And sadly I have still yet to recieve at least a response from one of her ladies in waiting, which is from what I understand what answers most of her mail. Im sure she gets thousands upon thousands per week but I was sure hoping I would get something back with official royal stationary! OH well maybe Ill get it one day when I least expect it. I know this was out of the blue but it was what I had on my mind. Has anyone else ever tried to write Her Magesty? BTW I love her....she is an awesome lady.

That's a shame you didn't get a reply, but the Royal family really don't seem ot care about ordinery people.
BTW, other UK people could get offended- it's Queen of Britain- not Enlgland!

I haven't written to the Queen,but I have writtin to my favorite author Anne Perry,and she has replied! also,when I was like 9 I wrote to the Spice Girls and I got back a postcard a few weeks later inviting me to join their fanclub. That would be awsome if you get a reply though!

I apologize for my mistake I had always heard her refferred to as the Queen of England I certainly meant no disrespect. Whether she is the Queen of England or Queen of Britain I find her and the entire royal family intriguing. I hope maybe I will get a response one day.

Originally posted by JethroSimpson

BTW, other UK people could get offended- it's Queen of Britain- not England!

Thank you.
I was just about to post another angry rant on the difference between England and Britain but you saved me the hassle.

Mossopp,
Scotland (part of Britain - NOT England!)

Originally posted by Mossopp


Thank you.
I was just about to post another angry rant on the difference between England and Britain but you saved me the hassle.

Mossopp,
Scotland (part of Britain - NOT England!)

ok question...so when i am talking about the country England...I still say England or include everyone by saying Britian...I really never use the term britian....just the place im talking about...idk im confused help lol

Originally posted by Georgia's on my Mind


ok question...so when i am talking about the country England...I still say England or include everyone by saying Britian...I really never use the term britian....just the place im talking about...idk im confused help lol

I'll try'n make this as simple as possible.
See the map below? Everything marked on it - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - makes up the United Kingdom or Britain.
Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Irelend are all separate contries in their own right but they are collectively known as Britain or the U.K.
A lot of Americans say "England" when infact they are referring to Britain as a whole. Surely you can understand how this might seriously p!s$ off British people who don't come from England?!
In short, if you say "England" you are talking about that big, pale yellow country at the bottom of the map - NOT the UK as a whole!

Nope....... never tried to write her. Never will either. I find the whole idea of monarchy to be complete bullshi+. Especially in the UK.......I mean, the prime minister does everything.

Okay, my questions:

Why is it "Britain" and not "Great Britain"?

Also, when is the name "United Kingdom" used?

:confused:

God save the queen!!!

Originally posted by Miss Karly
Nope....... never tried to write her. Never will either. I find the whole idea of monarchy to be complete bullshi+.

I agree 100% The monarchy is obsolete. We need to get rid of them - NOW!

Originally posted by Mysty Eyes
Okay, my questions:
Why is it "Britain" and not "Great Britain"?
Also, when is the name "United Kingdom" used?
:confused:

*sobs in frustration*
Don't you have geography lessons in U.S. schools???!!!

Britain, Great Britain, The United Kingdom - they all mean the same thing!!! You can use any of them!! They all mean the same thing - they are all the collective name for Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales!!

Originally posted by Mossopp


*sobs in frustration*
Don't you have geography lessons in U.S. schools???!!!

Britain, Great Britain, The United Kingdom - they all mean the same thing!!! You can use any of them!! They all mean the same thing - they are all the collective name for Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales!!
Uh...

No need to be rude. I was simply asking a question, and trying to understand. And I was doing this so that I would not offend the citizenry of that collection of countries over there across the pond.

Forgive me for being considerate.

Don't they teach you MANNERS over there?

Originally posted by Mossopp


*sobs in frustration*
Don't you have geography lessons in U.S. schools???!!!

Britain, Great Britain, The United Kingdom - they all mean the same thing!!! You can use any of them!! They all mean the same thing - they are all the collective name for Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales!!

Yeah, we do have geography lessons, but it's mostly about the US and Mexico. I think we learned about Europe for one year, but still, no one remembers anything from school. Most US citizens dont know all 50 states.

Originally posted by Mysty Eyes

Uh...

