Переведите . the queen elizabeth 2 is the official head of state and for many people she is a symbol of unity of the nation. queen elizabeth 2 is not only the monarch of the united kingdom but also of australia, canada and new zealand, as well as many other countries in the commonwealth (an association of states that were once ruled by britain). she is also head of the church of england. however, the queen has almost no power to influence the church. as head of the commonwealth, the queen has more freedom from the government. when the queen was growing up, the british empire still had colonies, and she watched as they became independent members of the commonwealth. she has met and knows the leaders of these countries. although she has no executive powers as head of the commonwealth, she takes her role very seriously. however, britain is now a member of the european community and is moving away from its links with the commonwealth. in addition, people in some of the major commonwealth countries, such as australia and canada, wonder if they should be connected to a monarch so far away. queen elizabeth 2 is married to prince philip, duke of edinburg. the heir to the throne is prince charles, the prince of wales. the queens other children are princess anne, prince andrew and prince edward. this group is usually called the royal family, together with queen elizabeth’s mother – the queen mother who died in 2002 at the age of 101. the queens power is limited by parliament but every week she meets the prime minister and receives copies of the all cabinet papers. elizabeth is the head of the executive, of the judicial power and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the u.k. she also has to fulfill her ceremonial functions such as opening of parliament, for example.
