XIV Международный конкурс научно-исследовательских и творческих работ учащихся
Старт в науке
Действительно ли королева Елизавета II любит чай или это только дань традиции?
Автор работы награжден дипломом победителя III степени
Полная версия работы доступна во вкладке "Файлы работы" в формате PDF
Introduction
This project work is intended for those who are interested in history and traditions of the UK.
In our days tea can be found in millions of kitchens around the world, and billions of cups are drunk every day. A good cup of tea can help us feel alert and positive, be the starting point of a great conversation, or help us feel refreshed when we need it the most. The popularity of tea in the United Kingdom has a long history, reflecting the nation's development since the seventeenth century. The royal tradition of Afternoon tea exists the Queen Victoria's times.
The aim is to reveal how traditions have influenced the tastes and preferences of the British and Queen Elizabeth II including.
The objectives of my work are:
to learn information about the tradition of tea drinking in the UK.
to find out when and why the tradition of afternoon tea has appeared.
to assess facts about Queen Elizabeth's II daily routine, her likes, according to her personal chef and biographers.
The object of my work is tea drinking.
The subject is the tradition of tea drinking in Queen Elizabeth's II life.
The hypotheses is: The centuries-old tradition of drinking tea has led to the fact that tea is the favorite drink the majority of the British and Queen Elizabeth II including.
The methods of researching are:
Analysis of the literature
A method of describing
The comparison method
A problem-solving method
Part I Tea in Great Britain
Tea appeared in Great Britain in the middle of the XVII century. At that historic moment coffee-houses had a great popularity and were regarded as centers of social, political and economic life of the country. During those severe times, only men were allowed there. Possibly, it was the “final straw that broke the camel’s back” – one of the major reasons, which forced women to strive for suffrage. As at the beginning of the XVIII century Sir Thomas Twinning opened the first tea-house where not only men, but women were allowed as well. Since that moment the popularity of tea started to grow rapidly and tea started to replace another noble drink – coffee. Nevertheless, high tea taxes caused active smuggling and counterfeited tea flooded the UK. Due to this reason, a law against counterfeits was adopted in 1725. Black (fermented) tea, which appeared at that time, was more difficult to forge. Because of this fact combined by the growth of counterfeited green tea, the demand and interest for black tea started to grow. At the end of the XVIII century, drinking tea became a family tradition and tea-shops appeared in England. In 1840 Duchess of Bedford VII introduced the tradition of afternoon tea, having imitated a French custom of tea drinking. Since that time the tradition has been considered to be English. The period of 8 hours between the meals such as lunch and dinner was too long and so there was a necessity of having a meal in-between. Soon the afternoon tea drinking tradition got the name “Five o’clock tea”. The essence of it can be described by a phrase: “tea, cakes and friends”. This custom was accepted in the US, Canada, Australia. And at the end of the XIX century Queen Victoria wrote a book on tea etiquette Tea Moralities, which is known to every true tea connoisseur.
Part II The history of afternoon tea
Afternoon tea, that most quintessential of English customs is, perhaps surprisingly, a relatively new tradition. Whilst the custom of drinking tea dates back to the third millennium BC in China and was popularised in England during the 1660s by King Charles II and his wife the Portuguese Infanta Catherine de Braganza, it was not until the mid 19th century that the concept of ‘afternoon tea’ first appeared.
Afternoon tea was introduced in England by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, in the year 1840. The Duchess would become hungry around four o'clock in the afternoon. The evening meal in her household was served fashionably late at eight o'clock, thus leaving a long period of time between lunch and dinner. The Duchess asked that a tray of tea, bread and butter (some time earlier, the Earl of Sandwich had had the idea of putting a filling between two slices of bread) and cake be brought to her room during the late afternoon. This became a habit of hers and she began inviting friends to join her.
This pause for tea became a fashionable social event. During the 1880's upper-class and society women would change into long gowns, gloves and hats for their afternoon tea which was usually served in the drawing room between four and five o'clock.
