Portal:United Kingdom

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Flag of the United Kingdom	Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km²). Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The UK maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London. The cities of Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.

The UK has been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic. In AD 43, the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement. In 1066, the Normans conquered England. With the end of the Wars of the Roses, the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales, and the establishment of the British Empire. Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War. In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In the Georgian era, the office of prime minister became established. The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State, and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.

The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leading economic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported by its agricultural prosperity, its role as a dominant trading nation, a massive industrial capacity, significant technological achievements, and the rise of 19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history. However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (Full article...)

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Gilwell Park is a campsite and activity centre for Scouting groups, as well as a training and conference centre for Scout Leaders. The 44 hectares (110 acres) site is located in Sewardstonebury, Epping Forest close to Chingford, London. In the late Middle Ages, it started as a farm, growing to a wealthy estate that fell into disrepair towards 1900. It was given in 1919 by Scout Commissioner William De Bois Maclaren to The Scout Association of the United Kingdom to provide camping facilities to London Scouts, and training facilities for Scouters. As Scout Leaders from all countries of the world have come to Gilwell Park for their Wood Badge training, it is one of the great landmarks of the world Scouting movement. The site contains campfields for a small patrol up to a 1200 people camp, indoor accommodations, historical sites, monuments of Scouting, and activities suitable for all sections of the Scouting Movement. It can accommodate events for up to 10,000 people. Accommodation of Gilwell Park can also be hired for non-Scout activities such as school group camping, wedding receptions and conferences. (Full article...)

