Sources and images

Facts checked on 2 November 2026. Official and open sources only.

Official sources

The Royal Family, The Sovereign and the Prime Minister
GOV.UK, Prime Minister
GOV.UK, Past Prime Ministers: Sir Robert Walpole
UK Parliament, Coming up in the Commons, 2 to 4 November 2026
UK Parliament, The contents of Magna Carta
legislation.gov.uk, Magna Carta (1297), chapter XXIX
UK Parliament, How did Magna Carta come about?
UK Parliament, The Parliament Acts
The National Archives, Magna Carta 1215 (education resource)
legislation.gov.uk, Bill of Rights 1689
UK Parliament, Black Rod
UK Parliament, Glossary: Royal Assent
UK Parliament, Key dates 1689 to 1714
GOV.UK, What is the King's Speech and what does it mean for me?
Walter Bagehot, The English Constitution (1867), Project Gutenberg
UK Parliament, The Speaker of the House of Commons
legislation.gov.uk, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026
UK Parliament, House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026: stages
UK Parliament, Results of the general election of 4 July 2024
UK Parliament, His Majesty's Official Opposition
Electoral Commission, Results and turnout at the EU referendum
House of Commons Library, Analysis of the EU Referendum results 2016
GOV.UK, Representation of the People Bill: Votes at 16
UK Parliament, Representation of the People Bill enters Lords committee stage
Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Scottish Independence Referendum 2014
National Archives (US), The Bill of Rights: a transcription
Roosevelt House, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
UK Parliament, parliamentlive.tv (official recordings of Prime Minister's Questions)

Paintings (public domain)

Claude Monet, The Houses of Parliament, Sunset: the towers of Westminster in blue against a pink and orange sky, reflected in the Thames. — Claude Monet (1840 to 1926), *The Houses of Parliament, Sunset*, 1903, oil on canvas, 81.3 x 92.5 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.48. Public domain (NGA Open Access). Museum or source page.

Ernest Normand, King John sealing the Magna Carta: the king sits under a canopy, surrounded by barons and churchmen; on the right, a man works a seal press. — Ernest Normand (1857 to 1923), *King John sealing the Magna Carta*, 1900, mural painting, The Royal Exchange, London. Black and white reproduction published in Joseph Clayton, *The Rise of the Democracy*, 1911 (Project Gutenberg). Public domain. Museum or source page.

J. M. W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons: huge flames and smoke rise over the Thames at night while crowds watch from the bank. — Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 to 1851), *The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, 16 October 1834*, 1835, oil on canvas, 92 x 123.2 cm, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of John L. Severance, 1942.647. Public domain (CC0, Cleveland Museum of Art Open Access). Museum or source page.

Written for this sequence

The summaries marked “written for this sequence”, all exercises, model answers and the model op-ed are original texts.