This leisure activity for the wealthy quickly moved down the ranks to the working class who adopted an evening meal of “family tea”. Typically due to etiquette of the day, dinner was not served until 8pm, so once work had finished at 5pm a “meat tea” or “high tea”, was served. Later the 9pm meal was dropped and the tea meal became dinner.
Traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of dainty sandwiches (including of course thinly sliced cucumber sandwiches), scones served with clotted cream and preserves. Cakes and pastries are also served. Tea grown in India or Ceylon is poured from silver tea pots into delicate bone china cups.
Afternoon Tea at the Palace is usually served at 4pm with scones, cakes or canapés… For Her Majesty, this is generally the one cherished moment of the day to relax and enjoy the company of her beloved corgis. Her favorite blends are Earl Grey and Darjeeling.
Should one be so fortunate as to be invited for Afternoon Tea with Her Majesty, one needs to familiarise oneself with the special etiquette required for the occasion:
• Upon first meeting with Her Majesty, one can address her as “Your Majesty” and then “Ma’am”. When departing, she is to once again be addressed as ‘Your Mjesty’.
• When The Queen enters a room, proper form is to be standing.
• Only the teacup should be raised when drinking… never the pinkie finger.
• The teacup should always rest on the saucer when one is not drinking.
• One is expected to stop eating once The Queen has eaten her last bite.
An important contribution to support the tradition, healthiness and sustainable production of teatime favourites is offered by The Prince of Wales and his brand “Duchy Originals”, which promotes organic food heritage. His collection features a sumptuous array of fine teas, scones, biscuits and preserves.
Part III Queen Elizabeth's II daily routine
The Queen's day begins at 7.30am when her maid brings morning tea. There is milk but no sugar and a few biscuits. The maid turns on the radio, which is tuned to BBC Radio's Today programmer, and the Queen listens to the day's breaking news stories while drinking her tea.
The maid goes into the adjoining bathroom and runs the Queen a bath. While the Queen is taking a bath, her dresser lays out the first outfit (= clothes) of the day in the adjacent dressing room. The Queen may have to change several times a day, depending on her engagements. After she has dressed, the Queen's hairdresser brushes and arranges her hair in the familiar royal style.
Breakfast is served at 8.30am in the Queen's private, first-floor dining room
overlooking the Palace garden. A footman has brought the food - usually just toast and marmalade - with more tea and coffee.
The Queen likes to read The Daily Telegraph as well as the Racing Post. Conversation may turn to the day's official engagements but is often kept to a minimum.
Following the tradition, the Queen listens to her kilted piper play a selection of tunes on the bagpipes beneath her window. It is the principal duty of the Queen's Piper to play every weekday at 9am for about 15 minutes when she is in residence at Buckingham Palace, Windsor, Edinburgh's Holyroodhouse Palace or Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands.
By 9.30am, the Queen is usually seated at the Chippendale desk in her sitting-roomcum-office with her Corgis for company. Private secretary Sir Robin Janvrin, a former naval officer, arrives from his office on the ground floor with some documents for the Queen to read and sign. Sir Robin reads the documents and discusses the day's programme, offering briefing notes on engagements and individuals the Queen is due to meet. If guests are expected at the Palace, the housekeeper is summoned and arrangements made.
Later in the morning, the Queen's lady in waiting on duty is called into the sitting room and asked to reply to correspondence. Letters from children receive special attention from the lady in waiting who signs the response, written on headed notepaper, on the Queen's behalf.
On investiture days, when the Queen presents honours, she goes to the Palace ballroom for 11am to perform the ceremony which takes more than an hour. Official, but private, audiences with foreign diplomats, military chiefs and senior politicians take place at other times.
Lunch is usually eaten alone although occasionally a lady-in-waiting is invited. Periodically, the Queen and Prince Philip host special lunches for people with successful careers or the royal couple may entertain a visiting VIP. Immediately after lunch, if she has time, the Queen likes to walk in the Palace garden with her dogs. Sometimes there are engagements in the afternoon when the Queen travels to a nearby event or, in summer, hosts a garden party in the Palace grounds.
When in the capital, the Queen likes to be back in her Palace suite by 5pm for high tea. Delicate sandwiches, scones and the Queen's favourite Dundee cake are served.