No need to be rude. I was simply asking a question, and trying to understand. And I was doing this so that I would not offend the citizenry of that collection of countries over there across the pond.

Forgive me for being considerate.

Don't they teach you MANNERS over there?

I wasn't being rude - you misinterpreted me.
And, yes, actually they do teach us manners "over here" but surely you can understand my frustration? Everything I'm saying on this thread is basic geographical knowledge and I'm astounded that they don't teach you all this in American schools! I'm not angry at you personally - I'm mad at the fact that none of you seem to be getting taught properly in your schools.
It's you guys who are loosing out at the end of the day - it's no skin off my nose!

Originally posted by Mossopp


I wasn't being rude - you misinterpreted me.
And, yes, actually they do teach us manners "over here" but surely you can understand my frustration? Everything I'm saying on this thread is basic geographical knowledge and I'm astounded that they don't teach you all this in American schools! I'm not angry at you personally - I'm mad at the fact that none of you seem to be getting taught properly in your schools.
It's you guys who are loosing out at the end of the day - it's no skin off my nose!
Okay, fine.

Firstly, I have long been out of school. I graduated college back in 1976. So forgive me if I may have forgotten a few minor things from all those years ago.

Also, I still don't understand WHEN the different names might be used. Yes, I am well aware that in most cases they are interchangeable. However, I also assume that there are some circumstances wherein only one of them would be proper.

For instance:

The Queen... the original topic of this post.

Can she be called "The Queen of Britain" (a phrase, I must say, that I have never heard before today), or "The Queen of Great Britain" (which I have heard a few times), or "The Queen of the United Kingdom" (I've never heard this one)?

Are they interchangeable in this case as well? I honestly don't know. There really is no reason why anyone in the USA should be expected to know this kind of thing. That is why we ask questions.

Originally posted by Mossopp


I'll try'n make this as simple as possible.
See the map below? Everything marked on it - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - makes up the United Kingdom or Britain.
Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Irelend are all separate contries in their own right but they are collectively known as Britain or the U.K.
A lot of Americans say "England" when infact they are referring to Britain as a whole. Surely you can understand how this might seriously p!s$ off British people who don't come from England?!
In short, if you say "England" you are talking about that big, pale yellow country at the bottom of the map - NOT the UK as a whole!

well thanks, I just wanted to clarify things... I never use the term Britian ect.. anyways, i just refer to the country by it's name...

Originally posted by Mysty Eyes

The Queen... the original topic of this post.
Can she be called "The Queen of Britain" (a phrase, I must say, that I have never heard before today), or "The Queen of Great Britain" (which I have heard a few times), or "The Queen of the United Kingdom" (I've never heard this one)?


Yes - in the case of the Queen, the terms are interchangable.

Actually, I just checked. "Queen of England" is acceptable; of course, so too is "Queen of Scotland," "Queen of Australia," etc. She is Queen of all and each of these countries, and more.

She is actually the "Head of the Commonwealth."

The Monarchy Today (http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page390.asp)

Originally posted by Mysty Eyes
Actually, I just checked. "Queen of England" is acceptable; of course, so too is "Queen of Scotland," "Queen of Australia," etc. She is Queen of all and each of these countries, and more.

She is actually the "Head of the Commonwealth."
[/URL]

Again, you're misinterpreting.
The Queen is the queen of England, the queen of Scotland, the queen of Wales and the queen of Northern Ireland. The collective name of all these countries is Great Britain (or Britain, or the United Kindom, or the U.K. if you wanna split hairs). To refer to her simply as "The Queen of England" is to do a disservice to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similarly, to call her "The Queen of Scotland" is to do a disservice to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Call her whatever you want. You're obviously intent on trying to proove me wrong so couldn't care less anymore.

The Roylal Family definetly need to leave, the fact that a normal person's tax money goes to making them rich instead of paying for more important things is just not right.

Let me say something about US geography classes. What Kayla said was right...quiz people on the street and ask them where Iowa is and they scratch their a$$ and say something stupid like, "Uh, where they grow potatoes?" You get pi$$ed about the whole Britain/England thing? I get pi$$ed that no one seems to have a f-ing clue where Iowa is!! It's in your own goddamn country- learn where it is!

