The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or
Britain is a sovereign state located off the north-western coast of Europe. The country includes the island of
Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland) the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state: the Republic of Ireland.
Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea in the east, the
English Channel in the south and the Irish Sea in the west.
The UK's form of government is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system and its capital city is
London. The current British monarch—since 6 February 1952—is Queen Elizabeth II.
The UK'S CLIMATE & WEATHER
The English summer consists of "three fine days and a thunderstorm". - Charles II
The UK's weather can be summed up in two words - mild & varied. One minute it can be gorgeous sunshine, the
next it can be cloudy, cold and raining. The United Kingdom has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year
round. Even on extremely sunny days during summer, if someone goes out they will usually 'take a coat just in
case' for the weather is so unpredictable and can change at any moment. This unpredictability also makes the
weather extremely interesting and frequently talked.
GOVERNMENT
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a queen and a parliament
that has two houses: the House of Lords, with 574 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 bishops; and the House
of Commons, which has 651 popularly elected members.
MONEY
The currency of England and Britain is officially called Pounds Sterling. The currency sign is the pound sign: £
A pound is made up of 100 pence.
PEOPLE
Great Britain is the fourth most populous country in Europe. Those of English descent constitute about 77% of the
nation's inhabitants. The Scottish make up 8%, and there are smaller groups of Welsh (about 4.5%) and Irish
(2.7%) descent. Great Britain's population has shown increasing ethnic diversity since the 1970s, when people
from the West Indies, India, Pakistan, Africa, and China began immigrating; in the early 21st century these groups
accounted for more than 5% of the population. There is also a significant minority of Poles, who arrived after
Poland joined the European Union. English is the universal language of Great Britain.
CHURCH
The Church of England, also called the Anglican Church, is the officially established church in England (it was
disestablished in Wales in 1914); the monarch is its supreme governor. There is complete religious freedom
throughout Great Britain. By far the greatest number of Britons (some 27 million) are Anglicans, followed by
Roman Catholics and other Christians. There are smaller minorities of Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, and
Buddhists.
QUEEN
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; born 21 April 1926[a]) is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign
states, known as the Commonwealth realms, and their territories and dependencies, and head of the 53-member
Commonwealth of Nations. The monarchy of the United Kingdom (commonly referred to as the British
monarchy) is the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories; the title of the
monarch is king or queen. Queen Elizabeth II became monarch on 6 February 1952. The monarch and
immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, and representational duties. As the monarchy
is constitutional, the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the
Prime Minister. The monarch is, by tradition, commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces. Though the
ultimate formal executive authority over the government of the United Kingdom is still by and through the
monarch's royal prerogative, these powers may only be used according to laws enacted in Parliament, and, in
practice, within the constraints of convention and precedent. The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church of
England and, in some of her realms, carries the additional title of Defender of the Faith.
Coat of arms of Elizabeth II in the United
Kingdom (except Scotland)
Symbols of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Sovereign state
National
Personification
National Animal(s)
Lion
Britannia
United Kingdom
Flag of the United
Kingdom
(Union Jack)
Coat of Arms
Royal coat of
arms of the
United Kingdom
Bulldog
The Union Jack - Flag of the UK
It is a symbol of the administrative
union of the countries of the United
Kingdom.
.
ENGLAND
The patron of England is Saint
George.
The St George's Cross is the national flag of England.
Interesting facts about England and its landscape
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England has around 2,000 miles of coastline.
No place in England is more than 75 miles (120 km) from the coast.
Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England at 3,209 feet (978 metres). It can be found in the Lake
District in the North of England.
England is often mistaken for the entire United Kingdom or Great Britain. This often offends people from
other countries like Scotland and Wales.
Police in England carry guns only in the case of emergencies.
The Thames River is the longest river that flows through England. The river is slightly shorter than the
River Severn. It flows a distance of around 346 kilometers.
The Thames River has 200 bridges and tunnels across its 346 kilometer course.
The Ferris wheel is the largest one in Europe and each rotation takes a good 30 minutes.
Seven years and hundreds of skilled labourers were required to make the London Eye, a reality.
The total weight of the wheel and the capsules comes to a super heavy 2100 tons. Each capsule weighs
2,100 tons and there is a total of 32 capsules. These interesting facts about England related to London
are worth knowing.
The most important tourist attraction is the Big Ben. The real name of Big Ben is the ‘Clock tower’. The
big bell was nicknamed so and the name stuck as it was more attractive.
The London tube has turned 150.
The tube has an average speed of 20.5 miles per hour including stops at the station.
POPULATION OF ENGLAND
The population of England was approximately 50.4 million.
Most of England's population lives in or around its major cities such as London (7.5 million.)
WALES
The patron of Wales is Saint David .
The flag of Wales
WALES is in north-west Europe and is part of Great Britain an island country and the United Kingdom (UK) .
Wales (Cymru in Welsh) is a mountainous country on the western side ofGreat Britain, and is bordered by
England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, St George's Channel in the west, and the Irish Sea to the
north. The capital of Wales and the largest city is Cardiff.
SCOTLAND
The patron of Scotland is Saint Andrew
Scotland is in north-west Europe and is part of Great Britain, an island country and the United Kingdom (UK) .
Scotland is a mountainous country in the north of the island of Great Britain and shares a
land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and
the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh.
Scotland has some 790 islands - 130 inhabited
Thistle the symbol of Scotland
NORTHERN IRELAND
The patron of Ireland is Saint Patrick
Northern Ireland lies in the north-east of the island of Ireland, covering 5,459 square
miles (14,139 km²), about a sixth of the island's total area.
Northern Ireland is the second most sparsely populated part of the UK after Scotland,
with 317 people per square mile (122 per square kilometre).
shamrock the symbol of Ireland