Key facts to remember -
The Queen of England, Elizabeth II, is head of state, and does not govern the country.
The people of the UK vote for a political party such as Labour, Conservative, or Liberal Democrats, and whoever is leader of the party that gets the most votes is then appointed by the queen to be the Prime Minister.
The houses of Parliament is where politicians meet to discuss and decide the laws of the UK. There are three sections: the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy. New laws have to go through both the house of commons and the house of lords, then the Queen as head of state signs any laws that parliament has voted for. She can reject a law, though this hasn't happened since the reign of Queen Anne who reigned between 1702 and 1714.
CURRENCY OF ENGLAND
The currency of England and Britain is officially called Pounds Sterling.
The currency sign is the pound sign: £
A pound is made up of 100 pence. (pence is plural of penny)
Coins currently in circulation (copper, silver and gold)-
1p (one penny), 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 (one pound)
Notes currently in circulation -
£5, £10, £20, £50, £100
There is no government just for England, and hasn't been since 1707. The government, although seated in London, is in fact a UK government. The current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (see picture below), who leads the government is in fact Scottish.
The UK government is known as a 'Constitutional Monarchy' and a 'Parliamentary Democracy'.
A 'Constitutional Monarchy' can be defined as a King or Queen that reigns over a country, but does not govern it. Our Queen is head of state, but does not run the country.
A 'Parliamentary Democracy' is one in which the people choose representatives at regular elections to govern the country.
