Every year in a corner of Greater London one of the biggest sporting events in the world takes place—the All-England Tennis Championships, or Wimbledon.

 

There are four major tennis tournaments held in the world each year—Wimbledon, the United States Open, the French Open and the Australian Open—but Wimbledon is oldest and biggest.

 

The first Wimbledon tennis championship (for men only) was held in 1877. Seven years later, in 1884, a women’s singles competition was added, and in 1913, doubles competitions were introduced.

 

Today Wimbledon even includes competitions for the best junior boy and girl tennis players in the world.

About the most famous of all Londoners is the Queen of England—Queen Elizabeth II. But despite her fame, Queen Elizabeth II is not as powerful as England’s earlier kings and queens.

 

England’s past kings and queens made all sorts of important decisions that affected everyone in the kingdom. They made major decisions about going to war, paying taxes and holding big events.

 

Now, most of the decisions are made by the government, leaving the royal family to perform ceremonial duties like launching ships, opening new businesses, handing out awards (like knighthoods) and raising money for charity.