British Culture - User contributions [en]

Victoria and Albert Museum

2010-07-05T15:08:31Z

Charming: Created page with 'The Victoria and Albert Museum (short: V&A) at the Cromwell Road in Kensington, West London was founded in 1852 as the South-Kensington-Museum". It shows the greatest collection…'

The Victoria and Albert Museum (short: V&A) at the Cromwell Road in Kensington, West London was founded in 1852 as the South-Kensington-Museum". It shows the greatest collection of art and design in the world. The Museum started off with a collection of plaster and engraved pieces of art as well as other pieces for the [[world’s fair]] in 1851. Henry Cole and [[Prince Albert]], [[Queen Victoria]]'s husband, then created a concept for a museum which should show the „Application of art in handcraft“ –as a model for the British people. The museum firstly consisted out of a couple of wooden hoods until it moved into the so called Brompton Boilers. It grew rapidly and a lot of new art was published in the extended building: artwork of Sheepshanks, Bandinel and Gherardini. The Galery of Aston Webb was built in1899 and went on until 1909. There are a couple of branches like the Science Museum or the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood and the Theatre Museum which did not fit into the museum anymore. The Museum expanded into the Henry Cole Wing in 20th century. The building has nowadays 145 rooms on 45,000 m² and a collection of 4 billion objects which span from 5000 years of art. The entry is free except for special exhibitions.

Sources:
http://www.vam.ac.uk/

Royal prerogative

2010-06-01T15:49:58Z

Charming:

The Royal Prerogative is the formal powers of the Monarchs within the executive process of politics in the UK. These powers are part of common law.

Since the Great Britain has a [[constitutional monarchy]], the work that is done by the monarchs in politics is rather symbolic. The work of the monarchs within the remit of the royal prerogative is on the behalf of elected ministers. In theory, the monarch has the right to e.g. grant pardons; actually this power is exercised by the Home Secretary/[[Prime Minister]] in reality in their own right or on through the advice they provide to the Queen which she is bound constitutionally to follow.

Historically, certain royal functions could be exercised only in certain ways. The Monarch could decide questions of title to land and punish felonies through common law courts. The Monarch possessed a residual power of administering justice through his Council.
In the 17th century, disputes came up over the undefined residue of prerogative power. The conflict was resolved after the execution of two English Kings.

It that the bulk of prerogative powers could be exercised only through the advice of ministers responsible to Parliament. The he monarch retained formal power of appointment and removal of ministers and ministries but the development of collective ministerial responsibility made it more and more difficult for the Monarch to exercise his power freely against the will of the Prime Minister. The ability of ministers to rely on prerogative powers continues to give rise to problems of accountability though.

''The royal prerogatives are as following:

[Firstly], the Queen has the right to appoint a [[Prime Minister]]. However, in the C21st this is convention as opposed to reality. In fact, after an election, the Queen chooses the leader of the majority party to lead the Commons. However, what happens if the Prime Minister refuses to quit after losing a vote of no confidence is unclear – as it has never happened in recent political history. Theoretically, the monarch can exercise powers of appointment and dismissal. How this would fit in with a democracy is difficult to decide.

[Secondly]The monarch has other powers of appointment (ministers, peers, senior C of E officials, head of BBC, senior civil servants etc) In reality these are chosen by the Prime Minister; only [[the Order of the Garter]] and [[the Order of Merit]] are at the personal disposal of the Queen. Therefore, a vast amount of power with regards to senior appointments rests with the Prime Minister.

[Thirdly]The Queen opens and dissolves [[Parliament]]. She also approves all statutes of law. In reality, the date of a general election is set by the Prime Minister and the Queen, in the State Opening of Parliament, simply reads out the proposed bills for the next 5 years of a government and plays no part in deciding them. No monarch has refused to give the Royal Assent to a government bill (passed at this stage by both the Commons and Lords) since 1707. Now it would appear to be completely untenable that the Queen would refuse to sign a government bill that had passed the Commons, select committees, the Lords etc. It would spark off a major constitutional crisis.''

