Extra: The United Kingdom – Monarchy

englisch lesen • hören • sprechen • schreiben
The United Kingdom
Monarchy
Pressetexte, Materialien und Übungen für den Unterricht
• Die Sprachzeitung •
t h e m e n h e f t
B2–C2

content
the united kingdom | monarchy
Liebe Lehrerinnen und Lehrer,
in diesem Themenheft werden Rolle und Wandel der Monarchie in Großbritannien erarbeitet.
Aktuelle Pressetexte, Videos, Podcasts, Infografiken und Cartoons sind die Materialien, mit denen
Lernende herangeführt werden an grundlegende Inhalte wie z. B. die britische Krone als Institution,
die Bedeutung von Harrys und Meghans Rückzug aus dem Königshaus, die Sicht der westlichen
Welt darauf und nicht zuletzt das wichtige Thema Commonwealth. Übungen inkl. Lösungen festigen
das Verständnis und bereiten gezielt auf Prüfungen im Fach Englisch vor.
Viel Erfolg und einen interessanten und abwechslungsreichen Unterricht wünscht
Ihre Englisch-Redaktion
Chapter Text Skills Page
British Monarchy
and the Role of
the Queen
Why the Queen Is Not Likely to Abdicate
© 2021 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Reading 4
Monarchy
and the Media
The Crown Has Slipped: How the Netflix Epic
Captures Our Relationship with the Royals
© 2020 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Listening &
Reading
11
Meghan and Harry’s
Interview with
Oprah Winfrey
Like a ‘Hand Grenade’
© 2021 Los Angeles Times
Listening &
Reading
20
British Monarchy
and the Western
World
Jamaican Campaigners Call for Colonialism
Apology from Royal Family
© 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd
Writing 28
Monarchy and
Commonwealth –
British Colonies
Barbados Is Finally Cutting Ties with
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II
© 2021 Miami Herald
Speaking 36
Answer key 44
3