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Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery was the daughter of Baron Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen. On the death of her father in 1874 she became the richest woman in Britain. Her husband, the 5th Earl of Rosebery, was, during the final quarter of the nineteenth century, one of the most celebrated figures in Britain, an influential millionaire and politician, whose charm, wit, charisma and public popularity gave him such standing that he "almost eclipsed royalty". Her marriage into the aristocracy, while controversial at the time, gave her the social cachet in an anti-Semitic society that her vast fortune could not. She subsequently became a political hostess and philanthropist. Her charitable work was principally in the sphere of public health and causes associated with the welfare of working class Jewish women living in the poorer districts of London. Having firmly assisted and supported her husband on his path to political greatness, she suddenly died in 1890, aged 39, leaving him to achieve, bewildered and without her support, the political destiny which she had plotted alone. His premiership of the United Kingdom was shambolic, and lasted barely a year. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various United Kingdom-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1McVitie's chocolate digestive is routinely ranked the UK's favourite snack, and No. 1 biscuit to dunk in tea. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 2Chicken tikka masala, served atop rice. An Anglo-Indian meal, it is among the UK's most popular dishes. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 3Trooping the Colour is an annual ceremony, most notably associated with the British Army, and involves a grand parade featuring hundreds of soldiers, horses, and musicians. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 4Hadrian's Wall was built in the 2nd century AD. It is a lasting monument from Roman Britain. It is the largest Roman artefact in existence. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 5King Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English king encouraged education in his kingdom, and proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 6The Royal Stewart tartan. It is also the personal tartan of Queen Elizabeth II Tartan is used in clothing, such as skirts and scarves, and has also appeared on tins of Scottish shortbread. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 7R. White's soft drinks sold in London. Selling carbonated lemonade in 1845, by 1887 they sold strawberry soda, raspberry soda and cherryade. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 8Centre Court at Wimbledon. The world's oldest tennis tournament, it has the longest sponsorship in sport with Slazenger supplying tennis balls to the event since 1902. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 9Robert Burns is regarded as the national poet of Scotland.
Image 10The founder of modern nursing Florence Nightingale tending to a patient in 1855. An icon of Victorian Britain, she is known as The Lady with the Lamp. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 11Sunday league football (a form of amateur football). Amateur matches throughout the UK often take place in public parks. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 12Queen Victoria in her white wedding dress with Prince Albert on their return from the marriage service at St James's Palace, London, 10 February 1840 (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 13Westminster Abbey is an example of English Gothic architecture. Since 1066, when William the Conqueror was crowned, the coronations of British monarchs have been held here. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 14William III and Mary II Presenting the Cap of Liberty to Europe, 1716, Sir James Thornhill. Enthroned in heaven with the Virtues behind them are the royals William and Mary who had taken the throne after the Glorious Revolution and signed the English Bill of Rights of 1689. William tramples on arbitrary power and hands the red cap of liberty to Europe where, unlike Britain, absolute monarchy stayed the normal form of power execution. Below William is the French king Louis XIV. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 15Statue of Minnie the Minx, a character from The Beano, in Dundee, Scotland. Launched in 1938, The Beano is known for its anarchic humour, with Dennis the Menace appearing on the cover. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 16The Beatles are the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in popular music, with estimated sales of over one billion.
Image 17Cricketer W. G. Grace, with his long beard and MCC cap, was the most famous British sportsman in the Victorian era. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 18Robert Burns' "Halloween" (1785) (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 19Josiah Wedgwood was a leading entrepreneur in the Industrial Revolution. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 20Broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough is the only person to have won BAFTAs for programmes in each of black and white, colour, HD, and 3D. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 21Stonehenge, Wiltshire at sunset (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 22Tea, biscuits, jam and cakes. Tea is the most popular beverage in the UK. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 23Music hall evolved into variety shows. First performed in 1912, the Royal Variety Performance was first held at the London Palladium (pictured) in 1941. Performed in front of members of the Royal Family, it is held annually in December and broadcast on television. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 24The Proms are held annually at the Royal Albert Hall during the summer. Regular performers at the Albert Hall include Eric Clapton who has played at the venue over 200 times. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 25Wembley Stadium, London, home of the England football team and FA Cup finals. Wembley also hosts concerts: Adele's 28 June 2017 concert was attended by 98,000 fans, a stadium record for a music event in the UK. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 26Featherweight champion "Prince" Naseem Hamed was a major name in boxing and 1990s British pop culture. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 27The Battle of Trafalgar is an oil painting executed in 1822 by J. M. W. Turner (c.1775–1851). The experience of military, political and economic power from the rise of the British Empire led to a very specific drive in artistic technique, taste and sensibility in the United Kingdom. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 28Caricature of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in Vanity Fair, 30 January 1869 (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 29A Christmas dinner plate in Scotland, featuring roast turkey, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 30A Watt steam engine, the steam engine that propelled the Industrial Revolution in Britain and the world (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 31Titanic Belfast museum on the former shipyard in Belfast where the RMS Titanic was built (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 32An award-winning Victoria sponge from an English village fête. Competitive baking is part of the traditional village fête, inspiring The Great British Bake Off television series. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 33The British Heart Foundation is the biggest funder of cardiovascular research in the UK. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 34English Heritage blue plaque commemorating Sir Alfred Hitchcock at 153 Cromwell Road, London (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 35John Speed's Genealogies Recorded in the Sacred Scriptures (1611), bound into first King James Bible in quarto size (1612) (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 36Typical 20th-century, three-bedroom semi-detached houses in England (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 37Emmeline Pankhurst. Named one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century by Time, Pankhurst was a leading figure in the suffragette movement. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 38Mo Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, winning the 5000 m and 10,000 m events at two Olympic Games. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 39A 21st-century detached Mock Tudor house in Scotland. Its timber framing is typical of English Tudor architecture. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 40One of the UK's many stately homes, Chatsworth House in Derbyshire, surrounded by an English garden. The house is one of the settings of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 41Charles Darwin established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 42The Grenadier Guards band playing "The British Grenadiers" at Trooping the Colour. Formed in 1685 the band performs at British ceremonial events. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 43One of Britain's oldest indigenous breeds, the Bulldog is known as the national dog of Great Britain. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 44The Old English heroic poem Beowulf is located in the British Library. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 45Naomi Campbell appeared on the era-defining January 1990 cover of British Vogue. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 46Peter O'Toole as T. E. Lawrence in David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 47Statue of a tripod from The War of the Worlds in Woking, England, the hometown of author H. G. Wells. The book is a seminal depiction of a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 4810 Downing Street, official residence of the Prime Minister (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 49The first colour photograph in 1861. Produced by the three-colour method suggested by James Clerk Maxwell in 1855, it is the foundation of all colour photographic processes. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 50The full breakfast is among the best known British dishes, consisting of fried egg, sausage, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, toast, fried tomatoes, and sometimes white or black pudding. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 51Ice dancers Torvill and Dean in 2011. Their historic gold medal-winning performance at the 1984 Winter Olympics was watched by a British television audience of more than 24 million people. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 52Yard, foot and inch measurements at the Royal Observatory, London. The British public commonly measure distance in miles and yards, height in feet and inches, weight in stone and pounds, speed in miles per hour. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 53Old Bushmills Distillery, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1608, it is the oldest licensed whiskey distillery in the world. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 54The Forth Railway Bridge is a cantilever bridge over the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. It was opened in 1890, and is designated as a Category A listed building. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 55William Shakespeare has had a significant impact on British theatre and drama. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 56Concorde (and the Red Arrows with their trail of red, white and blue smoke) mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee. With its slender delta wings Concorde won the public vote for best British design. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 57The Oxford Union debate chamber. Called the "world's most prestigious debating society", the Oxford Union has hosted leaders and celebrities. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 58Smeaton's Eddystone Lighthouse, 9 miles out to sea. John Smeaton pioneered hydraulic lime in concrete which led to the development of Portland cement in England and thus modern concrete. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 59Jack In the Green, a traditional English folk custom being celebrated in Hastings Old Town, known for its many historic buildings. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 60The red telephone box and Royal Mail red post box appear throughout the UK. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 61Union Flag being flown on The Mall, London looking towards Buckingham Palace (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 62Two of the current Ravens of the Tower of London. The ravens' presence is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the tower; a superstition holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it". (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 63The Notting Hill Carnival is Britain's biggest street festival. Led by members of the British African-Caribbean community, the annual carnival takes place in August and lasts three days. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 64Welsh native Roald Dahl is frequently ranked the best children's author in British polls.
Image 65The wizard Merlin features as a character in many works of fiction, including the BBC series Merlin. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 66The Examination and Trial of Father Christmas (1686), published after Christmas was reinstated as a holy day in England (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 67Scouts, Brownies, and Cubs with the local community in Tiverton, Devon on Remembrance Sunday (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 68The Christmas Pantomime 1890. Pantomime plays a prominent role in British culture during the Christmas and New Year season. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 69Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales prior to a Wales vs England Six Nations Championship game. The annual rugby union tournament (which includes Scotland and Ireland) takes place over six weeks from late January/early February to mid March. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 70Cadbury chocolate bars (Dairy Milk back of tray), circa 1910 (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 71Physicist Stephen Hawking set forth a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. His 1988 book A Brief History of Time appeared on The Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 72Animator Nick Park with his Wallace and Gromit characters (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 73The British Shorthair was an inspiration for the Cheshire Cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 74King Edward's Chair in Westminster Abbey. A 13th-century wooden throne on which the British monarch sits when he or she is crowned at the coronation, swearing to uphold the law and the church. The monarchy is apolitical and impartial, with a largely symbolic role as head of state. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 75Queen Victoria's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle, published in the Illustrated London News, 1848 (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 76Engraving of the English pirate Blackbeard from the 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates. The book is the prime source for many famous pirates of the Golden Age. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 77Banksy's Grin Reaper (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 78Terraced houses are typical in inner cities and places of high population density. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 79New College, University of Edinburgh (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 80Bodiam Castle is a 14th-century moated castle in East Sussex. Today there are thousands of castles throughout the UK. (from Culture of the United Kingdom)
Image 81Highland dancing in traditional Gaelic dress with its tartan pattern (from Culture of the United Kingdom)

