The Queen The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, which means that the Queen is Head of State under a democratic system. Consequently, the Queen is politically neutral and by convention her role is largely ceremonial. She has been the Queen for over half a century.

The Queen is Head of State of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms. Born in 1926, she was the elder daughter of King George VI and became Queen at the age of 25. She is also head of the Commonwealth, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2009. The Commonwealth is a remarkable international organisation, spanning every geographical region, religion and culture. Its purpose is to promote international co-operation and development, and consists of Great Britain and her former colonies.

At the moment, the Queen enjoys considerable popularity both at home and abroad. She is a well-respected and much admired figure. She is always well received by countries such as Canada and Australia, where she is one of the last remaining ties with Britain. However, it is a controversial question of whether or not the monarchy should be kept. Whilst she is still popular in Britain, there is a growing minority in countries such as Australia who do not approve of having a ‘British' Head of State. Many of these people are immigrants from Asia who have no affiliation with Britain or the Anglosphere. However there are also those Australians who are ideologically opposed to having a Queen because they do not think it is democratic.

The Queen and her family are involved in a lot of charity work, and aspire to help those who are her Subjects. The stereotype that the Royal Family does no work is largely untrue. The Queen has had a busy professional life for almost six decades, and even into her 80s she still carries out her formal duties.