Portal:Monarchy/Selected article/9

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The monarchy of the United Kingdom (the British monarchy), is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories. The terms British monarch and British monarchy may mean different things in different contexts beyond the United Kingdom (see Context).The present monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since February 6, 1952. The heir apparent is her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales and Duke of Rothesay. They and the Queen's husband and consort, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, undertake various public duties in accordance with their positions.Elizabeth II is Head of the Commonwealth and also reigns as head of state of 15 other Commonwealth countries. This developed from the former colonial relationship of these countries to Britain, but they are now independent and the monarchy of each is legally distinct.The British monarchy can trace its ancestral lineage back to the kings of the Angles and the early Scottish kings. By the year 1000, the petty kingdoms of early medieval Britain had resolved into the kingdoms of England and Scotland. From 1603, when the Scottish king inherited the English throne, both kingdoms were ruled by a single monarch, and in 1707 the kingdoms were merged to create the Kingdom of Great Britain and, essentially, the monarchy of the United Kingdom today.Succession is governed by several enactments, the most important being the Bill of Rights 1689 and Act of Settlement 1701. The rules of succession may be changed by an Act of Parliament.