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Featured pictures

Image 1
Sgùrr nan Gillean
Photograph: David Iliff
Sgùrr nan Gillean is a mountain in the northern section of the Cuillin range on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. With a height of 964 m (3162 feet), it is one of eleven Munros on the Cuillin ridge.
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Image 2
Henry VIII of England
Painting: Portrait of Henry VIII, workshop of Hans Holbein the Younger
Henry VIII of England (1491–1547) was King of England from 1509 until his death. Henry was the second Tudor monarch, succeeding his father, Henry VII. Perhaps best known for his six marriages, his disagreement with the Pope on the question of annulment led Henry to initiate the English Reformation, separating the Church of England from papal authority and making the English monarch the Supreme Head of the Church of England. He also instituted radical changes to the English Constitution, expanded royal power, dissolved monasteries, and united England and Wales. In this, he spent lavishly and frequently quelled unrest using charges of treason and heresy.
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Image 3
The Ruins of Holyrood Chapel
Painting: Louis Daguerre
The Ruins of Holyrood Chapel is an oil painting on canvas completed by Louis Daguerre in c. 1824. It depicts Holyrood Abbey, once the official residence of the Monarch of the United Kingdom in Edinburgh, Scotland, lit by moonlight. The painting is now held by the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.
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Image 4
Royal College of Music
Photo credit: Diliff
The front facade of the Royal College of Music in Kensington, London. This prestigious music school was founded in 1882 as a successor to the National Training School for Music by the then-Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The college building was designed by Sir Arthur Blomfield.
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Image 5
London
Photo credit: David Iliff
A 360° panorama of London taken from the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. Built from 1675 to 1708, the Cathedral is still one of the tallest buildings in the City of London.
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Image 6
Eden Project
Photo credit: Jürgen Matern
Panoramic view of the geodesic dome structures of the Eden Project, a large-scale environmental complex near St Austell, Cornwall, England. The project was conceived by Tim Smit and is made out of hundreds of hexagons (transparent biomes made of ETFE cushions) that interconnect the whole construction together. The project took 2½ years to construct and opened to the public in March 2001.
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Image 7
Battle of Jutland
Map: Grandiose
A map of the Battle of Jutland, a naval battle fought by the British Royal Navy's Grand Fleet against the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet during the First World War. The only full-scale clash of battleships in the war, the Germans intended it to lure out, trap and destroy a portion of the Grand Fleet, as the German naval force was insufficient to openly engage the entire British fleet. Fourteen British and eleven German ships were sunk, and more than 8,000 people were killed. Both sides claimed victory, and dispute over the significance of the battle continues to this day.
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Image 8
Gibraltar
Map credit: Eric Gaba/Jeff Dahl
A map of Gibraltar, a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory shares a border with Spain to the north. Gibraltar has historically been an important base for the British Armed Forces and is the site of a Royal Navy base.
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Image 9
The Song of Los
Illustration: William Blake
The Song of Los is an epic poem by William Blake first published in 1795 and considered part of his prophetic books. The poem consists of two sections, "Africa" and "Asia": in the first section Blake catalogues the decline of morality in Europe, which he blames on both the African slave trade and enlightenment philosophers, whereas in the second section he describes a worldwide revolution, urged by the eponymous Los.

