BRITISH MONARCHY AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS



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BRITISH MONARCHY AND ITS INFLUENCE UPON GOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS

as the customary broadcasts by the Sovereign on Christmas Day and

Commonwealth Day - are fairly recent in origin, but have rapidly become

familiar and popular traditions.

ROYAL SUCCESSION

When a sovereign dies, or abdicates, a successor is immediately decided

according to rules which were laid down at the end of the seventeenth

century. The coronation of a new sovereign is a ceremony of great pageantry

and celebration that has remained essentially the same for over a thousand

years. As well as explaining accession, succession and coronation, this

section looks at the titles which have been held by different members of

the Royal Family throughout history.

THE ROYAL HOUSEHOLD

Divided into five departments, the Royal Household assists The Queen in

carrying out her official duties. Members of the Royal Household carry out

the work and roles which were performed by courtiers historically. There

are 645 full-time employees, employed across a wide range of professions.

People employed within the Royal Household are recruited from the general

workforce on merit, in terms of qualifications, experience and aptitude.

Details of the latest vacancies are listed in the Recruitment pages of this

section.

The Royal Household includes The Queen's Household, plus the Households

of other members of the Royal Family who undertake public engagements. The

latter comprise members of their private offices and other people who

assist with their public duties.

ROYAL HOUSEHOLD DEPARTMENTS

Royal Household's functions are divided across five departments, under

the overall authority of the Lord Chamberlain, the senior member of The

Queen's Household. These departments developed over centuries and

originated in the functions of the Royal Court. As a result, the

departments and many job titles have ancient names - the jobs themselves,

however, are thoroughly modern!

Most of the departments are based in Buckingham Palace, although there

are also offices in St. James's Palace, Windsor Castle and the Royal Mews.

Members of the Royal Household also often travel with The Queen on overseas

visits and during The Queen's stays at Balmoral Castle and Sandringham,

since The Queen's work continues even when she is away from London.

In addition to the full-time members of the Royal Household, there are

other part-time members of The Queen's Household. These include the Great

Officers of State who take part in important Royal ceremonies, as well as

Ladies-in-waiting, who are appointed personally by The Queen and female

members of the Royal Family.

RECRUITMENT

People are employed within the Royal Household from a wide range of

sectors and professions, including catering, housekeeping, accountancy,

secretarial and administrative fields, public relations, human resources

management, art curatorship and strategic planning disciplines. The special

nature of the Royal Household means that unique career opportunities are

available.

Employment in the Royal Household offers excellent career opportunities

for those who wish to take a new direction. Positions in the Royal

Household receive good remuneration and benefits. For domestic positions,

there are often enhanced by accommodation. The Royal Household is also

committed to training and development, including NVQ and vocational

training, general management and skills-based training across a range of

disciplines - from carriage driving to an in-house diploma for footmen

which is widely recognised in its specialised field as a valued vocational

qualification.

Jobs at Buckingham Palace and in other Royal residences are usually

advertised in national, regional or specialist media in the usual way.

Details of the latest vacancies are listed in the Recruitment pages of this

section and applications can be made by downloading the standard

application form. All positions are also advertised internally to encourage

career development and to offer opportunities for promotion to existing

employees.

A number of vacancies occur on a regular basis, including positions as

housemaids, footmen and secretaries. In addition, nearly 200 Wardens are

employed each year for Buckingham Palace's Summer Opening programme.

Speculative enquiries are welcome for these posts throughout the year.

Recruitment is in all cases on merit, in terms of qualifications,

experience and aptitude. The Royal Household is committed to Equal

Opportunities.

ANNIVERSARIES

Since 1917, the Sovereign has sent congratulatory messages to those

celebrating their 100th and 105th birthday and every year thereafter, and

to those celebrating their Diamond Wedding (60th), 65th, 70th wedding

anniversaries and every year thereafter. For many people, receiving a

message from The Queen on these anniversaries is a very special moment.

