U.K, Great Britain & England: what are they after all?

[Seagull]

I wonder if anyone could make it clear for me...

The United Kingdom includes G. Britain and Northern Ireland; Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. Are they considered "regions" of the U.K. or are there any situations when they can be considered countries?

Thanks for answering
Regards
Manela Rocha

[RonBee]

They are not considered separate countries, but they are considered political subdivisions of the U.K.

[curmudgeon]

The United Kingdom isthe name of the country that consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its full name is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three individual regions: England, Wales and Scotland.
Therefore, England is part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom, as are Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The South of Ireland is an independent Republic also known as Eire.

[BobK]

The United Kingdom isthe name of the country that consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Its full name is "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland."
Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three individual regions: England, Wales and Scotland.
Therefore, England is part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom, as are Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The South of Ireland is an independent Republic also known as Eire.

...and curmudgeon has spared you another complicating detail. The island of Ireland is made up of Provinces, each of which includes a number of counties. Northern Ireland is sometimes referred to as 'Ulster', because most of the Province of Ulster is in Northern Ireland - not all of it though: Ulster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



b

[Tdol]

And neither of you mentioned the British Isles, which consist of England, Scotalnd, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but are a geographical entity.

[rewboss]

The island of Ireland is made up of Provinces, each of which includes a number of counties.

These are historical divisions, and no longer have any legal or political status -- and haven't done so since the 12th century. They're only really important in that Ireland's four professional rugby teams play under the names of these provinces.

Confusingly, when the British talk about Northern Ireland as "the province", they are using a completely different definition of the word; they mean a territory governed as a political unit of the United Kingdom.

Strictly speaking, the United Kingdom is actually a country made up of four different countries. That sounds paradoxical, but it is so, and the reason why England, Scotland and Wales can have their own separate national soccer teams when (for example) Spain is only allowed one. These different countries are called the "constituent countries" (sometimes "constituent nations").

England and Scotland were both separate kingdoms, but for a while they shared the same monarch (who was James the First of England and Sixth of Scotland); later (in 1707) they merged into one kingdom, but Scottish law remains separate in many areas from English law. If you go to Scotland, for example, you'll find that the banknotes are issued by different banks, even though the currency is the same.

Wales is a principality and came under the English crown long before the kingdoms of England and Scotland were united. In the 16th century England formally annexed Wales, and since then English law has applied in Wales -- this is why you will often find references to "the law of England and Wales".

The recently devolved government of the UK reflects the different statuses of the constituent countries. Scotland, with its own set of laws, gets a parliament; Wales, which has to abide by English law, only gets a National Assembly; while Northern Ireland, which is a province, is still struggling to get its Assembly to work properly (Northern Ireland's political situation is extremely sensitive) -- it's currently suspended, and Northern Ireland is currently governed directly from London.

[curmudgeon]

It's all good fun

[BobK]

To add to the fun, presumably because the oldest son of the UK monarch becomes Prince of Wales at some early age (18?/16?), Wales is sometimes called 'the principality'. Does this mean anything in statutory terms, rewboss?

b

[rewboss]

Oh, it gets awfully complicated.

The word "prince" used in relation to Wales is a deliberately incorrect translation of the Welsh word "tywysog", which simply means "leader". The official translation was supposed to imply that Wales -- merely a "principality" -- was subject to England, which was a kingdom.

Originally Wales was made up of several "principalities", but these joined up when England started asserting its power over Wales. The leader of the united Wales took the title "Tywysog Cymru", or "Leader of Wales" (or possibly "Leader of the compatriots", but that point is debated).

In 1301, the English king Edward I finally conquered Wales and appointed his first son as Prince of Wales.

The last Welsh Prince of Wales, though, was Owain Glyndŵr, who in 1400 led a revolt against the English king Henry IV. Glyndŵr's revolt was initially successful, but was eventually quashed.

Depending on who you ask, Owain Glyndŵr was either a pretender or the rightful Prince of Wales; similarly, some people would claim that Prince Charles is a pretender to the title of Tywysog Cymru.

Of course, here we're dealing with two completely different meanings of the word "prince": the "prince" in "Prince Charles" indicates that he is the son of a monarch; the "prince" in "Prince of Wales" means that he is -- sort of -- the ruler of a principality.

As for what it means in statutory terms, the answer to that is: exactly nothing. The title is just that -- a title -- and the Prince of Wales has no formal responsibilities.