- published: 08 Mar 2015
- views: 10426
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic".
More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations. Most notably, the Commonwealth of Nations, an association primarily of former members of the British Empire, is often referred to as simply "the Commonwealth".
The English noun commonwealth in the sense meaning "public welfare; general good or advantage" dates from the 15th century. The original phrase "the common-wealth" or "the common weal" (echoed in the modern synonym "public weal") comes from the old meaning of "wealth," which is "well-being", and is itself a loose translation of the Latin res publica (republic). The term literally meant "common well-being." In the 17th century the definition of "commonwealth" expanded from its original sense of "public welfare" or "commonweal" to mean "a state in which the supreme power is vested in the people; a republic or democratic state."
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms, and head of the 54-member Commonwealth of Nations. She is also head of state of the Crown Dependencies.
Elizabeth was born in London, and educated privately at home. Her father acceded to the throne as George VI in 1936 on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. She began to undertake public duties during the Second World War, in which she served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. On the death of her father in 1952, she became Head of the Commonwealth and queen regnant of seven independent Commonwealth countries: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Ceylon. Her coronation service in 1953 was the first to be televised. Between 1956 and 1992, the number of her realms varied as territories gained independence and some realms became republics. Today, in addition to the first four aforementioned countries, Elizabeth is Queen of Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Danny Bhoy (born Danni Chaudhry on 17 January 1974) is a Scottish comedian who has performed in New Zealand, the UK, Australia, Canada and the United States. He is half-Indian and half-Scottish.
Bhoy was born in Moffat, Scotland, one of four children and attended Lockerbie Academy and all-boys private school Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh.
His humour is observational, often involving his own personal experiences as an international comedian. While he does mention his Indian heritage, it is often a quick reference and never the focus of the show. Despite his stage name, Bhoy is not a fan of Celtic F.C., his favourite team is Newcastle United.
He began stand up in 1998 after going to see his first comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival. A year later, he won The Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award, Britain's biggest competition for comedy newcomers. In 2001, Danny took his first full length solo show to the Edinburgh Festival, where, within a week, he had sold out his entire three-week run, and added extra shows to cope with the demand for tickets.