For data privacy reasons, there is no automatic alert from government

records for wedding anniversaries. The Department for Work and Pensions

informs the Anniversaries Office of birthdays for recipients of UK State

pensions. However, to ensure that a message is sent for birthdays and

wedding anniversaries alike, an application needs to be made by a relative

or friend in advance of the special day.

The Queen's congratulatory messages consist of a card containing a

personalised message with a facsimile signature. The card comes in a

special envelope, which is delivered through the normal postal channels.

More information about applying for a message and interesting facts about

the tradition are contained in this section.

ROYAL FINANCES

This section provides the latest information on Head of State

expenditure, together with information about Royal financial arrangements.

It includes information about the four sources of funding of The Queen

(or officials of the Royal Household acting on her behalf). The Civil List

meets official expenditure relating to The Queen's duties as Head of State

and Head of the Commonwealth. Grants-in-Aid from Parliament provide upkeep

of the Royal Palaces and for Royal travel. The Privy Purse is traditional

income for the Sovereign's public and private use. Her Majesty's personal

income meets entirely private expenditure.

The Queen pays tax on her personal income and capital gains. The Civil

List and the Grants-in-Aid are not taxed because they cover official

expenditure. The Privy Purse is fully taxable, subject to a deduction for

official expenditure.

These pages also contain information about the financial arrangements of

other members of the Royal Family, together with information on the Royal

Philatelic Collection.

HEAD OF STATE EXPENDITURE 2000-01

Head of State expenditure is the official expenditure relating to The

Queen's duties as Head of State and Head of the Commonwealth. Head of State

expenditure is met from public funds in exchange for the surrender by The

Queen of the revenue from the Crown Estate.

Head of State expenditure for 2001-02, at Ј35.3 million, is 1.0% higher

than in the previous year (a decrease of 1.3% in real terms). The Ј350,000

increase is mainly attributable to fire precautions work at the Palace of

Holyroodhouse, offset by the fact that costs transferred from other funding

sources to the Civil List with effect from 1st April 2001 are only included

in 2001 Civil List expenditure for nine months. They will be included for a

full year in 2002 and subsequently. Costs have been transferred to the

Civil List from other funding sources in order to utilise the Civil List

reserve brought forward at 1st January 2001. Head of State expenditure has

reduced from Ј84.6 million (expressed in current pounds) in 1991-92, a

reduction of 58%.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

The four sources of funding of The Queen, or officials of the Royal

Household acting on Her Majesty's behalf, are: the Civil List, the Grants-

in-Aid for upkeep of Royal Palaces and for Royal travel, the Privy Purse

and The Queen's personal wealth and income.

FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES

The Prince of Wales does not receive any money from the State. Instead,

he receives the annual net surplus of the Duchy of Cornwall and uses it to

meet the costs of all aspects of his public and private commitments, and

those of Prince William and Prince Harry.

The Duchy's name is derived from the Earldom of Cornwall, which Edward

III elevated to a duchy in 1337. The Duchy's founding charter included the

gift of estates spread throughout England. It also stated that the Duchy

should be in the stewardship of the Heir Apparent, to provide the Heir with

an income independent of the Sovereign or the State.

After 660 years, the Duchy's land holdings have become more diversified,

but the Duchy is still predominantly an agricultural estate. Today, it

consists of around 57,000 hectares, mostly in the South of England. It is

run on a commercial basis, as prescribed by the parliamentary legislation

which governs its activities.

Prince Charles became the 24th Duke of Cornwall on The Queen's accession

in 1952. He is in effect a trustee, and is not entitled to the proceeds of

disposals of assets. The Prince must pass on the estate intact, so that it

continues to provide an income from its assets for future Dukes of

Cornwall.

The Duchy's net surplus for the year to 31 March 2002 was Ј7,827,000. As

a Crown body, the Duchy is tax exempt, but The Prince of Wales voluntarily

pays income tax (currently at 40%) on his taxable income from it.

