The national Flag of England - The national day of England is St George's Day - 23 April . St George's emblem was adopted by Richard The Lion Heart and brought to England in the 12th century. The king's soldiers wore it on their tunics to avoid confusion in battle.

The emblem of England The national flower of England is the rose. The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

  .                                                                                                                              The Union Flag, known as the *Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It symbolises the administrative union of the countries of the United Kingdom.

Timeline of the Kings and Queens of England and the UK 1066 - 1154 The Normans 1154 - 1399 Plantagenets 1399 - 1461 The House of Lancaster 1461 - 1485 The House of York 1485 -1603 The Tudors 1603 - 1649 and 1660 - 1714 The Stuarts 1714 -1901 The House of Hanovarians 1901 -1917 and 1917 - Today Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and The Windsors  

The Normans (1066-1154) The first Norman on the English throne -William the Conqueror 1066 – 1087 The last Norman on the English throne- King Stephen, the grandson of William the Conqueror (1135-1154)

The Plantagenets (1154 – 1399) a huge powerful family throughout Europe. The first Plantagenet kings were the Angevins, from Anjou, and later followed related families of Lancaster and of York. The first Plantagenet king in England was Henry II, great grandson of William the Conqueror and the son of the German Emperor ( who belonged to the House of Plantagenet). He ruled for thirty-four years, but spent only fourteen of them in England. Lived most of his time in France.

The Plantagenets 1154 - 1399 There were 8 Plantagenet kings in England. Richard I the Lionheart (1189 – 1199) spent in England only 10 months. He spoke very little English. spent most of his time fighting in the Crusades. Was killed in a battle.

The House of Lancaster (1399-1461) ( 3 Kings) The first Lancastrian Henry IV came to the English throne by force. He made his cousin Richard II Plantagenet, abdicate, then murdered him in prison and seized the crown himself. the first English king who could read and write easily in English was Henry V Lancaster During the rule of Henry VI, the War of Roses began between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists

The House of York (1461-1485) 1461 - Edward IV (York) came to the throne after defeating Henry VI (Lancaster) at the Battle of Towton, in Yorkshire. The House of Lancaster and the House of York were the branches of the same family, they both descended from Edward III Plantagenet. The Struggle for power between the two families was known as the War of the Roses because the Lancaster emblem was a red rose and the York emblem - a white rose. It lasted 30 years ( 1455- 1485).

The War of Roses ( 1455- 1485). Richard III was the last English monarch to have been killed in battle. Henry Tudor, a Lancastrian, defeated King Richard III, a Yorkist at the battle of Bosworth Field on 22August 1485 .

The War of Roses ( 1455- 1485). Henry Tudor a Lancastrian). After the battle, Henry Tudor was crowned as King Henry VII Tudor (the first Tudor King). Married Elisabeth of York. King Richard III ( a Yorkist) (killed in the battle)

The war of Roses The house The House York of Lancaster The House of TUDOR

The Tudors(1485-1603) -6 kings and queens Most school children learn the following rhyme to help them remember the fate of each wife: "Divorced, Beheaded, Died: Divorced, Beheaded, Survived". Henry VIII(1491-1547), is that he had six wives! Argued with the Pope and made himself the head of the new 'Church of England'. United England and Wales under one system of Government

The Tudors made England Protestant Elisabeth I (1558 - 1603) defeated the powerful navy of Spain (Spanish Armada) Never married and was known as the Virgin Queen. Her rule is remembered as the Golden Age of English history. England advanced in such areas as foreign trade, exploration, literature, and the arts. Elisabeth I (1558 - 1603)

The House of Stuarts (1603 -1714) 7 Stuart Kings and Queens. In 1603 James VI of Scotland (Mary Stuart’s son) became also James I of England. He was the first monarch to rule both countries and the first to call himself 'King of Great Britain'. Civil (1642-1651) war between the supporters of Parliament and supporters of the King 1649 - Charles I the Stuart was tried and executed England became a Republic for eleven years from 1649 – 1660.

The house of Stuarts 1653 - 1658 - Oliver Cromwell, commander of the army, became Lord Protector of England. 1660 - the Stuart line restored (Restoration) 1668 James II, a Catholic, was driven from his throne by his own daughter and her Dutch husband, Protestant William of Orange. William became king by Parliament’s election not by right of birth. 1707 Queen Ann officially joined Scotland to England by The Act of Union During the Stuarts rule England had become a “parliamentary monarchy” controlled by a constitution.

The House of Hanovarians(Ha 1714 -1901) Hanover) Queen Victoria (1819-1901). Victorian period lasted 64 years(1837-1901)During her reign Britain became the most powerful and richest country in the world In 1714 after Anne's death the succession went to the nearest Protestant relative of the Stuart line- George Louis, the leader of the German state of Hanover 6 British kings and Queens from the House of Hanover.

1901 – present day - Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and the Windsors The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha came to the British Royal Family in 1840 with the marriage of Queen Victoria to Prince Albert, son of Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Coburg & Gotha. Queen Victoria herself remained a member of the House of Hanover. In 1917 George V changed the German family name Saxe-Goburg-Gotha to Windsor because of the strong negative feelings in Britain against Germany during World War I

The Windsors . There have been 4 Windsor sovereigns. George VI ( 1895-1952)(Windsor) was greatly admired by the British people during the World War II for staying an London when it was being bombed. was the last British King to be called “emperor” and the first head of the “Commonwealth”. Father of Elisabeth II.

Elisabeth II (b. 1926 -…)  " ascended the throne on 6th February 1952; crowned on 2nd June 1953) the 40th monarch since William the Conqueror obtained the crown of England in 1066.      the second-longest-serving head of state in the world, after King of Thailand.

The official Status : "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. "

Elisabeth II Elisabeth II is also Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and some other small states and territories with total population of about 128 million people. Head of the Commonwealth Supreme Governor of the Church of England commander-in Chief of the armed forces Duke of Normandy, Lord of Mann, Paramount Chief of Fiji.

Functions of the sovereign opens Parliament, approves the appointment of the Prime Minister gives her Royal Assent to bills, gives honors such as peerages, knighthoods and medals. meets the Prime Minister every week and receives copies of all Cabinet papers. formally summons and dissolves Parliament . 

Elisabeth II Since 1947, has been married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. has four children ( Prince Charles, Princess Ann, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward) eight grandchildren. The heir to the British throne is Elisabeth’s eldest son Prince Charles. His children Prince William and Prince Harry occupy in the line to the crown the second and the third position.

The Queen's children Charles Prince of Wales b. 1948 m. Lady Diana Spencer (divorced 1996) (d. 1997) m. Camilla Parker Bowles

The Queen's children Anne Princess Royal b.1950 m. Captain Mark Phillips (divorced 1993) m. Commander Timothy Laurence

The Queen's children Andrew Duke of York b. 1960 m. Sarah Ferguson (divorced 1996) Edward Earl of Wessex b. 1964 m. Sophie Rhys-Jones

The Queen's Grandchildren Prince William of Wales b. 1982 Prince Harry of Wales b. 1984

The monarchy is hereditary Succession is automatic on the death of the monarch the succession passes automatically to the oldest male child, or in the absence of males, to the oldest female offspring of the monarch. the monarch must be a Protestant.

Test 1.What national flags make up the Union Jack? 2.What King began to establish Protestantism in England? 3. What monarch was the first to be given the title King of Great Britain?