United Kingdom: Common facts and short history

1.

United Kingdom:
Common facts and short history.

2.

Fact 1.
The full name of United Kingdom is
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland

3.

Fact 2.
Motto: Dieu et mon droit (God and my right).

4.

Union Flag (also known as Union Jack).
Flag consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron
saint of England), edged in white, superimposed on the
Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are
superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron
saint of Scotland). Wales, however, is not represented

5.

Coat of arms.

6.

The Royal Beasts.
Ten heraldic statues depicting the genealogy of Queen
Elizabeth II. They were commissioned by the British
Ministry of Works from sculptor James Woodford to

7.

the griffin of Edward III
the falcon of the Plantagenets
the black bull of Clarence
the lion of England
the yale of Beaufort
the white lion of Mortimer
the white greyhound of Richmond
the red dragon of Wales
the unicorn of Scotland
the white horse of Hanover

8.

National anthem
"God Save the Queen"
(alternatively "God Save the King")
God save our gracious Queen!
Confound their politics,
Long live our noble Queen!
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
God save the Queen!
On Thee our hopes we fix:
Send her victorious,
God save us all.
Happy and glorious,
***
Long to reign over us:
Thy choicest gifts in store,
God save the Queen!
On her be pleased to pour;
***
Long may she reign:
O Lord our God arise,
May she defend our laws,
Scatter her enemies,
And ever give us cause,
And make them fall:
To sing with heart and voice,

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Facts 3 - 9.
3Population: 64,511,000
4Currency: Pound sterling (£)
5Date format: dd/mm/yyyy (AD)
6Drives on the: left
7Calling code: +44
8ISO 3166 code: GB
9Internet top level domain: .uk

10.

Fact 10.
Official language in UK is
English, but Wales is
bilingual: second official
language here is Welsh.
22.7% of the population
of Wales are native
speakers.

11.

Facts
11-14.
UK is a constitutional monarchy with a
parliamentary system of governance.
The current monarch - since 6 February 1952 - is
Queen Elizabeth II.
The present Prime Minister is David Cameron.
The UK consists of four countries: England, Scotland,
Wales, and Northern Ireland.

12.

13.

Acts of Union.
Fact 15: Scotland was connected to England after Acts
of Union 1707.
Fact 16: The Kingdom of Ireland was connected to the
the Kingdom of Great Britain after The Acts of Union
1800.

14.

Administrative divisions
Each country of the United Kingdom has its own
system of administrative division.
There is "no common stratum of administrative unit
encompassing the United Kingdom"

15.

England.
Local government in England is the responsibility of
the UK parliament and the Government of the
United Kingdom, as England has no devolved
parliament.
One region, Greater London, has had a directly
elected assembly and mayor since 2000 following
popular support for the proposal in a referendum.

16.

Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland.
Scotland is divided into 32 council areas, with wide
variation in both size and population. Local councils
are made up of elected councilors.
Local government in Wales consists of 22 unitary
authorities. The Welsh Local Government Association
represents the interests of local authorities in Wales.
Local government in Northern Ireland has been
organized into 26 district councils. Their powers are
limited to services such as collecting waste, controlling
dogs and maintaining parks and cemeteries.

17.

British Overseas Territories

18.

Fact 17.
The 14 British Overseas Territories are territories
under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United
Kingdom, but not part of it. They are those parts of the
former British Empire that have not chosen
independence or have voted to remain British
territories. While each has its own internal
leadership, most being self-governing, they share the
British monarch (Elizabeth II) as head of state.
I.e The Queen's role in the territories is in her role as
Queen of the United Kingdom, and not in right of each
territory. De facto head of state is Governor.

19.

Short history.
Settlement by anatomically modern humans occurred
in waves beginning by about 30,000 years ago.
By the end of the region's prehistoric period, the
population is thought to have belonged, in the main, to
a culture termed Insular Celtic, comprising Brythonic
Britain and Gaelic Ireland.

20.

Roman conquest.
The Roman conquest, beginning in 43 AD, and the
400-year rule of southern Britain.
The Romans founded Londinium (London) and built
military roads throughout the country.
Conquest was followed by an invasion by Germanic
Anglo-Saxon settlers, reducing the Brythonic area
mainly to what was to become Wales.

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City of Londinium.

22.

Normans.
In 1066, the Normans
invaded England from
France and after its
conquest, seized large
parts of Wales, conquered
much of Ireland and were
invited to settle in
Scotland.
Conquest brought to each
country feudalism on the
Northern French model

23.

The Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years'
War was a series of
conflicts waged from 1337
to 1453 by the House of
Plantagenet, rulers of the
Kingdom of England,
against the House of
Valois, rulers of the
Kingdom of France, for
control of the latter
kingdom.

24.

Early modern period.
The early modern period saw religious conflict
resulting from the Reformation and the introduction of
Protestant state churches in each country.
Wales was fully incorporated into the Kingdom of
England after Acts 1535 and 1542.

25.

17th century.
In the mid-17th century,
all three kingdoms were
involved in a series of
connected wars
(including the English
Civil War 1642–1651).
British sailors were
involved in acts of piracy.

26.

18th-19th century.
In the 18th century, cabinet government developed
under Robert Walpole, in practice the first prime
minister (1721–1742). (Fact 18)
During the 18th century, Britain was involved in the
Atlantic slave trade. In 1833 slavery was banned.
The term "United Kingdom" became official in 1801
when the parliaments of Britain and Ireland each
passed an Act of Union, uniting the two kingdoms.

27.

19th century.
The Great Exhibition was an international exhibition
that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to
11 October 1851. It was the first in a series of World's
Fair exhibitions of culture and industry that became
popular in the 19th century and was a much anticipated
event.
Britain was described as the "workshop of the
world".
But after the turn of the century, the UK's industrial
monopoly was challenged by Germany and the United
States.

28.

20th century.
The UK fought with France, Russia and the US,
against Germany and its allies in World War I (1914–
18).
After the war, the UK received the League of Nations
mandate.
In 1930s – The Great Depression in the United
Kingdom. Unemployment reached 70% in some areas
and many families depended entirely on payments from
local government known as the dole.

29.

World War II.
The UK entered World War II by declaring war on
Germany in 1939, after it had invaded Poland and
Czechoslovakia.
In 1940, Winston Churchill became prime minister
and head of a coalition government.
In 1940, the Royal Air Force defeated the German
Luftwaffe in a struggle for control of the skies in the
Battle of Britain.
The UK suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz.
There were also eventual hard-fought victories in the

30.

20th century.
After the end of World War II in 1945, the UK was
one of the Big Four powers (the Soviet Union, the
United Kingdom, the U.S. and China) who met to plan
the post-war world.
The UK became one of the five permanent members
of the United Nations Security Council.
After the end of war most colonies of the British
Empire gained their independence. Many became
members of the Commonwealth of Nations.

31.

21st century.
The 2008 global financial crisis severely affected the
UK economy.
In 2014 the Scottish Government held a referendum
on Scottish independence, with 55% of voters
rejecting the independence proposal and opting to
remain within the United Kingdom.