Elizabeth II is the Queen of the United Kingdom. She was born on April 21st, 1926. Her full name is Elizabeth Alexandra Mary and she is the monarch of sixteen sovereign states, their respective overseas territories and dependencies. She is also the head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, and the Defender of the Faith. She holds each title equally well however she is mostly involved with the United Kingdom, which is the place of residence of the Royal Family. Elizabeth was born in London and educated privately at home. She was the oldest daughter of Elizabeth I and Prince Albert, who later obtained the title King George VI. From the very childhood she was very keen on studying. Her most favourite subjects included arts and sport. Her youth was troubled by the Second World War. At the age of 15 Elizabeth had been appointed Colonel-in-Chief. Elizabeth’s only sibling was Princess Margaret, who was four years younger than her. Elizabeth became the monarch of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon upon the death of her father – George VI, on February the 6th, 1952. At the moment she is one of the longest reigning British monarchs. Elizabeth’s husband is Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. They married on November 20th, 1947. One year later Elizabeth gave birth to their first child, Prince Charles. Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s other children are Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The Queen has five official residences in Great Britain, including Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. The significant moments in Queen’s life have included the births and marriages of her children and grandchildren, the investiture of her oldest son - the Prince of Wales, and the celebration of such milestones as Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees.
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Елизавета II является королевой Соединенного Королевства. Она родилась 21 апреля 1926 года. Ее полное имя Елизавета Александра Мэри, и она является монархом шестнадцати суверенных государств, их заморских и зависимых территорий. Она также является главой 54 членов Содружества наций, верховным правителем Церкви Англии, и защитником веры. Она одинаково хорошо носит каждое из этих званий, однако, в основном она связана с Соединенным Королевством, которое является местом жительства королевской семьи. Элизабет родилась в Лондоне и получила образование в частном порядке в домашних условиях. Она была старшей дочерью Елизаветы I и принца Альберта, который впоследствии получил титул короля Георга VI. С самого детства она очень интересовалась учебой. Ее самыми любимыми предметами были искусство и спорт. Ее молодость была омрачена Второй мировой войной. В возрасте 15 лет Елизавета уже была назначена главным полковником. Единственной родной сестрой Елизаветы была принцесса Маргарет, которая была на четыре года моложе ее. Елизавета стала монархом Соединенного Королевства, Канады, Австралии, Новой Зеландии, Южной Африки, Пакистана и Цейлона после смерти ее отца - Георга VI, 6-го Февраля, 1952 года. На данный момент она является одним из самых долго правящих британских монархов. Мужем Елизаветы является принц Филипп, герцог Эдинбургский. Они поженились 20 ноября 1947 года. Через год Элизабет родила их первенца, принца Чарльза. У Елизаветы и принца Филиппа есть и другие дети: принцесса Анна, принц Эндрю и принц Эдварда. Королева имеет пять официальных резиденций в Великобритании, в их числе Букингемский дворец и Виндзорский замок. К важным моментам в жизни королевы относятся рождение и бракосочетания её детей и внуков, инвеститура ее старшего сына - принца Уэльского, и празднование таких событий, как серебряный, золотой и алмазный юбилеи.
We decided to have a special celebration of Mother's Day. We thought it a fine idea. It made us realise how much Mother had done for us for years, and all the efforts and sacrifices that she had made for our sake. So we decided that we'd make it a great day, a holiday for all the family, and do everything we could to make Mother happy. Father decided to take a holiday from his office, so as to help in celebrating the day, and my sister Ann and I stayed home from college classes, and Mary and my brother Will stayed home from High School. It was our plan to make it a day just like Christmas or any big holiday, and so we decided to decorate the house with flowers. We asked Mother to do it, because she always does it. The two girls thought it would be a nice thing to dress in our best for such a big occasion, and so they both got new hats. Father had bought silk ties for himself and us boys. We were going to get Mother a new hat too, but it turned out that she liked her old hat better than a new one. After breakfast we decided that we would hire a motor car and take Mother for a beautiful drive away into the country. But on the very morning of the day we changed the plan a little bit. We all felt that it would be nicer to have a definite purpose. It turned out that Father had just got a new rod the day before, and he said that Mother could use it if she wanted to: in fact, he said it was practically for her, only Mother said she would rather watch him fish than fish herself. So we got everything arranged for the trip. Mother cut up some sandwiches and packed all up in a basket for us. When the car came to the door, it turned out that we couldn't all get in. Father said that he could stay at home and work in the garden. The girls said that Mother had only to say the word and they’d gladly stay t home and work. In the end it was decided that Mother would stay at home and have a lovely restful day round the house. It turned out anyway that Mother didn't care for fishing and also it was just a little bit cold and fresh out-of-doors, though it was lovely and sunny, and Father was afraid that Mother might take cold if she came. We had the loveliest day. Father and the boys fished, the girls met quite a lot of people. We all had a splendid time. It was quite late when we got back. We sat down to dinner. It was grand. When it was over all of us wanted to help clear the things up and wash the dishes, only Mother said that she would really much rather do it. When we all kissed Mother before going to bed, she said it had been the most wonderful day in her life and I think there were tears in her eyes.
