The Junior Members of the British Royal Family

Aside from the senior members composed by the Queen, Prince Philip and their children, the British Royal Family is also made up of its junior members who are the Queen's cousins, who also perform official duties and public functions and support dozens of charities in support of the Monarchy.

The Queen's cousins, who are also prince and princesses of the United Kingdom, are Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent, Prince Michael, their wives and Princess Alexandra of Kent.

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

Prince Richard was born in 1944. He is the second son of Prince Henry, fourth child and third son of King George V and Queen Mary, and of the Lady Alice Montagu-Douglas-Scott. He actually planned to pursue a career as an architect but the sudden death of his elder brother, Prince William, in 1972, and his father's death, made him his father's sole heir. Thus, he decided to set aside his career and instead carry on the burden of supporting the monarchy. In 1972, he married Birgitte van Deurs (b. 1946) and together, they performed an extensive round of public duties, official and ceremonial roles, charities that required them to travel around the world.

The Duke and Duchess of Kent

Prince Edward was born in 1935, the eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent and Princess Marina of Greece. Prince George was the fourth son of King George V while Princess Marina was a member of the Greek Royal Family. He inherited his father's title upon his untimely death in 1942. Eventually, the duke pursued an active and successful career in the military while devotedly supporting the Queen through the numerous public and official activities he's been up to. He married Katharine Worseley (b. 1933) in 1961, who recently took up a teaching position and is so far the only member of the Royal Family to convert to the Catholic faith.

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

Prince Michael is the younger brother of Prince Edward and Princess Alexandra. His father died a few weeks after his birth in 1942. He and his wife, Princess Michael (b. 1945), are the only members of the Royal Family, who do not take on official duties, although for quite some time, they have represented the Queen on overseas visits. They also support hundreds of charities. Prince Michael has been an active officer in the military until his retirement in 1970s. In 1978, he married Baroness Marie-Christine von Reibnitz, who took the title Princess Michael after their wedding. She is a renowned author, lecturer and interior decorator while the Prince is a fluent Russian interpreter and manages his own consultancy firm (the Queen had given his cousin the permission to enter into business).

Princess Alexandra, The Hon. Lady Ogilvy

Princess Alexandra is the only sister of Prince Edward and Prince Michael and is known as one of the hardest working members of the British Royal Family. During her youth, she was already a familiar face, being a constant companion of her mother, Princess Marina, who herself was an active royal. Later, she took on her own role and travelled extensively, supported charities, and carried out official duties in support of her cousin The Queen. She married the Hon. James Ogilvy (1926-2004) in 1963, second son of the Earl of Airlie.

Christian's fascination to the glittering world of monarchy has started when he was like 12. Since then, it has never wavered but continued to flicker through the years. Aside from his hectic writing routine, he takes time to research and write about the lives of the royals. In fact, he could tell you anything about these people even while closing his eyes! Visit his royal blog, http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/ and learn what he discovered recently.

Christian has been writing for the web since 2005. Since then, he has written thousands of articles for his clients. Check out more of Christian's articles at Helium and Suite 101.

Feel free to contact him at optimistic.writer@yahoo.com.

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Queen Elizabeth II and The British Royal Family

The current British Royal Family is composed of the Queen, Elizabeth II, her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, their children, and the Queen's relatives bearing the title style Royal Highness. The current royal family is descended from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Before World War I, the British Royal Family is named the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. In 1917, out from strong anti-German sentiments and a surge of anti-monarchist propaganda, King George V (the current queen's grandfather) changed the name of the British Royal Family from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to Windsor, named after the oldest inhabited castle in the world.

A Queen is Born

Queen Elizabeth II was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary in 1926. Her father was then the Duke of York, while her mother was the former Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The young Elizabeth's father was never expected to become king because he had an elder brother, Edward, Prince of Wales, who ascended as King Edward VIII in 1936. However, the new king fell in love with a twice-divorced American, Wallis Warfield-Simpson. Those days, marrying a divorcee meant social disgrace and the king was faced with the dilemma of choosing between his duty as head of the Great Britain and the Commonwealth and marrying the "woman that he loves." He abdicated in December 1936, was made Duke of Windsor, and married Mrs. Simpson the following year.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth

The new king assumed the name George VI and went on to rule Great Britain and the far-flung British Empire from 1936 until his death in 1952. He and Queen Elizabeth were popular anti-German figures during World War II that boosted the morale of their countrymen. After his death, their elder daughter, Elizabeth, succeeded as Queen Elizabeth II. Her reign ushered in the New Elizabethan II and marked the disintegration of the British Empire and the development of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Furthermore, her reign witnessed the gradual decline of the monarch's political power, albeit her fairness and wisdom proved better than any of her prime ministers. In 2002, she celebrated her 50th year on the throne, followed by her diamond jubilee in 2012.