In 2007 and 2009 there were proposals to reform the Royal Prerogative. Specific proposals were made for certain elements of the prerogative, such as the deployment of Armed Forces overseas etc. and the Government published a review of Executive Royal Prerogative Power

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03861.pdf http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/royal_prerogative.htm
Ministry of Justice, The Governance of Britain – Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report, October 2009, paras 26-28

Royal prerogative

2010-06-01T15:47:43Z

Charming: Created page with 'The Royal Prerogative is the formal powers of the Monarchs within the executive process of politics in the UK. These powers are part of common law. Since the Great Britain has …'

The Royal Prerogative is the formal powers of the Monarchs within the executive process of politics in the UK. These powers are part of common law.

Since the Great Britain has a constitutional monarchy, the work that is done by the monarchs in politics is rather symbolic. The work of the monarchs within the remit of the royal prerogative is on the behalf of elected ministers. In theory, the monarch has the right to e.g. grant pardons; actually this power is exercised by the Home Secretary/Prime Minister in reality in their own right or on through the advice they provide to the Queen which she is bound constitutionally to follow.

Historically, certain royal functions could be exercised only in certain ways. The Monarch could decide questions of title to land and punish felonies through common law courts. The Monarch possessed a residual power of administering justice through his Council.
In the 17th century, disputes came up over the undefined residue of prerogative power. The conflict was resolved after the execution of two English Kings.

It that the bulk of prerogative powers could be exercised only through the advice of ministers responsible to Parliament. The he monarch retained formal power of appointment and removal of ministers and ministries but the development of collective ministerial responsibility made it more and more difficult for the Monarch to exercise his power freely against the will of the Prime Minister. The ability of ministers to rely on prerogative powers continues to give rise to problems of accountability though.

''The royal prerogatives are as following:

[Firstly], the Queen has the right to appoint a Prime Minister. However, in the C21st this is convention as opposed to reality. In fact, after an election, the Queen chooses the leader of the majority party to lead the Commons. However, what happens if the Prime Minister refuses to quit after losing a vote of no confidence is unclear – as it has never happened in recent political history. Theoretically, the monarch can exercise powers of appointment and dismissal. How this would fit in with a democracy is difficult to decide.

[Secondly]The monarch has other powers of appointment (ministers, peers, senior C of E officials, head of BBC, senior civil servants etc) In reality these are chosen by the Prime Minister; only the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit are at the personal disposal of the Queen. Therefore, a vast amount of power with regards to senior appointments rests with the Prime Minister.

[Thirdly]The Queen opens and dissolves Parliament. She also approves all statutes of law. In reality, the date of a general election is set by the Prime Minister and the Queen, in the State Opening of Parliament, simply reads out the proposed bills for the next 5 years of a government and plays no part in deciding them. No monarch has refused to give the Royal Assent to a government bill (passed at this stage by both the Commons and Lords) since 1707. Now it would appear to be completely untenable that the Queen would refuse to sign a government bill that had passed the Commons, select committees, the Lords etc. It would spark off a major constitutional crisis.''

In 2007 and 2009 there were proposals to reform the Royal Prerogative. Specific proposals were made for certain elements of the prerogative, such as the deployment of Armed Forces overseas etc. and the Government published a review of Executive Royal Prerogative Power

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/commons/lib/research/briefings/snpc-03861.pdf http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/royal_prerogative.htm
Ministry of Justice, The Governance of Britain – Review of the Executive Royal Prerogative Powers: Final Report, October 2009, paras 26-28

Sarah Ferguson

2010-05-04T16:17:29Z

Charming:

The Duchess of York,Sarah Ferguson, was born as Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October the 15th 1959 and is the second daughter of [[Major Ronald Ferguson]] and his former wife, the late Mrs. Hector Barrantes. She has an older sister called Jane Louisa ,who was born in 1957. Sarah Ferguson married [[Prince Andrew]], second son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, at [[Westminster Abbey]] in July 1986. The couple has two daughters, [[Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary]] of York, born in 1988 and [[Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena]] of York, born in 1990. Ten years later Sarah and Andrew got divorced.