itish monarchy and the role of the queen
reading
Why the Queen Is Not Likely
to Abdicate
ABDICATION Though she will
probably find it hard without Prince Philip,
the Queen is unlikely to step down.
By Caroline Davies
1 THE QUEEN,newly widowed, will find it “difficult”
without the support she has leant on over 73 years of marriage
to the Duke of Edinburgh, but royal observers have
dismissed any speculation that she might consider stepping
down.
2 The former Prime Minister Sir John Major acknowledged
that her position as monarch was “a very lonely position”.
He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “There are
a limited number of people to whom she can really open her
heart, to whom she can really speak with total frankness, to
whom she can say things that would be reported by other
people and thought to be indelicate.”
3 She could “unburden herself” on Philip. When facing
“a sea of problems”, or when feeling overwhelmed and
needing to share decision-making, one needed someone to
understand, “someone who can metaphorically – or in the
case of Prince Philip, I think, probably literally – put their
arms around you and say: ‘It’s not as bad as you think,’” said
Major, on whom the Queen bestowed the honour of Garter
Knight.
4 Speculation about Philip’s death precipitating an abdication
is unlikely to bear out, say royal experts. “One main
reason why the Queen will absolutely not abdicate is that
unlike other European monarchs, she is an anointed queen,”
the royal historian Hugo Vickers told the Guardian, referring
to the pact she made with God during her coronation.
“And if you are an anointed queen, you do not abdicate.”
5 If she was unable to fulfil her constitutional duties, a regent
could be appointed, as happened with George III. She
also celebrates her Platinum Jubilee next year. “It would be
completely illogical to abdicate just before that extraordinary
anniversary,” he said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to
celebrate. And I would hope she would be feeling up to that;
a bit of time would have passed.
6 “We need the Queen, with her vast experience. And she
is still absolutely fine. She is still riding and very busily at
the centre of everything; her office is still thriving. She can’t
go out much at the moment, but she does occasionally. She
looks wonderful, so no abdicating.”
Royal observers
have dismissed any
speculation that Queen
Elizabeth II might
consider stepping down.
| Photo: Picture
Alliance
7 The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge have done
much of the heavy lifting of royal engagements in recent
years. Since Philip retired from public life in 2017, the Queen
has leant on her son and grandson. “It’s lovely to think she
does have a very supportive royal family, and that’s what
they are there for,” said Vickers. “And they will help her now.
They will step up to the mark.”
8 Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty Magazine,
said: “I remain of the opinion that although the loss of
Prince Philip is devastating for her personally, I don’t think
it is going to impact on her role as monarch. I suspect that
will continue pretty much as it has in the past few years.
9 “Clearly, it’s a strange time at the moment because of
COVID, and we’ve seen much less of her than we might have
done otherwise. But I feel that despite the fact she is now
a widow, and she’s soon going to be 95, it will still be very
much business as usual.
10 “There has already been the handover of certain responsibilities,
not least to the Prince of Wales in the last few
years, and clearly that will continue. But as monarch, she
will continue as long as she is physically and mentally able
to do so.
11 “I think it is in her DNA. It also goes back not only to her
speech in 1947 in South Africa but more specifically to the
oath she took at the time of the coronation. She is a committed
Christian. That’s the contract she made with God, and I
think it’s something she feels can’t be broken. It’s just how
she is.”
© 2021 Guardian News and Media Ltd
0 – 2 TO ABDICATE“"œbdIkeIt‘ abdanken;
abdication Abdankung — to step down
zurücktreten; h.: abdanken — widowed
“"wId´Ud‘ verwitwet; s.w.u. widow Witwe —
to lean on s.th. s. auf etw. verlassen — duke
“dZu…k‘ Herzog — observer Beobachter(in)
— to dismiss zurückweisen — to acknowledge
“´k"nÅlIdZ‘ einräumen — frankness Offenheit
— indelicate “In"delIk´t‘ unsensibel;
taktlos
3 – 4 to unburden o.s. on s.o. “øn"b‰…
d´n‘ jdm. sein Herz ausschütten — overwhelmed
überfordert — decision-making
Entscheidungsfindung — metaphorically
“Æmet´"fÅrIk´li‘ bildlich gesprochen — to bestow
s.th. on s.o. “bI"st´U‘ jdm. etw. zuteilwerden
lassen — Garter Knight Mitglied
des Hosenbandordens — to precipitate
“prI"sIpIteIt‘ herbeiführen — to bear out s.
bestätigen — to anoint “´"nOInt‘ salben — to
refer to s.th. s. auf etw. beziehen — coronation
Krönung
5 – 7 to fulfil a duty e-e Pflicht erfüllen —
constitutional “ÆkÅnstI"tSu…S´n´l‘ verfassungsmäßig
— regent “"ri…dZ´nt‘ Regent(in) — to
appoint “´"pOInt‘ ernennen — to feel up to
s.th. s. etw. gewachsen fühlen — to thrive
“TraIv‘ gedeihen — to do much of the heavy
lifting (fig) e-n Großteil der Arbeit erledigen
— engagement “In"geIdZm´nt‘ Verpflichtung
— supportive “s´"pO…tIv‘ unterstützend — to
step up to the mark (fig) s. der Herausforderung
stellen
8 – 11 managing editor Chefredakteur(in)
— devastating “"dev´steItIN‘ verheerend;
niederschmetternd — to impact on s.th. s.
auf etw. auswirken — handover Übergabe
— oath “´UT‘ Eid — committed Christian
bekennende(r) Christ(in)
4
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
Focus on Words
1 Match the following words with the correct definitions.
a) monarchy A the people allowed to vote in an election
b) sovereign B to assign a role to someone
c) electorate C a ruler or monarch who has supreme power or authority
d) to inherit D the condition of being different
e) to appoint E to receive a position or property from a predecessor
f) distinction F a form of government that has a hereditary ruler
a) b) c) d) e) f)
2 Use some of the words from exercise 1 to complete the following sentences. If you use a
verb, be sure to use the correct grammatical form.
a) The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson by the Queen.
b) The monarch acts as head of state because he or she
the position.
c) The people in an typically do not vote for a
.
3 Use the link or QR code to watch a short video of the Queen’s
address to the UK Parliament at a state opening ceremony:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRInTdkb0R8.
Take notes on the following questions.
a) How is the Queen presented in the short video clip?
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. 5

