The British Monarchy & Their Finances

Today in class we learned about the British Monarchy in depth. The last few hundred years have seen many changes in the nature of the Monarchy in the United Kingdom. The monarchy used to be the sole welder of political power within the nation. From the end of the 17th century, monarchs lost executive power and they increasingly became subject to Parliament, resulting in today's constitutional Monarchy.

An important part of the work of The Queen is to support and encourage public and voluntary service. One of the ways in which Her Majesty does this is through involvement with charities and other organizations. The Queen has over 600 patronages. These cover every area of the charity and voluntary sector, from opportunities for young people, to preservation of wildlife and the environment. Involvement with these organizations helps to recognize their achievements, and helps to recognize the contributions of many different sectors of public life. 


What I found most interesting during class today was the perception of the British public on the financial handlings of the monarchy. Many criticize the Monarchy for being a waste of money, as it spends millions of pounds each year on simply sustaining itself. However, as far as we can travel back in time, every Monarch as head of state has given the money he or she made off the land back to the public. This gives a small tax relief to everyone in Great Britain. Without the Monarchy, Britain would be worse off.

Shakespeare in Love

Today was our first day of classes at Roehampton University.  Everyone met for the earliest two classes and we watched the film Shakespeare in Love. The film was modern and I enjoyed it because it alluded to various Shakespeare plays within the context of the storyline itself. William Shakespeare falls madly in love with Viola, a princess who is secretly passionate about poetry. They meet when she dresses up as a boy and sneaks into town to play the part of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. Viola is forced to marry a rich, noble man and travel across the Atlantic to Virginia with him to live on a plantation. At the end of the film, Viola’s ship is wrecked in a mighty storm, but she is the only who survives. The final scene is Viola walking on the beach, about to begin a new life. This is an allusion to The 12^th Night.

Later that day, some of us went to the grocery store then out to Central London.

Tower of London

Today we visited the famous Tower of London. I did not know much about the Tower of London prior to today, but the visit definitely exceeded my expectations. One of the reasons I was so impressed was because of the incredible knowledge of our “tour guide,” an English Yeoman Warder. Their official name is actually the Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary – not an easy name to remember! They are popularly known as the Beefeaters, and act as ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. In principle they are responsible for looking after any prisoners at the Tower and safeguarding the British crown jewels, but in practice they act as tour guides and are a tourist attraction in their own right, a point the Yeoman Warders acknowledge. All of the Yeoman Warders have served in the British military for at least 22 years, and receiving this title is one of the highest honors in Britain.

Our tour guide told us stories of murder, greed, and corruption – an interesting and real history of the London Tower. The story that stuck out to me the most was about King Richard III of England during the siege of Gloucester in the English Civil War, according to Shakespeare’s play. The infamously hunchbacked King Richard III used to sit on a wall in the London Tower. After the war he was stripped of his power and executed. His arms and legs were scattered to the four corners of the battlefield. Since commoners were illiterate at the time, they would tell stories to their children so that they could learn history. Here is how this story went: “Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, humpty dumpty had a great fall. All the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again.”

We also saw the world famous crown jewels, which were so astounding I don’t know how to describe them to people who have not seen them in person. 

Westminster Abbey

Today was our tour of Westminster Abbey. However, I was not able to go because my stomach was hurting me a lot. I have been to Westminster Abbey before when I was a sophomore in high school on an exchange program in which our school, of Brothers of the Sacred Heart diocese, exchanged with one of our brother schools, St. Columbas, in St. Albans to the south of London.

Westminster Abbey is more than a thousand years old. Benedictine monks first came to this site in the middle of the tenth century, establishing a tradition of daily worship that continues to this day. The Abbey has been the coronation church since 1066 and is the final resting place of seventeen monarchs. The present church, begun by Henry III in 1245, is one of the most important Gothic buildings in the country, with the medieval shrine of an Anglo-Saxon saint still at its heart. I love Westminster Abbey because it is an example of incredible architecture and history in England and there are not many edifices like this in the world.

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

Today Claire, Ashley, Alexa, and I got up really early to go to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in Central London. The Diamond Jubilee happens to be the celebration of the Queen of England’s 60^th anniversary on the thrown. Queen Elizabeth was actually coroneted on June 5^th, 60 years ago, so the entire country gets a long holiday and does not have to go back to work until Wednesday or Thursday. It is almost difficult to think that Elizabeth II had to take the thrown at the young age of 27 immediately after her father, King George IV, passed away. At that time, she was married to Price Philip of Edinburgh and was raising her children, Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward.

Royal family

Blurry picture, but that is the Queen in white and Prince Philip at her side.

The Jubilee was not what I had made a picture of in my mind. I thought it would be a rowdy British celebration including parties on every street and pub and loud cheering when the royal family passed by on their boats. Instead, it was very quiet and relaxed (still, very crowded) and there was not as much excitement as I had thought there would be when the Queen passed on her boat. We stood at the edge of the river and barley got a glimpse of the royal family when they came by us. At least we got to say we saw the Queen, Prince Philip, and others in the royal family. So, today was a success, if I could call it one.

The round building is the City Hall -- Interesting architecture

Stonehenge & Winsor Castle

Today we visited one of the great wonders of the world, Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Whitshire. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks. It is at the center of the densest, most complex of the Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds. Archaeologists believe the iconic stone monument was constructed anywhere from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The monument was used for worship and what I found most interesting is that this site is considered “ancient” to, yes, the Romans in Ancient Greece.

Stonedenge

After Stonehenge, we visited Winsor Castle and the town of Winsor. The castle is noted for its rich history of the British royal family and monarchy. The original castle was built after the invasion of William the Conqueror, who took the thrown in England becoming the first Norman King of England. St. George’s Cathedral is located inside Winsor Castle, where the Queen often attends church service. St. George is the biggest emblem of England, aside from the monarchy, and his red cross appears on the white English flag. The cathedral is one of the oldest in the nation, and it was amazing to see how much detail was put into something that was made with absolutely no modern technology. Inside the castle we toured the Queen’s State Affairs palace, where the Queen hosts important political visitors.

Inside the castle

The Eaton School, the most prestigious boys school in England. Prince William and Henry both went here, as well as former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the majority of the members of Parliament. 

Later that night we all ate in our halls and went out to London for a bit.

Roehampton & London Tours

Today was our first full day at Roehampton. We began our day by headed to Asda, which is basically a British Wal-Mart, for groceries for our kitchen. We learned how to navigate the bus system too. Last night we were given our Oyster cards, which allow us unlimited access around Zones 1 and 2 in the subway system in London (very nice!)

When we got back to the university, we had a brief orientation and went to the library to get our student IDs and such. Two campus tour guides greeted us and gave us a tour of the campus. They also explained how to do laundry here, which was very helpful since we have been living out of our suitcases for two weeks in hostels with no laundry facilities. We then headed back to the lecture room for another orientation and lunch.

After lunch we headed into London for a bus tour of the entire city. This lasted almost 2 hours. It was really cold, but we learned a lot about the city. My favorite parts of the tour, of course, were seeing all the foreign embassies in London, Margaret Thatcher’s house, and the Ministry of Defense. London is such a well-kempt city. We had dinner at a restaurant in London paid for by CIS.