FINANCES OF THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ROYAL FAMILY

Under the Civil List Acts, The Duke of Edinburgh receives an annual

parliamentary allowance to enable him to carry out public duties. Since

1993, The Queen has repaid to the Treasury the annual parliamentary

allowances received by other members of the Royal family.

The annual amounts payable to members of the Royal family (which are set

every ten years) were reset at their 1990 levels for the next ten years,

until December 2010. Apart from an increase of Ј45,000 on the occasion of

The Earl of Wessex's marriage, these amounts remain as follows:

Parliamentary annuity (not repaid by The Queen)

|HRH The Duke of Edinburgh | Ј359,000 |

Parliamentary annuities (repaid by The Queen)

|HRH The Duke of York |Ј249,000 |

|HRH The Earl of Wessex |Ј141,000 |

|HRH The Princess Royal |Ј228,000 |

|HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester |Ј87,000 |

|TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester | |

|TRH The Duke and Duchess of Kent HRH Princess Alexandra, Hon.|*Ј636,000 |

|Lady Ogilvy | |

* Of the Ј636,000, Ј175,000 is provided by The Queen to The Duke and

Duchess of Gloucester, Ј236,000 to The Duke and Duchess of Kent and

Ј225,000 to Princess Alexandra.

As with the Civil List itself, most of these sums are spent on staff who

support public engagements and correspondence.

TAXATION

The Queen has always been subject to Value Added Tax and other indirect

taxes and she has paid local rates (Council Tax) on a voluntary basis. In

1992, however, The Queen offered to pay income tax and capital gains tax on

a voluntary basis. As from 1993, her personal income has been taxable as

for any taxpayer and the Privy Purse is fully taxable, subject to a

deduction for official expenditure. The Civil List and the Grants-in-Aid

are not remuneration for The Queen and are thus disregarded for tax.

Although The Queen's estate will be subject to Inheritance Tax, bequests

from Sovereign to Sovereign are exempt. This is because constitutional

impartiality requires an appropriate degree of financial independence for

the Sovereign and because the Sovereign is unable to generate significant

new wealth through earnings or business activities. Also, the Sovereign

cannot retire and so cannot mitigate Inheritance Tax by passing on assets

at an early stage to his or her successor.

As a Crown body, the Duchy of Cornwall is tax exempt, but since 1969 The

Prince of Wales has made voluntary contributions to the Exchequer. As from

1993, The Prince's income from the Duchy has been fully subject to tax on a

voluntary basis. He has always paid tax, including income tax, in all other

respects.

ROYAL ASSETS

The Queen does not 'own' the Royal Palaces, art treasures from the Royal

Collection, jewellery heirlooms and the Crown Jewels, all of which are held

by Her Majesty as Sovereign and not as an individual. They must be passed

on to The Queen's successor in due course. The Queen and some members of

the Royal Family past and present have made private collections - such as

the stamp collection begun by George V. This is separate to the Royal

Collection, although exhibitions and loans of stamps are sometimes made.

SYMBOLS

Many of the most familiar objects and events in national life incorporate

Royal symbols or represent the Monarchy in some way. Flags, coats of arms,

the crowns and treasures used at coronations and some ceremonies, stamps,

coins and the singing of the national anthem have strong associations with

the Monarchy and play a significant part in our daily existence. Other

objects - such as the Great Seal of the Realm - may be less familiar to the

general public but still have a powerful symbolic role.

NATIONAL ANTHEM

'God Save The King' was a patriotic song first publicly performed in

London in 1745, which came to be referred to as the National Anthem from

the beginning of the nineteenth century. The words and tune are anonymous,

and may date back to the seventeenth century.

In September 1745 the 'Young Pretender' to the British Throne, Prince

Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at Prestonpans,

near Edinburgh. In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of Prestonpans had

reached London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,

arranged 'God Save The King' for performance after a play. It was a

tremendous success and was repeated nightly thereafter. This practice soon

spread to other theatres, and the custom of greeting the Monarch with the

song as he or she entered a place of public entertainment was thus

established.