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
b) What are the major topics of the Queen’s speech?
c) How might Germany be affected by the new regulations laid out in the Queen’s address?
4 Watch the video again, and decide if the following statements are true or false.
Statement True False
a) The Queen will support the UK’s departure from the EU.
b) The UK intends to have new trade regulations with the EU.
c) In her address, the Queen says that a new immigration bill will end free
movement.
d) Germans living in the UK will be asked to leave after 31 October.
e) The Queen addresses only the House of Lords.
Focus on Reading: Why the Queen Is Not Likely to Abdicate
5 Mark the correct answers to the following questions and statements. There is only one
correct answer to each question and statement.
a) How is the Queen’s life described according to the article?
exciting
lonely
mainly consisting of problems
6
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
b) According to former Prime Minister Sir John Major, the Queen …
… could not discuss her major decisions with Prince Philip.
… could be fully open with Prince Philip.
… will abdicate soon.
c) What is the major reason why the Queen is not likely to step down soon?
She wants to wait until her grandchildren are old enough to take over.
Her position was anointed by God.
She loves to be celebrated.
d) How has Prince Philip’s death affected the Queen?
She is thinking about abdicating as soon as Prince Charles is ready.
She cannot cope with her position as a monarch any longer.
She feels very sad but keeps her head up for the UK.
6 Read the newspaper article again before trying to find suitable definitions of the
following terms.
Term
Definition
a) royal observers (para. 1)
b) abdication (para. 4)
c) to be anointed (para. 4)
d) handover (para. 10)
7 Focus on the headline of the article “Why the Queen Is Not Likely to Abdicate”.
Write a short text summarising the major reasons why the Queen will not step down.
• Why has Queen Elizabeth II not abdicated (yet) after her husband’s death?
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. 7

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
8 Match the statements with the correct people according to the article.
a) The Queen
A
It is good to see that the Queen is supported by the other
members of the royal family.
b) Sir John Major B For God, for her people, and for her country.
c) Hugo Vickers C The Queen has only a limited number of people she can fully trust.
d) Joe Little
D
The Queen will carry out her duties, even after her husband’s
death.
a) b) c) d)
The UK without Monarchy?!
9 Have a closer look at the following statements before you decide if they are in favour of or
against the monarchy in Britain. Write the letters on the correct lines.
a) The Queen symbolises British
traditions and values.
b) The British monarch
does not really have any
political power.
c) The British monarchy costs a lot
of money. It’s the most expensive
monarchy in Europe.
e) An elected head of state
represents a true democratic
process.
d) The Queen is seen as someone
who rises above politics because
she is anointed by God.
f) The Queen is too old to know what’s
really going on in the world.
Statements in favour of the British monarchy:
Statements against the British monarchy:
8
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
Focus on Describing and Analysing Visuals
Britain’s Monarchy: More Popular Than Ever
Queen Elizabeth II is Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, and today marks her 90th birthday.
Many observers predicted that Britain’s monarchy would eventually fall into decline, but polls have
proved that it is actually flourishing. Ipsos Mori recently found that 76 per cent of Britons think
their country should remain a monarchy, while 17 per cent think it should become a republic with
an elected president. A large majority of people in the UK also believe that the monarchy has an
important role to play in the country’s future.
by Niall McCarthy, 21 April 2016, Statista
| Infographic: Statista
10 Have a closer look at the infographic, and try to “read” it. Use the phrases below
to describe the infographic to a partner.
Useful phrases
Describing Visuals
The title of the infographic is …
The infographic was published in …
The round diagram shows …
The bar graph shows …
The infographic clearly shows that …
The bars shown rose/fell/stayed the same …
The largest/smallest percentage of … clearly shows that …
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. 9

why the queen is not likely to abdicate
reading
11 Have a closer look at the infographic again, and decide if the following statements are
true or false.
Statement True False
a) The majority of the British people want Britain to become a republic.
b) One could conclude that most people are not happy with the Queen and what
she does for Britain.
c) According to the infographic, 66 per cent of the British people in 1998 agreed
that the British monarchy had an important role.
d) The number of people who want to have a different political system has
increased in the last 20 years.
e) The number of people who are undecided about the importance of
the British monarchy has slightly decreased.
12 Think of possible reasons why people in the UK would prefer to remain a monarchy rather
than become a republic. Write down your arguments using keywords.
13 Use your description from exercise 10, arguments from exercise 12 and your
background knowledge to find arguments for and against ending the monarchy in
Britain after Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
For
Against
10
© 2022 Carl Ed. Schünemann KG. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.