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- U.K.
- parliamentary monarchy
- own name: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
• Flags
• Historical Flags
• Meaning/Origin of the Flag
• Coat of Arms
• Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms
• Aircraft Roundel
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• Numbers and Facts
• History
• Possessions
• regional Flags
• Origin of the Country's Name
National flag,
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Source, by:
Flags of all Nations
State flag und Naval jack,
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Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
Merchant flag,
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Flags of all Nations
Naval flag,
ratio = 1:2,
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Flags of all Nations
Merchant flag for naval reserve officers,
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Flags of all Nations
Pilot flag and civil jack,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Army,
ratio = 3:5,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Royal Air Force,
ratio = 1:2,
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Flags of all Nations
Customs ensign,
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Flags of all Nations
Civil air ensign,
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Flags of all Nations
Royal standard,
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Flags of all Nations
Royal standard for use in Scotland,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Minister of Defence,
ratio = 3:5,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Lord High Admiral,
ratio = 1:2,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Admiral of the Fleet,
ratio = 2:3,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag for Admirals,
ratio = 2:3,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the Chief of the General Staff,
ratio = 3:5,
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Flags of all Nations
Queen's Harbour Master,
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Flags of all Nations
Flag of the City of London,
the historical core of the capital,
ratio = 3:5,
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Flags of all Nations
1606–1649, State flag,
1634–1649, Naval flag
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1634–1707,
Merchant flag for vessels from England,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1634–1707,
Merchant flag for vessels from Scotland,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1649–1651,
Flag of the Commonwealth of England,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1651–1658,
Flag of the Commonwealth of England,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1658–1660,
State and Naval flag,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1660–1801,
State and Naval flag,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1707–1801,
Merchant flag,
Source, by: Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN)
1943–1968,
Flag of the Civil Defense,
ratio = 1:2,
Source, by:
Die Welt im bunten Flaggenbild, Wikipedia (EN)
When James I. (1567–1625) – since 1567 King of Scotland and after the death of Queen Elisabeth I. in 1603 – united the crowns of Scotland and England into a personal union, a new flag was created for this kingdom, which united the flags of England and Scotland. The flag of England is white with an uninterrupted red bar cross in the middle (cross of the Holy George → St. George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland is dark blue with an uninterrupted white diagonal cross in the middle (cross of the Holy Andrew → St. Andrew's Cross). Both symbols were effectively combined with each other.
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This flag was named the "Union Jack" at least since 1633 . This designation goes probably back directly to the short form of the name of King James I. (→ Jack). With the execution of King Charles I. in 1649 the dynastic connection with Scotland was broken. A change in the design of the flag was also necessary after the capture of Ireland in the same year. In this way the flag of England was combined with the coat of arms of Ireland. Originally Ireland had no flag and possibly no coat of arms. When the English King Henry VIII. also became King of Ireland in 1541 he introduced the golden harp on a blue ground as the Irish coat of arms. With the re-establishment of the monarchy in the year 1654 the "Union Jack" was also re-established. The combination with the Irish coat of arms was, however, maintained. In 1707 follows, in addition to the dynastic unification, the constitutional unification of England and Scotland into United Kingdom. Then in 1801 follows the unification with Ireland. The Patrick's Cross, a red uninterrupted diagonal cross was added to the "Union Jack" and superimposed onto the Scottish St. Andrew's Cross effective on the 1st of January, 1801. St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland (cross of the Holy Patricius → St. Patrick's Cross). With these many changes the "Union Jack" came to its present form.
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The Irish Patrick's Cross dates back to to the year 1783 and King George III. who created this symbol for Ireland. In Ireland in particular, parts of the population reject it as an English creation. If the Scottish flag is used alone, i.e. outside of the Union Jack, the blue must appear much lighter. United Kingdom introduced a flag system in 1864 in which:
• war ships fly the "White Ensign" (naval flag), a white flag often with an uninterrupted red St. George's-Cross and with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag,
• merchant ships fly a "Red Ensign" (also named "Civil Ensign" → civil flag, the real merchant flag), a red flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag, and
• governmental ships fly the "Blue Ensign" (flag for the use by the gouvernment → the actual state flag), a blue flag with the Union Jack in the upper staff quadrant of the flag.
