The Queen's Birthday
This month there's a special birthday in the UK. The Queen, Elizabeth II, is 80 on April 21st.
In this programme, Jackie Dalton finds out more about her, with the help of the Queen's friends, family and royal experts.
This is also a chance to practise your listening comprehension and look at some language we use when talking about royalty.
At the bottom of this page, you can download a script and an mp3 version of 'The Queen's Birthday'.
Before you listen to the programme look at these comprehension questions. You can hear the answers in the programme.
1: As a child, was Elizabeth excited about becoming Queen?
2: What is one of the Queen's passions?
3: Does Graham think Elizabeth II has been a good Queen?
4: Does Margaret think she will abdicate soon?
Vocabulary from the programme
kings and queens and members of their family
Just because she's famous she thinks she should be treated like royalty!
The special chair which kings and queens sit on
The Queen sat on a throne made of silver and gold.
the position of power held by a queen or king
In 1913, George V was on the throne (he was ruling the country).
happy and peaceful, with no problems
She had an idyllic childhood.
he was destined to inherit the throne / heir to the throne
it was thought he would take over and rule as King
The heir to the throne is Prince Charles.
to resign as queen or king
In 1936 King Edward abdicated.
to bend the knees with one foot in front of the other as a sign of respect for royalty
The Queen's friends all had to curtsey when they saw her.
a ceremony where someone is officially made king or queen
The Queen's coronation took place when she was just 25.
She is a remarkable singer.
a serious promise
He made a vow to do everything he could to help his people.
Programme script (pdf - 21k)
Audio - Download 'The Queen's Birthday' (mp3 - 1.7KB)
Find out more about Queen Elizabeth II
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