ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ancient constitution of England

Long, long ago in England, the way things were run was based on something called the "ancient constitution." This meant that there were a bunch of different rules and traditions that had been around for a really long time and were meant to keep things fair and balanced.

Here are a few examples of rules that were part of the ancient constitution:

- The king or queen had to follow certain rules and couldn't just do whatever they wanted. They had to work with a group of people called the "nobles" to make decisions.
- There were also rules about who could vote and who couldn't. Basically, only rich, important people were allowed to vote, which might not seem fair by today's standards.
- The courts also had their own set of rules and traditions that they followed when making decisions.

Even though these rules and traditions were really old, they were still considered the most important way of doing things in England. People believed that they helped keep things stable and prevented anyone from having too much power.

Over time, though, things started to change. More and more people wanted to have a say in how the country was run, and the old rules started to feel really outdated. So eventually, the ancient constitution was replaced by a new set of laws and rules that better reflected what people wanted in a modern society.

But even though the ancient constitution isn't used anymore, it's still an important part of England's history and helped shape the country into what it is today.