Since 1865 ships of colonial governments were permitted to fly the Blue Ensign with a badge in the flying end of the flag. The respective governments were asked to design appropriate badges. Merchant ships and seafaring persons from colonies were only permitted to use the Red Ensign with a badge, then also named Civil Ensign, if permission has been given to the respective colony by the British admiralty. In British colonies and dependent territories, the representation of the badge (respectively of the coat of arms) was often placed on a white disc in the flying end of the ensigns. That regulation – with the white disc – was officially abolished in 1999, and the arms of the colony is then represented enlarged. However, there are still many flags in the old design in use, especially on land. The colors of the flags of the United Kingdom are specified as blue pt 280c and red pt 186c.
Translator of the English text: Joachim Nuthack
Source:
Die Welt der Flaggen,
Wikipedia (EN),
Flags of the World,
Volker Preuß
Coat of arms of United Kingdom,
Source, by:
Corel Draw 4
The coat of arms of the British King and the United Kingdom consists of a quartered shield and shows in the first (upper left) field three golden leopards on a red background (England), in the second field a red lion on a golden background (Scotland), in the third field a golden harp on a blue background (Ireland), and in the fourth field three golden leopards on a red background again (England). The blazon is surrounded by the Order of the Garter with the French inscription: "Honi soit qui mal y pense" → "shame on anyone who thinks evil of it". The shield holders are an English lion and a Scottish unicorn. Above the shield sits a golden helmet with the crown of the Holy Edward, on which the British lion stands. The coat of arms rests on a pedestal which depicts a meadow with Tudor roses. At the foot of the coat of arms on a banner the motto reads in French: "Dieu et mon droit" → "God and my right". The coat of arms of the British King and the United Kingdom received their present format in 1837 on the occasion of the accession to the Throne by Queen Victoria. Since 1910 a slightly changed coat of arms and a slightly changed flag of the queen in use in Scotland. The flag of the queen is developed from the blazon of the scutcheon flag.
Translator of the English text: Joachim Nuthack
Source: Wikipedia (DE),
Flaggen Wappen Hymnen
Aircraft Roundel,
Source, by: Wikipedia (EN)
Location:
Source: CIA World Factbook
Map of the country:
Source: CIA World Factbook
clickable Map:
Source: Freeware, University of Texas Libraries,
modyfied by: Volker Preuß
Area: 94.058 square miles
Inhabitants: 66.800.000 (2019)
Religions: 45% Anglican, 19% Protestant, 10% Roman Catholic, 5% Muslim, 25% Non-Religious
Density of Population: 710 inh./sq.mi.
Capital: London, 8.962.000 inh. (2019)
official Language: English
other Languages: Gaelic languages
Currency: 1 Pfund Sterling (£, GBP) = 100 Pence
Time Zone: Greenwich Meantime = CET – 1 h
Source: Wikipedia (DE)
ca. 600 B.C. · immigration of Celtic tribes to the British Isles
55/54 B.C. · first Roman attacks
43 · Roman legions conquer the region of the today's England
85 · Britain becomes a province of the Roman Empire
120–128 · construction of Hadrian's Wall against the Scots
195 · Hadrian's Wall is overrun
200–400 · frequent riotings of the British Celts against the Roman
from ca. 400 · withdrawal of the Roman legions, in the following years immigration of the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, which were later summarized under the term Anglo-Saxons
450–500 · battles of the British Celts and Saxon against the Pikts and Scots, ousting of the British Celts by the Saxons,
formation of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Kent, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria
825 · unification of Wessex, Sussex, Kent and Mercia under King Egbert of Wessex
865 · Danish invasion: Essex, East Anglia and parts of Mercia become Danish possession until 954 → Danelaw
1016 · the Dane Knut the Great forces his election as King of England
1050 · ultimate end of the Danish rule
1066 · the Saxon Harald II. becomes king of England
1066 · the invading Normans defeat the Saxons in the Battle of Hastings and establish their power in England
1169 · beginning of the conquest of Ireland by the Kingdom of England
1265 · first English parliament
1284 · conquest of Wales
1297 · establishment of a first Irish Parliament, the conquest of Ireland by the Kingdom of England is essentially complete
1338–1453 · 100-year War in France for rights of the English King to the French throne
1455–1485 · War of the Roses between the House of Lancaster (coat of arms: red rose) and the House of York (coat of arms: white rose)
1603 · the House of Tudor line ends with the death of Elisabeth I.
