The monarchy has no real power nowadays, but if you �re really interested in how this situation came about, then you might start with an illustration of the execution of Charles I (there are plenty of images available on the web and if you �re just using it for your class, there should be no copyright problems) and then a chart detailing how The Wars of the Three Kingdoms led to and paralleled The English Civil War and eventually to what was considered by the rest of Europe �s monarchs as a dangerous precedent. Then, take it from there - via Hobbes, Locke, Payne etc up to today �s wonderfully incorruptible, sleaze-free �Mother of Parliaments �.