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Symbols of the British Monarchy: the Imperial State Crown (part of the Crown Jewels) and the Royal Coat of Arms

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What's hot these days? - Session 4: "Defender of the Faith"

Which Faith?		Protestantism	Catholicism	Church of England	Act of Settlement
"Defender of the Faith"		Henry VIII	Catherine of Aragon	Anne Boleyn	Acts of Supremacy
Consolidation		Edward VI	Book of Common Prayer	Elizabeth I	Act of Uniformity
Catholic Threats		Mary I	Mary, Queen of Scots	Spanish Armada	Gunpowder Plot

Landmarks in the History of the British Monarchy

• 1485: End of the War of the Roses. Henry VII becomes king: House of Tudor.
• 1509: Henry VIII becomes king.
• 1534: Act of Supremacy. Reformation. The monarch becomes Head of the Church of England.
• 1558: Elizabeth I becomes queen.
• 1588: The Spanish Armada and the threat of invasion. Elizabeth gives the Tilbury Speech.
• 1603: The Scottish king James VI inherits the English throne as James I of England : House of Stuart.
• 1642: Struggles for power between King and Parliament lead to the English Civil War.
• 1649: Charles I is tried and executed. A republic, the Commonwealth of England, is established.
• 1660: Restoration. Charles II becomes king.
• 1679: Exclusion Crisis. The forerunners of political parties emerge: Whigs, Tories.
• 1688: "Glorious Revolution". James II leaves the country. Parliament declares his abdication, offers the Crown to William III and Mary II.
• 1689: Parliament passes the Bill of Rights.
• 1701: Parliament passes the Act of Settlement.
• 1714: George I becomes king: House of Hanover.
• 1721: Robert Walpole becomes Britain's first Prime Minister.
• 1743: Battle of Dettingen. George II is the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle.
• 1837: Victoria becomes queen. Her reign lasts until 1901, longer than that of any other British monarch.
• 1901: Edward VII becomes king: House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
• 1917: George V changes the name of the royal house to "Windsor", reacting to anti-German sentiment during WWI.
• 1936: Edward VIII becomes king. Abdication Crisis. Elizabeth II's father, George VI, becomes king.
• 1952: Elizabeth II becomes queen. Coronation in 1953.
• 12 June 2010: Trooping the Colour. The official celebration of the Queen's birthday, held annually, reflects the modern role of the monarch as a focus of national identity and a moral example (The Role of the Monarchy) as well as the emotional appeal of monarchy.

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