Text a the united kingdom of great britain
The official name of the country we usually call “England” and occasionally “Great Britain” is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom is the administrative title and includes Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain refers to England, Wales and Scotland. It is the main island. The British Isles refers to the geographical group of islands from near the French coast to the far north near Iceland. Many ages ago the Isles formed a part of the continent.
Now Great Britain is separated from the continent by the English Channel, the narrowest part of which is called the Strait of Dover. The British Isles are surrounded by the shallow waters of the Irish Sea and the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, the North Channel and the Atlantic Ocean.
The rivers of the region are short and of no great importance as waterways. The longest of them is “The Father of London”, the Thames, which is a little over 200 miles. Britain’s principal ports are London, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow. They have splendid harbours, for the coast line is very indented. Owing to the shape of the country any point in Great Britain is no more than 70 miles from the sea. The Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles. It is mild the whole years round.
The four parts of the UK represent 4 nations, which are distinct from
each other in almost every aspect of life. They were different
racially. The people of Ireland, Wales and highland Scotland belonged
to the Celtic race, those in England and lowland Scotland were mainly
of Germanic origin. This difference was reflected in the languages
they spoke, in these different economic, social and legal systems.
The long centuries of contact between the people of the four nations
of the British Isles have limited their significant differences.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. It has either a king or a queen as its Head of State, but the power of the monarch is limited by the country’s constitution. . In practice, the monarch reigns, but does not rule. The present Sovereign of the UK is Queen Elizabeth II (born 1926; crowned on 2nd June 1953). The Queen is a symbol of Britain. As Head of State, the Queen is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life, on the advice of her Ministers she performs certain important act of government.
The legal authority (the passing of acts) is given to Parliament and executive authority (the carrying out of laws) to the government. All real power lies with Parliament and the existing government.
Britain is very small compared with many other countries in the world, yet it is a surprisingly varied land in many different ways: the diversity of landscape in different parts of the country; a long history that is rich in great events, a varied cultural heritage; long lived customs and traditions; a rich mixture of peoples who live in the country; the great cities of London, Edinburgh, Oxford and Stratford. All together they make the image of Britain fascinating and exciting.