There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a

matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years, but

these are rarely used. The words used are those sung in 1745, substituting

'Queen' for 'King' where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first

verse is usually sung, as follows:

God save our gracious Queen!

Long live our noble Queen!

God save the Queen!

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save the Queen.

An additional verse is occasionally sung:

Thy choicest gifts in store

On her be pleased to pour,

Long may she reign.

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause,

To sing with heart and voice,

God save the Queen.

The British tune has been used in other countries - as European visitors

to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a country

possessing such a recognised musical symbol - including Germany, Russia,

Switzerland and America (where use of the tune continued after

independence). Some 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms,

have used the tune in their compositions.

ROYAL WARRANTS

Royal Warrants are granted to people or companies who have regularly

supplied goods or services for a minimum of five consecutive years to The

Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother or The

Prince of Wales. They are advised by the Lord Chamberlain who is head of

the Royal Household and chairman of the Royal Household Tradesmen's

Warrants Committee. Each of these four members of the Royal family can

grant only one warrant to any individual business. However, a business may

hold warrants from more than one member of the Royal family and a handful

of companies holds all four.

The warrants are a mark of recognition that tradesmen are regular

suppliers of goods and services to the Royal households. Strict regulations

govern the warrant, which allows the grantee or his company to use the

legend 'By Appointment' and display the Royal Arms on his products, such as

stationery, advertisements and other printed material, in his or her

premises and on delivery vehicles.

A Royal Warrant is initially granted for five years, after which time it

comes up for review by the Royal Household Tradesmen's Warrants Committee.

Warrants may not be renewed if the quality or supply for the product or

service is insufficient, as far as the relevant Royal Household is

concerned. A Warrant may, however, be cancelled at any time and is

automatically reviewed if the grantee dies or leaves the business, or if

the firm goes bankrupt or is sold. There are rules to ensure that high

standards are maintained.

Since the Middle Ages, tradesmen who have acted as suppliers of goods and

services to the Sovereign have received formal recognition. In the

beginning, this patronage took the form of royal charters given

collectively to various guilds in trades and crafts which later became

known as livery companies. Over the centuries, the relationship between the

Crown and individual tradesmen was formalised by the issue of royal

warrants.

In the reign of Henry VIII, Thomas Hewytt was appointed to 'Serve the

Court with Swannes and Cranes and all kinds of Wildfoule'. A hard-working

Anne Harris was appointed as the 'King's Laundresse'. Elizabeth I's

household book listed, among other things, the Yeomen Purveyors of 'Veales,

Beeves & Muttons; Sea & Freshwater Fish'. In 1684 goods and services to the

Palace included a Haberdasher of Hats, a Watchmaker in Reversion, an

Operator for the Teeth and a Goffe-Club Maker. According to the Royal

Kalendar of 1789, a Pin Maker, a Mole Taker, a Card Maker and a Rat Catcher

are among other tradesmen appointed to the court. A notable omission was

the Bug Taker - at that time one of the busiest functionaries at court but

perhaps not one to be recorded in a Royal Kalendar. Records also show that

in 1776 Mr Savage Bear was 'Purveyor of Greens Fruits and Garden Things',

and that in 1820 Mr William Giblet was supplying meat to the table of

George IV.

Warrant holders today represent a large cross-section of British trade

and industry (there is a small number of foreign names), ranging from dry

cleaners to fishmongers, and from agricultural machinery to computer

software. A number of firms have a record of Royal Warrants reaching back

over more than 100 years. Warrant-holding firms do not provide their goods

or services free to the Royal households, and all transactions are

conducted on a strictly commercial basis. There are currently approximately

800 Royal Warrant holders, holding over 1,100 Royal Warrants between them

(some have more than one Royal Warrant).

On 25 May 1840, a gathering of 'Her Majesty's Tradesmen' held a

celebration in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. They later decided to

make this an annual event and formed themselves for the purpose into an

association which eventually became known as the Royal Warrant Holders

Association.