Anyway, they teach us where the 50 states are and the capitals. Last week in a lit class, I was the only one that still knew the capital of New Hampshire. (Concord BTW) If it's not California or New York, it doesn't exist. Screw the other 48 states.

If it's not on the North American continent, screw it too. It doesn't exist. Damn...we have to go all the way across that big blue blob to get to that island there? *raspberry* I'm never going to Europe. Someone says Chili, we think food. Most people assume they speak Spanish in Brazil because everyone else down there does. England is the biggest country on the island, so the whole thing is England. It takes to much effort to realize there are other countries there. All Oriental people are Chinese.

See what I mean? Alright, so that may be extreme, but in reality, it's not that extreme. The US sees the US and nothing else.

Originally posted by dawsongirl
Let me say something about US geography classes. What Kayla said was right...quiz people on the street and ask them where Iowa is and they scratch their a$$ and say something stupid like, "Uh, where they grow potatoes?" You get pi$$ed about the whole Britain/England thing? I get pi$$ed that no one seems to have a f-ing clue where Iowa is!! It's in your own goddamn country- learn where it is!


I can understand your frustration in this instance. You are 100% correct - people should know the basic geography of their own country.
I'm sensing you are a reasonable individual. Thusly I'm asking you to try'n see things from my perspective in this instance (since noone else seems to be trying). I can well believe that American kids are not necessarily taught a great deal about other countries in school but in Britain we are made to learn not just about our own country but we extensively study the United States aswell. I had to write a huge essay on suburbanisation in the U.S. for my CSYS geography course so a basic knowledge of America was essential.
Perhaps American kids aren't taught about Britain in school but this doesn't prevent them from going to the library and picking up a book about the U.K. and learning for themselves. Simply saying "it's not my fault that I don't know this stuff - I wasn't taught it in school" isn't good enough.
The same goes for any subject - not just geography!

How is this misinterpretation?

“The 1953 Royal Titles Act reflected the fact that The Queen is equally Queen of each of her Realms, acting on the advice of her Ministers in each realm; legislation on the royal title was to be enacted by each country separately, allowing The Queen to adopt a title suitable to the circumstances of the country concerned with a common element, symbolising the role of the Sovereign as a unifying factor in the Commonwealth. Each title therefore includes a reference to The Queen's other Realms and Territories, and also her title as Head of the Commonwealth. The words 'Defender of the Faith' are also included in the styles and titles used by The Queen in Canada and New Zealand.”

Again:
legislation on the royal title was to be enacted by each country separately, allowing The Queen to adopt a title suitable to the circumstances of the country concerned with a common element, symbolising the role of the Sovereign as a unifying factor in the Commonwealth.

Sounds like she has many different titles, and each is correct in its own way, no matter how you nit-pick it.

Oh well.

Dawsongirl's right. Most American kids don't give a shi+ about any other places besides their own country, or even just their own state. I tell people where Colorado is, some people know, some scratch their heads and say, "Oh it's that place that's full of mountains and ski resorts" Wrong! Althought we do have lots of mountain ranges, only 40% of the state is covered in it. The rest is just plains (Just like in Iowa ;)) and desert. Also, people ALWAYS assume it's cold in Colorado year round. The normal January temps for my side of Colorado is 30 degrees. Not - 256 like people think. And we NEVER get snow. Our average July highs are around 100 - 110. Also like dawsongirl says, people think "Oh, Cali rocks dude. I never wanna leave. I wanna surf all day and go down to Mexico and party and swear at all the fuking people who don't know English. Why don't they learn it for me to understand." Now I'm not saying that all kids are like that, cause we do have some that acually take the time to realize they aren't the center of the universe, but others are so ignorant and dumb that they don't even know what exists out of their state, let alone city.

So I see where you're coming from Mossopp, cause I get mad too when people continually use sterotypes as a basis of their knowing. I posted once here that 87% of Americans aged 18 - 25 couldn't locate Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and countless other countries in those parts of the world. 50% of those same people couldn't locate New Yoprk on a map, and I think it was 30% that couldn't even recognize the US on a map of the world. I necesarily don't think it's the education to blame for, but mostly the youth for taking the time to not care.

