United Kingdom
THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NOTHERN IRELAND: GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMY, POLITICS, CITIES, PRESS A The United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands. Great Britain and Ireland, and about five thousands small islands. Their total area is over 244 000 square kilometres. The United Kingdom is one of the world's smaller countries. Its population is over 57 million. About 80 percent of the population is urban. The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Belfast respectively. Great Britain consists of England, Scotland and Wales and does not include Northern Ireland. But in everyday speech "Great Britain" is used in me meaning of the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The capital of the UK is London. The British Isles are separated from the Continent by the North Sea, the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea. The surface of the British Isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is mountainous and is called Highlands. The south, which has beautiful valleys and plains, is called Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but the eastern, central and south-eastern parts of England are a vast plain. Mountains are not very high. Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343 m). There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one. The mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and the warm waters of the Gulf Stream influence the climate of the British Isles, It is mild the whole year round. The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It produces and exports machinery, electronics, textile. One of the chief industries or the country is shipbuilding. The UK is a constitutional monarchy with a parliament and the Queen as Head of State. Topical Vocabulary - the United Kingdom of Great Britain.


The Royal Coat of Arms of England was the official coat of arms of the Monarchs of England, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of England until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. The spread of the British Empire has led to the arms being incorporated in various other coats of arms of the UK's former colonies.

The arms of England are not used in any official capacity on their own, although they do feature in the first and fourth quarters of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom. However, the arms of both the Football Association and the England and Wales Cricket Board are based on the three lions design. In recent years, it has been common to see banners of the arms flown at English football matches, in the same way the Lion Rampant is flown in Scotland.

In 1996, Three Lions was the unofficial song of the England football team for the 1996 European Football Championship, which were held in England.

The Flag of England is the St George's Cross. The legend of Saint George slaying the dragon dates from the 12th century and Saint George became the patron saint of England in the 13th century. The red cross appeared in the crusades and is one of the earliest known emblems representing England. The flag is derived from that of the Knights Templar.

The flag consists of a red cross on a white field with the cross having a width of 1/5 of the height of the flag. The flag proportion is 5:3.
When the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united in a personal union under James VI/I, the Cross of Saint George was combined with the Cross of St. Andrew (representing Scotland) to form the original Union Flag (or "Union Jack"). This flag later became the national flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain, and was combined with the flag of St. Patrick (representing Ireland) in 1801, producing the current Union Flag of the United Kingdom.

The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland was the official coat of arms of the monarchs of Scotland, and were used as the official coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland until the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Afterwards, the arms became an integral part of the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom.

The Royal Coat of Arms of Canada feature the Scottish arms in the second quarter of the shield, and use the unicorn as the sinister supporter.

Both the flag and coat of arms of Nova Scotia feature the Scottish arms.
The standard of the Duke of Rothesay features an inescutcheon, with the arms of the heir apparent to the King of Scotland (the Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland with a three point label).

The flag of Scotland features a white saltire, a Crux decussata (X-shaped cross) representing the cross of the Christian martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, on a blue field. It is known as the Saltire or the Saint Andrew's Cross. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Azure, a saltire argent.

The Saltire is one of the oldest flags in the world, traditionally dating back to the 9th century, and is the oldest national flag still in modern use, the oldest state flag being Denmark's Dannebrog.

The Scottish Saltire and field is one of the components of the Union Flag, the flag of United Kingdom. A reversed version (blue saltire on a white field) is to be found in the naval ensign of Russia (see Russian Navy) used before and after the Soviet Union (Saint Andrew is also a patron saint of Russia).

Additionally, the blue Saltire on white design is featured on the Coat of Arms of Nova Scotia, Canada and its flag (Nova Scotia was originally a Scottish colony), but the blue used for Nova Scotia is generally a light blue. Similarly, the Spanish island of Tenerife and the remote Colombian islands of San Andr?s and Providencia also use the saltire on their flags.

The Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales is a coat of arms used by the Prince of Wales. Unlike the Royal Coat of Arms of England and Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland in their respective countries, it has not very often been used in Wales as a national symbol in the past. However it is now increasingly seen, without the crown.

It may be blazoned quarterly Or and gules, four lions countercharged langued and armed azure. It is based on the arms borne by Llewelyn the Great, the famous 13th-century Welsh prince.

The national flag of WalesT is The Red Dragon. It consists of a red dragon, passant, on a green and white field. As with any heraldic charge, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many different interpretations exist.

The flag was granted official status in 1959, but the red dragon itself has been associated with Wales for centuries; indeed, the flag is sometimes claimed to be the oldest national flag still in use, though the origin of the adoption of the dragon symbol is now lost in history and myth. A plausible theory is that the Romans brought the emblem to what is now Wales during their occupation of Britain in the form of the Draco standards borne by the Roman cavalry, but it could be even older. The green and white stripes of the flag were additions by the House of Tudor, the Welsh dynasty that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. Green and white are also the colours of the leek, another national emblem of Wales.

God save our gracious Queen,
Long live our noble Queen,
God save the Queen:
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the Queen.

O Lord, our God, arise,
Scatter her enemies,
And make them fall.
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God save us all.

Thy choicest gifts in store,
On her be pleased to pour;
Long may she reign:
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen.