A typical day in the life of the Queen of England… In the morning… The Queen begins her day like many other people - with paperwork at her desk After reading the daily British newspapers, The Queen examines her correspondence: 200-300 letters or more per day! Of course the Queen can’t read them all, so with the help of members of her staff she selects some letters to answer The Queen then sees, separately, two of her Private Secretaries who bring her the official papers and documents for her to read, approve and sign and information from all over the world All of these papers are sent in the famous ‘red boxes’ After this it’s time for the audiences: when the Queen receives a number of important people (ambassadors, bishops, judges, etc.) Each meeting lasts 10 to 20 minutes Usually the Queen has lunch privately In the afternoon… In the afternoons, The Queen often goes out on public engagements (about 430 per year) If the engagement is outside London, the Queen travels by air using a helicopter or an RAF plane In these engagements the Queen visits schools, hospitals, factories, military units, art galleries, shelters for elderly people, hostels for the homeless and other organisations The Queen may end the afternoon seeing Government ministers in a meeting of the Privy Council In the evening… The Queen's working day does not stop at the end of the afternoon Once a week (usually on Wednesdays), in the early evening she has a meeting with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair At about 7.30 pm the Queen reads a report of the day's parliamentary actions On some evenings, The Queen attends a film première, a concert performance for a charitable cause, or a reception linked to organisations of which she is Patron The Queen also regularly organises official receptions at Buckingham Palace (usually with other members of the Royal Family) The Queen has many private interests to complete her working day For example, she owns and breeds racehorses so she often sees her horses run at famous races like the Derby and the Summer Race Meeting Do you still think the Queen has an easy life? Often, one of the last lights on in the Palace at night is The Queen finishing her 'red box' of official papers For more information visit: http://www.royal.gov.uk Glossary staff – (n) equipa bishops – (n) bispos judges – (n) juízes meeting – (n) reunião lasts – (v) dura engagement – (n) compromisso outside – (prep) fora de factories – (n) fábricas shelters – (n) abrigos, asilos hostels – (n) abrigos, pensões early – (adj) cedo report – (n) relatório attends – (v) assiste première – (n) estreia charitable – (adj) de caridade linked – (v) relacionada owns – (v) possui breeds – (v) faz criação lights on – luzes acesas A Now that you have read the text, order the Queen’s actions chronologically: The queen reads the newspapers She reads and answers some letters She reads, approves and signs important papers and documents She has audiences with many important people After lunch she visits schools, hospitals and other places (‘engagements’) She sees Government Ministers She meets with the Prime Minister (usually on Wednesdays) The Queen reads a report of the day’s parliamentary actions Sometimes she goes out to a film première, a concert or a reception 10 To complete the day she may see her horses race 11 She may end her day reading more official paper in her ‘red box’ B Decide if the following sentences are true or false Justify quoting from the text The Queen receives many letters per day The important papers and documents for the Queen to read, approve and sign come inside a ‘blue box’ The Queen has lunch with many important people All of the Queen’s engagements are inside London so she always travels by car The name of the Prime Minister is Tony Blair The Queen likes to organise receptions at Buckingham Palace The Queen likes to own and breed dogs The Queen is often the last person to go to bed at night C Now that you have read the text answer the questions: How many letters does the Queen receive every day? Does she read them all? What is the ‘red box’? Who does Queen see before her lunch? What does the Queen in the ‘engagements’? When does the Queen meet with the Prime Minister? Does she go to the cinema or to a concert? Name one of the Queen’s private interests Would you like to be the Queen of a country? Why/why not? The Royal Family Tree Look at the Royal Family Tree and complete the next sentences Use the words in the box aunt brothers grandmother cousins grandsons daughter father granddaughters mother nephew uncles niece grandfather sister sons Portuguese George V was Queen Elizabeth’s _1 Princess Mary was is Queen Elizabeth’s _2 George VI was Queen Elizabeth’s _3 Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon is her _4 Edward VIII, Henry, George and Prince John were her _5 The Queen had one _6: Mary, Princess Royal Princess Margaret was the Queen’s _7 The queen hasn’t got any _ _ _ _ _ _ Richard (Duke of Gloucester), Edward (Duke of Kent), Princess Alexandra and Prince Michael are the Queen’s _9 The Queen has got three _10 (Charles, Andrew and 11 _ Edward) and one _ (Anne) David (Viscount Linley) is the Queen’s _12 Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones is the Queen’s _13 _ 14 So far, the Queen has got three _ (William, Henry and _ 15 Peter Phillips) and three _ (Zara, Beatrice and Eugenie) _ 10 _ _ 11 _ _ 12 _ _ 13 _ _ 14 _ _ 15 _ _ Full name Date & Place of Birth Starsign Height Parents Brothers and sisters Education Homes Family Working life Skills Hobbies Pets Christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor 21 April 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, London Taurus ft 4in King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother One younger sister, Princess Margaret, who died on February 2002 Educated at home Buckingham Palace (official London residence) The Palace of Holyroodhouse (official Scottish residence), Windsor Castle, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle are also used at different times of the year Married HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 20 November 1947 Four children: Prince Charles (The Prince of Wales), Princess Anne (The Princess Royal), Prince Andrew (The Duke of York) and Prince Edward (The Earl of Wessex) Seven grandchildren: Prince William, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, Lady Louise Windsor Head of State in the UK Meets the Prime Minister and other Ministers and reads Cabinet and Foreign Office papers Receives visiting Heads of State and pays official visits to overseas countries Head of the Church of England, the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, and the Commonwealth Passed vehicle mechanics exams and qualified as a driver in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during World War II Speaks good French Acted in charades and family plays as a teenager Riding, walking in the countryside, horse racing, working her dogs, Scottish country dancing 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