If I offended any of you on here, I'm sorry, I was just making a point and these are just my opinions. sorry for the long post.

Originally posted by Mossopp


Again, you're misinterpreting.
The Queen is the queen of England, the queen of Scotland, the queen of Wales and the queen of Northern Ireland. The collective name of all these countries is Great Britain (or Britain, or the United Kindom, or the U.K. if you wanna split hairs). To refer to her simply as "The Queen of England" is to do a disservice to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Similarly, to call her "The Queen of Scotland" is to do a disservice to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Call her whatever you want. You're obviously intent on trying to proove me wrong so couldn't care less anymore.
I've always just referred to her as Queen Elizabeth even though she is technically Queen Elizabeth II.

i like the monarchy...it's tradition

Originally posted by Mossopp


I can understand your frustration in this instance. You are 100% correct - people should know the basic geography of their own country.
I'm sensing you are a reasonable individual. Thusly I'm asking you to try'n see things from my perspective in this instance (since noone else seems to be trying). I can well believe that American kids are not necessarily taught a great deal about other countries in school but in Britain we are made to learn not just about our own country but we extensively study the United States aswell. I had to write a huge essay on suburbanisation in the U.S. for my CSYS geography course so a basic knowledge of America was essential.
Perhaps American kids aren't taught about Britain in school but this doesn't prevent them from going to the library and picking up a book about the U.K. and learning for themselves. Simply saying "it's not my fault that I don't know this stuff - I wasn't taught it in school" isn't good enough.
The same goes for any subject - not just geography!

I lived abroad for most of my life. In elementary school, they'd make us learn every single country and their capitals. And not by cute little rhymes, it was "Copy down the map and memorize"

Originally posted by Mysty Eyes
How is this misinterpretation?

“The 1953 Royal Titles Act reflected the fact that The Queen is equally Queen of each of her Realms, acting on the advice of her Ministers in each realm; legislation on the royal title was to be enacted by each country separately, allowing The Queen to adopt a title suitable to the circumstances of the country concerned with a common element, symbolising the role of the Sovereign as a unifying factor in the Commonwealth. Each title therefore includes a reference to The Queen's other Realms and Territories, and also her title as Head of the Commonwealth. The words 'Defender of the Faith' are also included in the styles and titles used by The Queen in Canada and New Zealand.”

Again:
legislation on the royal title was to be enacted by each country separately, allowing The Queen to adopt a title suitable to the circumstances of the country concerned with a common element, symbolising the role of the Sovereign as a unifying factor in the Commonwealth.

Sounds like she has many different titles, and each is correct in its own way, no matter how you nit-pick it.

Oh well.

Come off it. She is collectively known as the Queen of Britain. It doesn't matter if she is allowed to have other titles, that's more for official use. Besides, if someone saw her, I doubt they'd refer to her as the "Queen of Scotland" or the "Queen of England" they'd just call her "the Queen." It's pretty much known that if you're talking about "the Queen" you're talking about her.

Originally posted by Original Prankster
Dawsongirl's right. Most American kids don't give a shi+ about any other places besides their own country, or even just their own state. I tell people where Colorado is, some people know, some scratch their heads and say, "Oh it's that place that's full of mountains and ski resorts" Wrong! Althought we do have lots of mountain ranges, only 40% of the state is covered in it. The rest is just plains (Just like in Iowa ;)) and desert. Also, people ALWAYS assume it's cold in Colorado year round. The normal January temps for my side of Colorado is 30 degrees. Not - 256 like people think. And we NEVER get snow. Our average July highs are around 100 - 110.

Well put. And several times it's been warmer "in that ski resort state" than it has been here in our giant cornfield. :D

Also like dawsongirl says, people think "Oh, Cali rocks dude. I never wanna leave. I wanna surf all day and go down to Mexico and party and swear at all the fuking people who don't know English. Why don't they learn it for me to understand."

Cali might also fall into the ocean. Then what?

Now I'm not saying that all kids are like that, cause we do have some that acually take the time to realize they aren't the center of the universe, but others are so ignorant and dumb that they don't even know what exists out of their state, let alone city.