The Association acts both in a supervisory role to ensure that the

standards of quality and reliability in their goods and services are

upheld, and as a channel of communication for its members in their dealings

with the various departments of the Royal Household. The Association

ensures that the Royal Warrant is not used by those not entitled and is

correctly applied by those who are.

BANK NOTES AND COINAGE

There are close ties - past and present - between the Monarchy and the

monetary system. They can be seen, for example, in the title of the 'Royal

Mint' and the representation of the monarch on all circulating British

coinage.

The first coins were struck in the British Isles 2000 years ago using

designs copied from Greek coins. Following the Roman invasion of Britain in

43 AD, the Roman coinage system was introduced. After the decline of Roman

power in Britain from the fifth century AD, the silver penny eventually

emerged as the dominant coin circulating in England but no standardized

system was yet in place.

In the eighth century, as strong kings emerged with power over more than

one region, they began to centralize the currency. Offa introduced a new

coinage in the form of the silver penny, which for centuries was to be the

basis of the English currency. Alfred introduced further changes by

authorising mints in the burhs he had founded. By 800 AD coins regularly

bore the names of the kings for whom they were struck. A natural

development was the representation of their own images on their coins.

Coinage played a part in spreading the fame of kings - the more often coins

passed through men's hands, and the further afield they were taken by

plunder or trade, the more famous their royal sponsors became. Athelstan

(d. 939) is the first English king to be shown on his coins wearing a crown

or circlet. For many people, the king's image on coins was the only

likeness of the monarch which they were likely to see in their lifetimes.

By the end of the tenth century the English monarchy had the most

sophisticated coinage system in western Europe. The system allowed kings to

exploit the wealth of a much enlarged kingdom and to raise the very large

sums of money which they had to use as bribes to limit the effect of the

Vikings' invasions at the end of the tenth century.

For five centuries in England, until 1280, silver pennies were the only

royal coins in circulation. Gradually a range of denominations began to

emerge, and by the mid fourteenth century a regular coinage of gold was

introduced. The gold sovereign came into existence in 1489 under King Henry

VII. Throughout this period, counterfeiting coinage was regarded as a grave

crime against the state amounting to high treason and was punishable by

death under an English statute of 1350. The crime was considered to be an

interference with the administration of government and the representation

of the monarch. Until the nineteenth century the Royal Mint was based at

the Tower of London, and for centuries was therefore under the direct

control of the monarch.

The English monarchy was the first monarchy in the British Isles to

introduce a coinage for practical and propaganda purposes. Only one early

Welsh king, Hywel Dda, minted a coin, though it may not have been produced

in Wales itself. The first Scottish king to issue a coinage was David I (d.

1153). Until the reign of Alexander III (1249-1286) Scottish coinage was

only issued sparingly. During the reign of Alexander III coins began to be

minted in much larger quantities, a result of increasing trade with Europe

and the importation of foreign silver.

After the death of Alexander III in 1289, Scotland fell into a long

period of internal strife and war with England. A nominal coinage was

issued under John Balliol c.1296 and then in reign of Robert the Bruce

(1306-1329), but the first substantial issue of coinage did not come until

the reign of David II (1329-1371). The accession by James VI to the English

throne in 1603 saw the fixing of value of the Scottish coinage to a ratio

of 1 / 12 with English coinage. After the Act of Union in 1707 unique

Scottish coinage came to an end. The last Scottish minted coins were the

sterling issues based on the English denominations that were issued until

1709 with the "E" mintmark for Edinburgh. Some British coinages have

featured Scottish devices, the Royal Arms of Scotland or the thistle emblem

during the 20th century, but these are a part of the coinage of the United

Kingdom, not unique to Scotland.

In the United Kingdom a streamlining of coinage production took place in

the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Until the Restoration of Charles

II, coins were struck by hand. In 1816, there was a major change in the

British coinage, powered by the Industrial Revolution. The Royal Mint moved

from The Tower of London to new premises on nearby Tower Hill, and acquired

powerful new steam powered coining presses. Further changes took place in

the 1960s, when the Mint moved to modern premises at Llantrisant, near

Cardiff.