After tea the Queen returns to her desk for an hour or so and, if there is no evening engagement, retires to her private rooms. The exception is Tuesday evening when the Prime Minister comes to the Palace at 6.30pm for his weekly audience.
Dinner, when there are no guests, is a relaxed affair for the Queen and Prince Philip who prefer to change into comfortable clothes rather than more formal wear.
For relaxation the Queen likes to watch television or complete jigsaw puzzles. But she often spends part of the evening working on her "boxes", the official despatch cases which contain Government and Commonwealth documents. Because she has so much paperwork to look at during a normal day, she has developed a form of speed reading to scan pages.
The Queen is not a late-night person and is usually in bed by 11pm. However, she may decide to burn the midnight oil8 with some more reading.
Part IV Personal chef about Queen Elizabeth's II likes
Queen Elizabeth II is not a foodie at all, according to her personal chef Darren McGrady. She eats to live. She has four meals a day. She eats small portions. The palace chef Darren McGrady says that The Queen is a chocoholic. She usually takes the tiniest slice and that’s it. She has discipline. Chocolate Perfection Pie, which she has served for lunches and dinners for years – including to visiting kings and presidents, is her favorite.
As for whether she will enjoy it on her special day this year, McGrady says, On her birthday she’d usually have a chocolate birthday cake. She might normally be on her own or with her husband Prince Philip. They never really celebrated the birthdays in a big way.
But he adds that the Queen was always very much at the helm of catering at Buckingham Palace, overseeing the ‘menu book’ which was sent to her two or three times a week for the coming days.
She enjoys English breakfast tea in the mornings (Twinings is her brand of choice) and at tea time she’ll have that blend again or Earl Gray.
On the Internet site www.gustotv.com I found the information about the Queen's favorite food:
1. Chocolate cake
The Queen loves chocolate cake, according to her former personal chef, Darren McGrady. And she’s reportedly requested the same recipe for the past 80 years.
2. Jam sandwiches
A simple jam sandwich is another one of Her Majesty’s favorites, according to The Daily Mail. Former personal chef Darren McGrady said he would spend much of his day making “jam pennies” – mini raspberry jam sandwiches cut into circles the size of an old English penny.
3. Darjeeling tea
Queen Elizabeth II loves a good cup of Darjeeling tea, according to The Daily Mail. The Indian tea is thin-bodied with a light floral aroma.
4. Dover sole
The Queen enjoys a piece of fish, such as Dover sole, served over a bed of wilted spinach, according to Darren McGrady.
5. Gaelic steaks
Queen Elizabeth II also likes a good Gaelic steak, according to the Ottawa Sun.
Conclusion
While working on this problem we have come to a number of conclusions:
The British have a long tradition of tea drinking. Tea appeared there in the middle of the XVII century and at the end of the XVIII century, drinking tea became a family tradition and tea-shops appeared in England.
In Britain today, the tradition of afternoon tea continues on in the home, in hotels, in department stores and even in the small neighborhood cafes and tea rooms found in every town. And tea itself will have a lasting place in English culture.
Our research has shown that Queen Elizabeth II is very conservative.
She adheres to her daily schedule and strictly follows the traditions as most British. Referring to reliable facts of her personal chef we can assert that Queen Elizabeth II really likes tea.
Bibliography
1.McGrady, Darren. Eating Royally/Darren McGarady. - Thomas Nelson,2007
2.http://www.britainexpress.com/History/tea-in-britain.htm
3.http://www.eatlovesavor.com/queen-victorias-connection-to-afternoon-tea/
4.http://www.gustotv.com
5.http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/afternoon-tea/
6.http://www.hyleys.com/customers/history/
7.http://www.itoen.com/cultural-tea-traditions
8.http://www.liptontea.com
9.http://www.people.com/royals/peek-inside-the-daily-life-of-queen-elizabeth/
10.http://www.resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk
11.http://www.theroyalchef.com/news
12.http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/archive/2007/01/19/Golden+Jubilee+(p_library_2002_jubilee)/1135194.All_in_a_Royal_day/)