You've met my ex-friends? They wouldn't go to Des Moines alone. LA would eat them alive.

Originally posted by Mossopp
I can understand your frustration in this instance. You are 100% correct - people should know the basic geography of their own country.
I'm sensing you are a reasonable individual. Thusly I'm asking you to try'n see things from my perspective in this instance (since noone else seems to be trying). I can well believe that American kids are not necessarily taught a great deal about other countries in school but in Britain we are made to learn not just about our own country but we extensively study the United States aswell. I had to write a huge essay on suburbanisation in the U.S. for my CSYS geography course so a basic knowledge of America was essential.
Perhaps American kids aren't taught about Britain in school but this doesn't prevent them from going to the library and picking up a book about the U.K. and learning for themselves. Simply saying "it's not my fault that I don't know this stuff - I wasn't taught it in school" isn't good enough.
The same goes for any subject - not just geography!

Then I applaud Britain for making you not have tunnel vision. But the US government thinks they're number one in EVERYTHING, and why learn about numbers 2 on down? That's pointless. :rolleyes: In my high school geography class we were shown maps and taught capitals, and oh boy! We got to eat "ethnic" foods. Whoopie. Did we learn about their history? Heck no. If we weren't somehow involved, then we didn't learn it. We get AMERICAN history. Now in college it's a bit different. I've learned more British history in Brit Lit these three weeks I've been in there than I did all 4 years of school. Why? Got me. Maybe since I'm paying now I'll actually learn there are more countries in the world.

And I agree that more kids should pick up a book or encyclopedia and learn about something else, but damn, there's too much on TV. If kids aren't tested on it, they don't think they need to know it. That's why we have such moronic people in this country. I actually enjoy European history much more than American history. Maybe because it's something new.

I don't know, maybe the whole thing boils down to the US thinking it's the damn best country in the world...which I'd like to tell it that it's not even close. You can't be the best anything and piss off half the world.

i don't really care...

..... well guess i just proved the point about US kids...

oh well...

Oh, I just thought of something else. I don't know if everyone else's schools were like this, but anyway...

My mom mentors high school girls who are having problems with drugs or staying in school, etc. Now, these girls hate school as it is, so it takes a lot to convince them to even go. Here's where the stupidity of my old school comes in.

Gym was manditory. And I mean manditory. You didn't go to gym, you didn't graduate. You could be #1 in your class, but if you missed a gym class and didn't make it up, you get no diploma. It doesn't matter if you're getting D's, but dammit, RUN!

Okay, so one girl didn't want to swim. Frankly I don't blame her. Swimming sucked for girls. But even if you were on your period and opposed to tampons, it's make up time for you! So this girl gets into a huge fight with all the "authority" figures and threatens to drop out...over swimming. Not grades...swimming. Did they care? No...she didn't swim.

I have always wanted to know why is the Queen on Canadian money? I mean she's the Queen of Britiain, but isn't Canada it's own country?

Originally posted by White_Daisy


Come off it. She is collectively known as the Queen of Britain. It doesn't matter if she is allowed to have other titles, that's more for official use. Besides, if someone saw her, I doubt they'd refer to her as the "Queen of Scotland" or the "Queen of England" they'd just call her "the Queen." It's pretty much known that if you're talking about "the Queen" you're talking about her.

Exactly. You're totally right on all counts - thank you.

Originally posted by sara
I have always wanted to know why is the Queen on Canadian money? I mean she's the Queen of Britiain, but isn't Canada it's own country?

She's on Canadian money because the Queen is the head of The Commonwealth and Canada is part of The Commonweath.

Originally posted by Miss Karly
I find the whole idea of monarchy to be complete bullshi+. Especially in the UK.......I mean, the prime minister does everything.

Even though I'm Canadian and the Constitutional Monarchy is part of my country, I have to agree. I find it stupid how the Prime Minister is elected. Instead of being like the States, and being chosen from the population, the leader is pretty much chosen by the government. And, Jean Chretien has been prime minister for what seems like forever. It's getting boring. There needs to be a new Prime Minister for Canada. Soon.

Originally posted by Plata

I find it stupid how the Prime Minister is elected. Instead of being like the States, and being chosen from the population, the leader is pretty much chosen by the government.