Sarah Ferguson has her own Foundation, called Sarah Ferguson Foundation in which she supports the charitable projects in order to make a difference in the lives of suffering children and families throughout the world.

The Duchess was a founding supporter of The American Cancer Society’s “Great American Weigh In”, an annual campaign (modeled after the Society’s “Great American Smoke Out”) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer. In March 2003 she joined the American Cancer Society at a congressional briefing.In 2007 the Duchess was named "Mother of the Year" by the American Cancer Society.

For the last ten years she was the U.S. spokesperson for Weight Watchers International, Inc. Sarah Ferguson remains a popular role model for millions who have weight problems.She has also published Energy Breakthrough; Reinventing Yourself; Win the Weight Game; Dieting with The Duchess; Dining with The Duchess for Weight watchers.

She has also written books for children, e.g.a book series about "The Adventures of Little Red", a book about "Budgie the Helicopter" and books called "The Royal Switch" and "Bright Lights" aswell as her her autobiography "My Story". In January 2003,she published "What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way". She co-wrote two authoritative books about the travels of Queen Victoria with historian Benita Stoney. As an amateur photographer, in 2003 The Duchess published a collection of images for charity titled Reflections.

Sarah Ferguson is a correspondent to NBC’s Today Show and has served as guest editor on BBC Radio.

The film "[[Young Victoria]]," produced by her in 2009,was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, scripted by Julian Fellowes and executive produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, focuses on the period when Victoria became queen and her marriage to Prince Albert.

Sarah Ferguson

Sources:

Sarah Ferguson Foundation: http://www.sarahfergusonfoundation.org/?page_id=33

Fergie Confidential: The Real Story

Sarah Ferguson

2010-05-04T16:16:18Z

Charming:

The Duchess of York,Sarah Ferguson, was born as Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October the 15th 1959 and is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his former wife, the late Mrs. Hector Barrantes. She has an older sister called Jane Louisa ,who was born in 1957. Sarah Ferguson married [[Prince Andrew]], second son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in July 1986. The couple has two daughters, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York, born in 1988 and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York, born in 1990. Ten years later Sarah and Andrew got divorced.

Sarah Ferguson has her own Foundation, called Sarah Ferguson Foundation in which she supports the charitable projects in order to make a difference in the lives of suffering children and families throughout the world.

The Duchess was a founding supporter of The American Cancer Society’s “Great American Weigh In”, an annual campaign (modeled after the Society’s “Great American Smoke Out”) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer. In March 2003 she joined the American Cancer Society at a congressional briefing.In 2007 the Duchess was named "Mother of the Year" by the American Cancer Society.

For the last ten years she was the U.S. spokesperson for Weight Watchers International, Inc. Sarah Ferguson remains a popular role model for millions who have weight problems.She has also published Energy Breakthrough; Reinventing Yourself; Win the Weight Game; Dieting with The Duchess; Dining with The Duchess for Weight watchers.

She has also written books for children, e.g.a book series about "The Adventures of Little Red", a book about "Budgie the Helicopter" and books called "The Royal Switch" and "Bright Lights" aswell as her her autobiography "My Story". In January 2003,she published "What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way". She co-wrote two authoritative books about the travels of Queen Victoria with historian Benita Stoney. As an amateur photographer, in 2003 The Duchess published a collection of images for charity titled Reflections.

Sarah Ferguson is a correspondent to NBC’s Today Show and has served as guest editor on BBC Radio.

The film "Young Victoria," produced by her in 2009,was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, scripted by Julian Fellowes and executive produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, focuses on the period when Victoria became queen and her marriage to Prince Albert.

Sarah Ferguson

Sources:

Sarah Ferguson Foundation: http://www.sarahfergusonfoundation.org/?page_id=33

Fergie Confidential: The Real Story

Sarah Ferguson

2010-05-04T16:14:41Z

Charming:

The Duchess of York,Sarah Ferguson, was born as Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October the 15th 1959 and is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his former wife, the late Mrs. Hector Barrantes. She has an older sister called Jane Louisa ,who was born in 1957. Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew, second son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in July 1986. The couple has two daughters, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York, born in 1988 and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York, born in 1990. Ten years later Sarah and Andrew got divorced.