After over a thousand years and many changes in production techniques,

the monarch continues to be depicted on the obverse of modern UK coinage.

Certain traditions are observed in this representation. From the time of

Charles II onwards a tradition developed of successive monarchs being

represented on the coinage facing in the opposite direction to their

immediate predecessor. There was an exception to this in the brief reign of

Edward VIII, who liked portraits of himself facing to the left, even though

he should have faced to the right according to tradition. The designs for

proposed coins in the Mint collection show Edward VIII facing to the left.

The tradition has been restored since the reign of George VI.

During The Queen's reign there have been four representations of Her

Majesty on circulating coinage. The original coin portrait of Her Majesty

was by Mary Gillick and was adopted at the beginning of the reign in 1952.

The following effigy was by Arnold Machin OBE, RA, approved by the Queen in

1964. That portrait, which features the same tiara as the latest effigy,

was used on all the decimal coins from 1968. The next effigy was by Raphael

Maklouf FRSA and was adopted in 1985. The latest portrait was introduced in

1998 and is the work of Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS, FSNAD. In keeping with

tradition, the new portrait continues to show the Queen in profile facing

to the right. Her Majesty is wearing the tiara which she was given as a

wedding present by her grandmother Queen Mary.

Images of the monarch on bank notes are a much more recent invention.

Although bank notes began to be issued from the late seventeenth century,

they did not come to predominate over coins until the nineteenth century.

Only since 1960 has the British Sovereign been featured on English bank

notes, giving The Queen a unique distinction above her predecessors.

STAMPS

There is a close relationship between the British Monarchy and the postal

system of the United Kingdom. Present-day postal services have their

origins in royal methods of sending documents in previous centuries.

Nowadays, the image of The Queen on postage stamps preserves the connection

with the Monarchy.

For centuries letters on affairs of State to and from the Sovereign's

Court, and despatches in time of war, were carried by Messengers of the

Court and couriers employed for particular occasions. Henry VIII's Master

of the Posts set up post-stages along the major roads of the kingdom where

Royal Couriers, riding post-haste, could change horses. In Elizabeth I's

day, those carrying the royal mail were to 'blow their horn as oft as they

met company, or four times every mile'. Letters of particular urgency - for

example, reprieves for condemned prisoners - bore inscriptions such as

'Haste, haste - post haste - haste for life for life hast' and the sign of

the gallows. During the reign of James I (1603-25) all four posts of the

kingdom still centred on the Court: The Courte to Barwicke (the post to

Scotland); The Courte to Beaumoris (to Ireland); The Courte to Dover (to

Europe) and The Courte to Plymouth (the Royal Dockyard).

Charles I opened his posts to public use, as a means of raising money.

Although public use of the royal posts increased, the running of the mail

continued to centre round the post requirements of the Sovereign's Court.

Until the 1780's the Mails did not leave London until the Court letters had

been received at the General Post Office, and as late as 1807 Court letters

coming into London were, unlike ordinary letters, delivered the moment the

mail arrived. The postal system rapidly spread during Victoria's reign with

the introduction of the Uniform Penny Postage in 1840, and the Queen's

letters bore postage stamps like everyone else's. Royal Messengers

continued to carry certain letters by hand. The increase in the Court's

mail led to special postal facilities being provided in 1897 in the form of

a Court Post Office - an arrangement which still exists today under the

management of the Court Postmaster.

Symbols of the royal origins of the UK's postal system remain: a

miniature silhouette of the Monarch's head is depicted on all stamps; the

personal cyphers of The Queen and her predecessors (going back to Victoria)

appear on many letterboxes dating from their respective reigns throughout

the country; and the postal delivery service is known as the Royal Mail.

