The monarchy of the United Kingdom is a system of government in which
a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of the United Kingdom and its
overseas territories. The terms British monarch and British monarchy
may mean different things in different contexts beyond the United
Kingdom. The present monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned
since 6 February, 1952. The heir apparent is her eldest son, Charles,
Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay. They and the Queen's husband and
consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, undertake various public
duties in accordance with their positions. Elizabeth II is Head of the
Commonwealth and also reigns as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth
countries. This developed from the former colonial relationship of
these countries to Britain, but they are now independent and the
monarchy of each is legally distinct.
Read the rest of this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1836:
Texan forces led by Sam Houston defeated General Antonio López de
Santa Anna and his Mexican troops in the Battle of San Jacinto near La
Porte, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_San_Jacinto)
1894:
Norway formally adopted the Krag-Jørgensen, a repeating bolt action
rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik
Jørgensen, as the main firearm of its armed forces.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krag-J%C3%B8rgensen)
1918:
The German fighter pilot known as "The Red Baron", the most
successful flying ace of World War I with 80 confirmed air combat
victories, was shot down and killed near Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manfred_von_Richthofen)
1967:
Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos overthrew the government of Prime
Minister Panagiotis Kanellopoulos in a coup d'état, establishing the
Regime of the Colonels in Greece.
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgios_Papadopoulos)
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Wiktionary's Word of the day:
bucolic: Rustic, pastoral, country-styled
(
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bucolic)
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Wikiquote of the day:
How hard to realize that every camp of men or beast has this glorious
starry firmament for a roof! In such places standing alone on the
mountaintop it is easy to realize that whatever special nests we make
— leaves and moss like the marmots and birds, or tents or piled stone
— we all dwell in a house of one room — the world with the firmament
for its roof — and are sailing the celestial spaces without leaving
any track.
-- John Muir
(
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Muir)