Sarah Ferguson has her own Foundation, called Sarah Ferguson Foundation in which she supports the charitable projects in order to make a difference in the lives of suffering children and families throughout the world.

The Duchess was a founding supporter of The American Cancer Society’s “Great American Weigh In”, an annual campaign (modeled after the Society’s “Great American Smoke Out”) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer. In March 2003 she joined the American Cancer Society at a congressional briefing.In 2007 the Duchess was named "Mother of the Year" by the American Cancer Society.

For the last ten years she was the U.S. spokesperson for Weight Watchers International, Inc. Sarah Ferguson remains a popular role model for millions who have weight problems.She has also published Energy Breakthrough; Reinventing Yourself; Win the Weight Game; Dieting with The Duchess; Dining with The Duchess for Weight watchers.

She has also written books for children, e.g.a book series about "The Adventures of Little Red", a book about "Budgie the Helicopter" and books called "The Royal Switch" and "Bright Lights" aswell as her her autobiography "My Story". In January 2003,she published "What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way". She co-wrote two authoritative books about the travels of Queen Victoria with historian Benita Stoney. As an amateur photographer, in 2003 The Duchess published a collection of images for charity titled Reflections.

Sarah Ferguson is a correspondent to NBC’s Today Show and has served as guest editor on BBC Radio.

The film "Young Victoria," produced by her in 2009,was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, scripted by Julian Fellowes and executive produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, focuses on the period when Victoria became queen and her marriage to Prince Albert.

Sarah Ferguson

Sources:

Sarah Ferguson Foundation: http://www.sarahfergusonfoundation.org/?page_id=33

Fergie Confidential: The Real Story

Sarah Ferguson

2010-05-04T16:09:53Z

Charming: Created page with 'The Duchess of York,Sarah Ferguson, was born as Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October the 15th 1959 and is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his former wife, the late…'

The Duchess of York,Sarah Ferguson, was born as Sarah Margaret Ferguson on October the 15th 1959 and is the second daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his former wife, the late Mrs. Hector Barrantes. Sarah Ferguson married Prince Andrew, second son of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in July 1986. The couple has two daughters, Princess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary of York and Princess Eugenie Victoria Helena of York. Ten years later Sarah and Andrew got divorced.

Sarah Ferguson has her own Foundation, called Sarah Ferguson Foundation in which she supports the charitable projects in order to make a difference in the lives of suffering children and families throughout the world.

The Duchess was a founding supporter of The American Cancer Society’s “Great American Weigh In”, an annual campaign (modeled after the Society’s “Great American Smoke Out”) aimed at raising awareness of the link between excess weight and cancer. In March 2003 she joined the American Cancer Society at a congressional briefing.In 2007 the Duchess was named "Mother of the Year" by the American Cancer Society.

For the last ten years she was the U.S. spokesperson for Weight Watchers International, Inc. Sarah Ferguson remains a popular role model for millions who have weight problems.She has also published Energy Breakthrough; Reinventing Yourself; Win the Weight Game; Dieting with The Duchess; Dining with The Duchess for Weight watchers.

She has also written books for children, e.g.a book series about "The Adventures of Little Red", a book about "Budgie the Helicopter" and books called "The Royal Switch" and "Bright Lights" aswell as her her autobiography "My Story". In January 2003,she published "What I Know Now: Simple Lessons Learned the Hard Way". She co-wrote two authoritative books about the travels of Queen Victoria with historian Benita Stoney. As an amateur photographer, in 2003 The Duchess published a collection of images for charity titled Reflections.

Sarah Ferguson is a correspondent to NBC’s Today Show and has served as guest editor on BBC Radio.

The film "Young Victoria," produced by her in 2009,was directed by Jean-Marc Vallee, scripted by Julian Fellowes and executive produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, focuses on the period when Victoria became queen and her marriage to Prince Albert.

Sources:

Sarah Ferguson Foundation: http://www.sarahfergusonfoundation.org/?page_id=33
Fergie Confidential: The Real Story