COATS OF ARMS

The function of the Royal Coat of Arms is to identify the person who is

Head of State. In respect of the United Kingdom, the royal arms are borne

only by the Sovereign. They are used in many ways in connection with the

administration and government of the country, for instance on coins, in

churches and on public buildings. They are familiar to most people as they

appear on the products and goods of Royal Warrant holders.

The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom have evolved over many years

and reflect the history of the Monarchy and of the country. In the design

the shield shows the various royal emblems of different parts of the United

Kingdom: the three lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the

lion of Scotland in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. It is

surrounded by a garter bearing the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ('Evil

to him who evil thinks'), which symbolises the Order of the Garter, an

ancient order of knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign. The shield is

supported by the English lion and Scottish unicorn and is surmounted by the

Royal crown. Below it appears the motto of the Sovereign, Dieu et mon droit

('God and my right'). The plant badges of the United Kingdom - rose,

thistle and shamrock - are often displayed beneath the shield.

Separate Scottish and English quarterings of the Royal Arms originate

from the Union of the Crown in 1603. The Scottish version of the Royal Coat

of Arms shows the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters, with

that of England being in the second. The harp of Ireland is in the third

quarter. The mottoes read In defence and No one will attack me with

impunity. From the times of the Stuart kings, the Scottish quarterings have

been used for official purposes in Scotland (for example, on official

buildings and official publications).

The special position of Wales as a Principality was recognised by the

creation of the Prince of Wales long before the incorporation of the

quarterings for Scotland and Ireland in the Royal Arms. The arms of the

Prince of Wales show the arms of the ancient Principality in the centre as

well as these quarterings.

Coats of Arms of members of the Royal Family are broadly similar to The

Queen's with small differences to identify them.

GREAT SEAL

The Great Seal of the Realm is the chief seal of the Crown, used to show

the monarch's approval of important state documents. In today's

constitutional monarchy, the Sovereign acts on the advice of the Government

of the day, but the seal remains an important symbol of the Sovereign's

role as Head of State.

The practice of using this seal began in the reign of Edward the

Confessor in the 11th century, when a double-sided metal matrix with an

image of the Sovereign was used to make an impression in wax for attachment

by ribbon or cord to royal documents. The seal meant that the monarch did

not need to sign every official document in person; authorisation could be

carried out instead by an appointed officer. In centuries when few people

could read or write, the seal provided a pictorial expression of royal

approval which all could understand. The uniqueness of the official seal -

only one matrix was in existence at any one time - also meant it was

difficult to forge or tamper with official documents.

The Great Seal matrix has changed many times throughout the centuries. A

new matrix is engraved at the beginning of each reign on the order of the

Sovereign; it is traditional that on the death of the Sovereign the old

seal is used until the new Sovereign orders otherwise. For many monarchs, a

single seal has sufficed. In the case of some long-reigning monarchs, such

as Queen Victoria, the original seal simply wore out and a series of

replacements was required.

The Queen has had two Great Seals during her reign. The first was

usage and the heat involved in the sealing process, the matrix lost

definition. From summer 2001 a new Great Seal, designed by sculptor James

Butler and produced by the Royal Mint, has been in use. At a meeting of the

Privy Council on 18 July 2001 The Queen handed the new seal matrix over to

the Lord High Chancellor, currently Lord Irvine of Lairg, who is the

traditional keeper of the Great Seal.

The Great Seal matrix will be used to create seals for a range of

documents requiring royal approval, including letters patent, royal

proclamations, commissions, some writs (such as writs for the election of

Members of Parliament), and the documents which give power to sign and

ratify treaties. During the year 2000-01, more than 100 documents passed

under the Great Seal. Separate seals exist for Scotland - the Great Seal of

Scotland - and for Northern Ireland.

The process of sealing takes place nowadays at the House of Lords in the

office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. A system of 'colour coding'

is used for the seal impression, depending on the type of document to which

it is being affixed. Dark green seals are affixed to letters patent which

elevate individuals to the peerage; blue seals are used for documents

relating to the close members of the Royal Family; and scarlet red is used

for documents appointing a bishop and for most other patents.