The illustration here is from the book's frontispiece and shows Urizen presiding over the decline of morality.
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Image 10
London by night
Photo credit: NASA
London by night.

London is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England. The city of Londinium was founded by the Romans on the north bank of the River Thames in around 50 AD. By the 18th century London was the biggest city in the world. It was the most populous city in the world from 1825 until 1925, when it was overtaken by New York City.
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Image 11
Roundabout
Photo credit: Fredrik and Mintguy
A diagram of movement within a roundabout in a country where traffic drives on the left.

A roundabout is a type of road junction, or traffic calming device, at which traffic streams circularly around a central island after first yielding to the circulating traffic. Unlike with traffic circles, vehicles on a roundabout have priority over the entering vehicle, parking is not allowed and pedestrians are usually prohibited from the central island.
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Image 12
Caterpillar, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Artist: Sir John Tenniel
Sir John Tenniel's illustration of the Caterpillar for Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The illustration is noted for its ambiguous central figure, which can be viewed as having either a human male's face with pointed nose and protruding lower lip or as the head end of an actual caterpillar, with the right three "true" legs visible. The small symbol in the lower left is composed of Tenniel's initials, which was how he signed most of his work for the book. The partially obscured word in the lower left-center is the last name of Edward Dalziel, the engraver of the piece.
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Image 13
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Photo: David Iliff
The Princess of Wales conservatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens located in the borough of Richmond upon Thames in South London. The building was opened by Diana, Princess of Wales, in commemoration of Princess Augusta's efforts to expand the garden in the 18th century. Of the buildings constructed during this time, only a few remain, including a ten-storey pagoda.
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Image 14
Inveraray Castle
Photograph: Son of Groucho
Inveraray Castle is a country house near Inveraray in the county of Argyll, in western Scotland, on the shore of Loch Fyne, Scotland’s longest sea loch. Designed in part by William Adam and Roger Morris, work on the Gothic Revival castle began in the 1740s. The castle, the seat of the Duke of Argyll, chief of Clan Campbell, is open to the public.
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Image 15
Albert Memorial
Photo credit: David Iliff
The Albert Memorial, a monument to Prince Albert found in Kensington Gardens, London, England, as seen from the south side. Directly to the north of the Royal Albert Hall. It was commissioned by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott in the Gothic revival style. Opened in 1872, the memorial is 176 feet (54 m) tall, took over ten years to complete, and cost £120,000.
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... that when Westminster City Council in London agreed to use "global majority" as a more inclusive term than BAME or "ethnic minority", a Conservative MP called it "deeply sinister"?
... that in 1943, Bhicoo Batlivala led a group of Indian women to the House of Commons to request the release of Gandhi from prison?
... that Joanna Cherry showed a printed copy of an Internet meme featuring Lily Hoshikawa during a UK parliamentary committee meeting?
... that Oxford is the first city in the United Kingdom to adopt a zero emission zone?
... that Sting wrote "We Work the Black Seam" because he felt that "the case for coal was never put to the nation" during the 1984–85 British miners' strike, which began 40 years ago today?
... that Surinder Singh Bakhshi led the successful containment of smallpox in the community during Birmingham's smallpox outbreak in 1978?