The British Royal Family Today

In 1947, she married Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was born a Prince of Greece and Denmark, although he relinquished that title, as well as his rights to the throne of Greece and Denmark before he married Elizabeth. Prince Philip is the queen's strong supporter in various public and ceremonial functions. He also takes official and charitable duties of his own in support for the British Royal Family. The couple has four children: Charles, Prince of Wales; Anne Princess Royal; Albert, Duke of York; and Edward, Earl of Wessex.

Christian George Acevedo has been writing since his elementary years but it was just recently that he discovered the varied opportunities that web writing has to offer. He is a licensed teacher, a gardener of some capacity, a voracious reader, an obsessed philatelist, an avid royalist, a staunch libertarian, and a passionate, though, solitary writer.

He loves it when he is alone and writing about his favorite topics, including travel, education, entertainment, home improvement, personal finance, real estate, health, and gardening. Visit his blogsite about royalty, http://royal-splendor.blogspot.com/, or read his posts at Associated Content, Helium, Suite101, and Triond.

Feel free to contact him at powerwordsonlinewriting@gmail.com.

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Great British Women

Women of today have got a lot to be thankful for. If you were born in the early 1900s you would be expected to be the heart of the family, stay home, cook, clean, be a great month and wife. Pleasing men and raising children was all women had to look forward too! Thank goodness things have changed. When WWII came, there became a shortage of men in the workforce, which gave women the chance to work real jobs. Some great British women along the way have women in their quest to becoming equal and have the same opportunities as men do.

Every woman in the country should be grateful for Frances Buss. She was a pioneer of female education and helped changed the way girls were taught in school. By the age of 14 she was teaching herself and often left in charge of the school. She became the first head mistress of Camden School for Girls. She campaigned to allow girls to sit examinations and enter universities. She also helped Josephine Butler with her campaigns against the white slave trade. In her life time Francees provided the kind of education that enabled her students to have academic careers. Other schools followed suit and thanks to Buss women of the modern world can go all the way with their education and chose a career rather than just become a mother and housekeeper.

The late Princess Diana is the most iconic faces of the past century. One of the most photographed and talked about women, she brought the Royal family into the 21 century and her legacy lives on through her children William and Harry. During her short life she used her popularity to campaign tirelessly on issues including AIDS, homelessness and landmines. She also supported a number of charities and was one of the first high profile celebrities to touch someone suffering with HIV.

Diana was refreshing compared to previous royals and always spoke honestly about her own personal struggles. Her 'girl power' shone through her troubled times and people could relate to her. Sadly the country went into morning when she was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris on 31st August 1997. What she meant to women and men for that matter can be seen in the media footage of that time.

Queen Elizabeth II has spent pretty much her whole life being dedicated to her role of Queen. She really is an inspiration and someone British women should be very proud of. She first came to the throne on June 2, 1953 after news that her father King George VI had died. She is the first British monarch to have celebrated a Diamond Wedding Anniversary but also the first to see three of her children divorce. Her grandson Prince William or now known as the Duke of Cambridge says his grandmother the Queen is his biggest role model. William is in direct line to the throne and should one day become king.

Jane Austin is the undisputed queen of English literature. She lived a relatively short life from 1775 to 1817 and didn't really get the credit that was due until after her death. During her short life she wrote romantic fiction which all went to become adaptations. Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Mansfield Park are what she is most famous for. All of her books gave an insight into the lives of the middle and upper classes in early 19th century women. She gave remarkable social observations which can still be seen in society today. 200 years on her observations are still relevant and novels more popular than ever. There are many fan websites and tours which you can go on honouring this remarkable author.

There are many more great British women who have played a special part in the evolution of women in Britain today. Perhaps you reading this are one in the making. I just hope that one day all women from all cultures and religions will eventually cut the ties from men and be free.

Brit Movie Tours offers a great Jane Austen Tour and many other locations tours around London and the UK.

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