1603 · personal union between Scotland and England under James I. of the House of Stuart
1649 · execution of King Charles I.
1649–1654 · England is a republic under Oliver Cromwell
1654 · re-establishment of the monarchy
1707 · constitutional unification of England and Scotland to Great Britain
1714 · the House of Hanover provides a king with George I.
1727–1760 · extensive colonial conquests
1783 · the USA achieve independence from United Kingdom
19th cent. · phase of further large colonial conquests
1901 · the House Saxony-Coburg-Gotha (Windsor) provides the king with Edward VII.
1914–1918 · First World War
1921 · creation of the Irish free state
1939 · United Kingdom declares war on Germany
1939–1945 · Second World War
1947 · India receives independence
1956 · United Kingdom intervenes in the Suez-Canal-Zone
1960–1966 · United Kingdom loses most of its colonial empire
1969 · United Kingdom intervenes in Northern Ireland
1973 · the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland joines the EEC (the later EU)
1982 · Argentina occupies the Falkland Islands, British re-capture
1991 · United Kingdom intervenes with the USA in Iraq
1999 · participation of United Kingdom in the NATO-intervention in Yugoslavia
1999 · Scotland and Wales get their own parliaments, Northern Ireland receives autonomy
2000 · the autonomy for Northern Ireland is reversed
2003 · United Kingdom intervenes with the USA in Iraq again and illegally
2016 · a referendum in Britain decides with a majority to leave the European Union
31st of Janauary in 2020 · United Kingdom (UK) leaves the European Union
Translator of the English text: Joachim Nuthack
Source:
Atlas zur Geschichte,
World Statesmen,
Wikipedia (D)
• Anguilla
• Bermuda Islands)
• British Virgin Islands
• British Antarctic Territory
• (British Indian Ocean Territory
• Cayman Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Gibraltar
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn
• Saint Helena
• South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
• Turks and Caicos Islands
• Alderney (Channel Islands)
• Cornwall
• England
• Guernsey (Channel Islands)
• Herm (Channel Islands)
• Jersey (Channel Islands)
• Man
• Northern Ireland (Ulster)
• Orkney-Inseln (Orkney-Islands)
• East Anglia
• Sark (Channel Islands)
• Scotland
• Shetland Islands
• Wales
Source:
Wikipedia (DE)
In the entire English-speaking world, the country is known only as "United Kingdom", which means the kingdom as the union of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the German-speaking world, the translation of the country's name as "Vereinigtes Königreich" (United Kingdom) is hardly used at all. Here they say "Großbritannien → Great Britain". "Great Britain" actually only refers to the union of England and Scotland.
In 1707, when United Kingdom was created, by the union of England and Scotland and when it was named "Great Britain", then, and even in the centuries before, a "Britannia" was always present. Firstly the country was called "Britannia" as a Roman province, and secondly ther was the Brittany, the home of the Bretons, the Celtic brothers of the indigenous people of the British Isles. The now emerging new Britain, was of course bigger and more significant. It was therefore a good idea to choose on the one hand a name, which disadvantaged neither England nor Scotland, and on the other hand gives a possibility for distinction from Brittany.
Source:
Volker Preuß