes from the tribes of people who settled there(Angles, Saxons, and Jutes), most notably the Angles! "England" evolved from "Angle-land".

Queen Elizabeth II has more British blood in her than most of her ancestors who were Sovereigns. She also has Scottish ancestry from the Queen Mother's side, with her mother being descended from Scottish Kings.

Queen Elizabeth II is the "most-traveled" monarch in history with the advent of airplanes. Others went by ship or did not travel much at all.

During the reign of Henry VII, Bristol, England was enormously rich thanks to the shipping of Cotswold wool, Iceland fish, and Bordeaux wine. This is where the saying "all shipshape and Bristol fashion" originated.

King Henry VII's wife, Elizabeth of York, is the queen in a deck of playing cards, which were invented in 1486.

Her Majesty loves dogs, and has many of the precious pups - five corgis called Emma, Linnet, Monty, Willow and Holly; four 'dorgis' (corgis crossed with a dachshund) called Cider, Berry, Vulcan and Candy; five cocker spaniels called Bisto, Oxo, Flash, Spick and Span. Many of the corgis are descended from Susan, a corgi given to the Queen when she was a little girl.

The name of the royal family became Windsor thanks to King George V. The grandfather of our present Queen did not want the royal house to be associated with anything German (this was during WWI) so he changed their name to associate them with the town and castle of Windsor. The popular story of the war-time name change tells us that the Royal Family changed from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor. Prince Albert was a prince from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, hence his 'name' was given to the British monarchy. While this is true, the name of the Royal house was actually Wettin according to geneologists.