FLAGS

A number of different types of flag are associated with The Queen and the

Royal Family. The Union Flag (or Union Jack) originated as a Royal flag,

although it is now also flown by many people and organisations elsewhere in

the United Kingdom by long established custom. The Royal Standard is the

flag flown when The Queen is in residence in one of the Royal Palaces, on

The Queen's car on official journeys and on aircraft (when on the ground),

and represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom. The Queen's personal

flag, adopted in 1960, is personal to her alone and can be flown by no one

other than The Queen. Members of the Royal Family have their own personal

variants on the Royal Standard. The Prince of Wales has additional

Standards which he uses in Wales and Scotland.

CROWNS AND JEWELS

The crowns and treasures associated with the British Monarchy are

powerful symbols of monarchy for the British people and, as such, their

value represents more than gold and precious stones. Today the crowns and

treasures associated with English kings and queens since 1660 and earlier

are used for the Coronation of Monarchs of the United Kingdom. The crowns

and regalia used by Scottish monarchs (the Honours of Scotland) and Princes

of Wales (the Honours of the Principality of Wales) continue to have

symbolic meaning in Scotland and Wales. All three collections of treasures

can be viewed today in their different locations - the Tower of London,

Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.

TRANSPORT

The Queen's State and private motor cars are housed in the Royal Mews.

For official duties - providing transport for State and other visitors as

well as The Queen herself - there are nine State limousines, consisting of

one Bentley, five Rolls-Royces and three Daimlers. They are painted in

Royal maroon livery and the Bentley and Rolls-Royces uniquely do not have

registration number plates. Other vehicles include a number of Vauxhall

Sintra 'people carriers'.

The most recent State car, which is used for most of The Queen's

engagements, is a State Bentley presented to The Queen to mark her Golden

Jubilee in 2002. The one-off model, conceived by a Bentley-led consortium

of British motor industry manufacturers and suppliers, is the first Bentley

to be used for State occasions. It was designed with input from The Queen,

The Duke of Edinburgh and Her Majesty's Head Chauffeur.

In technical terms, the car has a monocoque construction, enabling

greater use to be made of the vehicle's interior space. This means the

transmission tunnel now runs underneath the floor, without encroaching on

the cabin and has enabled the stylists to work with a lowered roofline

whilst preserving the required interior height. The rear doors have been

redesigned enabling The Queen to stand up straight before stepping down to

the ground. The rear seats are upholstered in Hield Lambswool Sateen cloth

whilst all remaining upholstery is in light grey Connolly hide. Carpets are

pale blue in the rear and dark blue in the front.

A Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was presented to The Queen in 1978 for her

Silver Jubilee by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The

oldest car in the fleet is the Phantom IV, built in 1950, 5.76 litre with a

straight eight engine and a Mulliner body. There is also a 1987 Phantom VI

and two identical Phantom V models built in the early 1960s. The 1978

Phantom VI and the two Phantom V models have a removable exterior roof

covering, which exposes an inner lining of perspex, giving a clear view of

passengers.

All the cars have fittings for the shield bearing the Royal Coat of Arms

and the Royal Standard. The Queen has her own mascot for use on official

cars. Designed for her by the artist Edward Seago in the form of St George

on a horse poised victorious over a slain dragon, it is made of silver and

can be transferred from car to car as necessary. The Duke of Edinburgh's

mascot, a heraldic lion wearing a crown, is adapted from his arms.

For her private use The Queen drives a Daimler Jaguar saloon or a

Vauxhall estate (like every other qualified driver, The Queen holds a

driving licence). The Duke of Edinburgh has a Range Rover and, for short

journeys round London, uses a Metrocab. The private cars are painted

Edinburgh green.

A number of Royal Mews vehicles have now been converted to run on

liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) - a more environmentally friendly fuel than

petrol or diesel. Converted vehicles include one of the Rolls-Royce Phantom

IVs, a Daimler and The Duke of Edinburgh's Metrocab.

CARS