I dunno how it works in Canada but I'm assuming it's the same system as in the UK. The Prime Minister is not exactly just "chosen by the Government".
In the UK each political party elects a leader and then, every 5 years, the British public vote for the political party that they want to be in power.
I suppose in some respects your comment is correct but it's not like the public don't have a choice. In fact, when Margaret Thatcher resigned as Prime Minister there was a ballot on who we wished to take over from her. Mind you, we did only get 3 candidates to choose from......

Originally posted by Mossopp
Mind you, we did only get 3 candidates to choose from......

When it comes down to it, we only get really two (yeah okay, so there's all those weird parties than never win). And most of the time they both suck.

Gee....I was just saying that I hoped Id get a letter back from the Queen of Britain. I wasnt trying to spark a geographical debate. LOL. Ill be sure to address her properly from now on.

To clarify:

Britain or Great Britain: The island of Albion. England, Scotland and Wales

United Kingdom: Great Britain, Northern Ireland, and the remains of the British Empire.

Also, to the guy who said there's no point in the monarchy-you may be right, let's not go into that...whole big can of worms. But you say they should go because the PM does all the work. That's the whole reason they should STAY.

The Queen represents continuality, a person with no power but the ultimate power itself-the loyalty of most of her people. If made to choose between Blair and Queenie, I betcha 80% of Brits would say Queenie without hesitation. Most people prefer the Queen to any PM since Churchill (his second term).

Think about the example of the U.S.-The elections from the past 40 years have turned up people I'd rather were playing Survivor than running a country. JFK, LBJ, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush... Fraudster, warmongerer, traitor, idiot, peacenik and idiot, failed actor and racist, oil-obsessed maniac, liar and cheat, idiot...

Only Clinton and JFK have any defensible record. I'd rather stick with the Queen than with any PM since David Lloyd George.

The Queen is a leader with no power. That's the point of her. She's someone who, though reigning over us, can't screw the hell out of us.

Also, to the guy who said they steal all Britain's money...Hell, even the Olsen Twins got this one right.

They pay more in tax from their profits at their palaces, etc, then they get off the civil list. Check the stats for 2000.

Now, that any kind of hereditary system is false, that's a better argument.

Lastly, on the subject of American education. Mossop, Dawsongirl etc-Basically any Yank-hating/disdaining Brit/European, hell, even Yank...Can you name the capitals and main products, as well as main characteristics of your country's sub-divisions.

I'm Welsh-American. I can name all 50 states, and most capitals. That's cause I'm smarter than average. As for England...I can name a lot of counties, but not all always, and not all capitals, particularly in the new organziation.

We should inspect ourselves first.

Owen

Originally posted by Owen
Also, to the guy who said there's no point in the monarchy-

The girl. To the girl...

I apologize. Girl. :)

I just generally call anyone I can't work out "guy"...

I would like to know why we aren't laying blame on the American education system. I certainly do.

I was made to learn all this stuff in school and feel I am better off for it. I am going to be pissed if my children aren't taught this in school, and they will in turn be pissed at me because I will give them extra work and make them learn it.

Sure it would be nice if kids would have initiative, but they're KIDS! Kids are supposed to eat cookies and watch cartoons on TV after school. They're supposed to play video games or baseball. They're supposed to do all that fun stuff outside of school, not have their noses in books about Britain or whatever the hot issue of the day is.

Because it all comes down to they should be learning it in school. I see no reason why they should not. Now perhpas when you get to high school age there should be less video games and more newspapers, and at this point a person should take some interest in their own self-improvement, but you can't loose sight of what the schools are supposed to be and should be doing for us.

Frankly I think all you who are so unwilling to point the blame at the faulty American educational system are exactly where our government and (some) educators want you to be....finding no fault with the "angelic" system and placing the onus of learning entirely on yourselves. The schools are there to teach dammit. In theory at least. Nowadays I think they're just there for you to pass your SATs or whatever other silly test is around the corner.

Don't get me wrong, I think the US educaion system sucks. However, as you yourself say, kids aren't created to learn about Idaho. They know it exists enough to make jokes about potatoes...As far as I'm concerned, that's enough until they choose to learn about it.