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

_______________________________ 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)

_____________________ Wiktionary's Word of the day:

bucolic: Rustic, pastoral, country-styled (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bucolic)

_____________________ 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)