Back in May of 2023 , it seemed like much of the world was give attention to thecoronation of King Charles III . Never mind that few masses outside of the United Kingdom understand the first matter about theBritish Royal Familyor even aboutBritain vs. England vs. the U.K.
You might think those things are the same , but they ’re not . We ’ll break it down below .
More Than Just A Kingdom: Great Britain, the UK and Beyond
Before researching this article , I also thought that the United Kingdom and Great Britain were the same thing . And that the footing British and English were standardised . Why did I think those things ? Because I ’m an American .
With some embarrassment , I called my brother - in - law Tim Bleakley , a British expat living in California , expect him to lampoon my ignorance of canonical geography and human race history .
" No , it ’s totally confusing ! " he enunciate to my outstanding relief . " I ’m British , and it ’s confusing enough for me . "
Land Mass and Political Unions
As Tim patiently explained , the United Kingdom is not the same as Great Britain . The official name of the U.K. is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The U.K. is a body politic - land composed of four country :
Great Britain is the strong-arm landmass that ’s home to three of those countries : England , Scotland and Wales .
Northern Ireland , while part of the United Kingdom , isnotpart of Great Britain , because it ’s located on the northern tip of Ireland , the island next door .
The Big Island: Great Britain
If you ’re looking at a map , you’re able to see that Great Britain refers to the large island off the northwestern coast of Europe . In fact , this entire island ( sometimes called just " Britain " ) is the largest island off the sea-coast of mainland Europe .
Together , the three countries on the island of Great Britain ( England , Scotland and Wales ) organise a political union known as the United Kingdom , or the U.K. for short .
The story of these three countries and their changing political fortune is foresightful and complex , but England , with its capital city of London , remains the largest and most brawny politically .
Citizens of Wales and Scotland have shown , with varying arcdegree of fervour , interest group in breaking aside from the U.K. , although this has n’t happened and the United Kingdom stay united .
Ireland and Northern Ireland
Located to the west of Great Britain is the country and island get it on as Ireland . However , aside from the geographic borders of the Irish Sea , the Celtic Sea , and the Atlantic Ocean , there is a political margin stretching across this part of the island .
This is the political border between Ireland and Northern Ireland . Ireland gained independence from the British crown in 1922 ( after centuries of engagement , the previous round of which had seen Irelandjoiningthe Union in 1801 ) but what was thenceforth called Northern Ireland remain part of the United Kingdom .
The British Isles: An Archipelago
By now you should be pretty confident about these spot , but then you hear somebody say the terminal figure " British Isles , " and you start to sense woozy . What ’s important to know about this terminus is that it ’s a geographic term mainly , and also somewhat controversial .
The British Isles refer to all the island situated off the north west coast of Europe , including the I we ’ve already been discussing : Great Britain and Ireland . Beyond the mainland of Britain consist a whole passel of smaller island .
Together , these are all be intimate as the British Isles . They include the Channel Islands , the Isle of Man , the Isles of Scilly , and many more — several thousand , in fact .
What ’s important to note is that some of these place — such as the Isle of Man , Jersey and Guernsey — are n’t in reality part of the United Kingdom . They do have political association , but are technically decided .
How Do They Name Sports Teams?
Still with us ? Good , but you ’re not out of the briar patch yet . Because when it comes tosporting events , there are still things like the British Olympian squad , which goes by the name Team GB , unforesightful for Team Great Britain .
" They call themselves Team Great Britain , but they also let in athletes from Northern Ireland , which is n’t really part of Great Britain , " said Tim . " They deliberately fudged it . "
Politics: Names Are Just the Beginning
Apart from the geographical discombobulation , there ’s the issue of governance . The United Kingdom is a land - state or " sovereign state of matter " made up of four constituent countries . But those countries are n’t countries in the way that most Americans think of land : as fully main entities .
Ben Johnson , an editor at the account and locomotion websiteHistoric UK , said ( when we address with him in 2018 ) that in many ways it ’s useful to think of England , Scotland , Wales and Northern Ireland as the eq of states in the U.S. with the central U.K. Parliament in London play like the federal authorities in Washington , D.C.
But Johnson said that ultimately the " state " analogy devolve short of capturing the full complexness of a thousand - plus years of invasions , empires and majestic wranglings .
The Scottish Example
For example , Scotland join England and Wales to shape the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 . Before that , Scotland had its own fantan , its own sovereign ( mostly ) and independent ego - governance .
But it give all that up when it united with England and Wales . For the last three century , Scotland ’s only title to self - rule was send local representatives toParliament in London .
unbelievably , Scotland did n’t recover some measure of local governmental control until 1999 , when theScottish Parliamentwas finally restored . That ’s the same year that Wales establish its own National Assembly , which is standardized to a parliament , but with less political power . The Northern Ireland Assembly was formed one year earlier in 1998 as part of theGood Friday Agreement .
What About England?
England , oddly enough , has no sovereign legislature of its own . So , until 25 class ago , none of the member countries of the U.K. had independent lawmaking body outside of Parliament , and one of them still does n’t .
In that way , the countries of the U.K. are even less self-governing than U.S. land . ( The Union Jack , the iris of the United Kingdom , is itself a actual " wedlock " of the three sword lily of the realm of England , Scotland and Ireland . Wales was never formally a " realm , " so its flagstone was left out . )
" But there ’s such a chronicle associated with the unlike component area , it would be doing them a disservice to call them anything less than their own disjoined countries , " say Johnson .
Which brings us to the question of national identity in the U.K. and the giving mistake that Americans often make when speaking with folks from the other side of the pool .
Don’t Confuse ‘British’ With ‘English’
As my pal - in - law Tim explained , all citizen of the United Kingdom are considered British , whether or not they live on the actual isle of Great Britain . So , it ’s technically kosher to call someone from Scotland , Wales or Northern Ireland " British . "
Whether or not they identify as British is another question .
" Someone from Scotland would likely say , ' I ’m Scottish first and British second , ' and the Welsh might do the same , " say Tim . " Whereas the English are more probable to say they ’re British first and English second . That ’s due to diachronic conquering of those other countries . The English , which were the ruling power , believe themselves to be British , whereas the Scots and Welsh need to carry on their original identity operator . "
( Scotland famously held anational referendumon full independency from the United Kingdom in 2014 , but it did n’t pass . A 2nd referendum was widely expected , but has n’t happened yet . )
When in Doubt, Say ‘British’
What non - Brits should absolutely void in all circumstances is calling someone " English " who is not from England .
" If you fill somebody from Northern Ireland or Scotland and say how much you enjoy their English accent , that ’s probably the self-aggrandising no - no , " say Johnson , himself born in Scotland , but raised in England ( with an English stress ) .
For those keeping grudge at nursing home , the two major takeaways from today ’s lesson are :
Royal Titles
And what about the claim that Charles III is not the King of England ? It ’s true ( technically ) . The 74 - year - old monarch butterfly isKing of the United Kingdom , not just England .
Moreover , he ’s still recognized as the king of 14 Commonwealth state that used to be part of the British Empire , including Australia , New Zealand , Canada and Jamaica .
