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Portal:United Kingdom

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Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom
Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom
Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom
Map of the United Kingdom in the British Isles.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, and the Irish Sea. The UK maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across the Atlantic, Pacific and other oceans globally. The United Kingdom had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom is London, whose wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. The cities of Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, respectively.

The UK has been inhabited continuously since the Neolithic. In AD 43, the Roman conquest of Britain began; the Roman departure was followed by Anglo-Saxon settlement. In 1066, the Normans conquered England. With the end of the Wars of the Roses, the English state stabilised and began to grow in power, resulting by the 16th century in the annexation of Wales, and the establishment of the British Empire. Over the course of the 17th century, the role of the British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the English Civil War. In 1707, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland united under the Treaty of Union to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In the Georgian era, the office of prime minister became established. The Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922 as the Irish Free State, and the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.

The UK became the first industrialised country and was the world's foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leading economic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported by its agricultural prosperity, its role as a dominant trading nation, a massive industrial capacity, significant technological achievements, and the rise of 19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s, the British Empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the largest empire in history. However, its involvement in the First World War and the Second World War damaged Britain's economic power and a global wave of decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (Full article...)

Featured article

A postcard for the Central London Railway depicting a railcar and passengers

The Central London Railway was a railway company established in 1889 to construct a deep-level underground "tube" railway in London. Funding for construction was obtained in 1895 through a syndicate of financiers and construction work took place from 1896 to 1900. When opened in 1900, the railway served 13 stations and ran completely underground in a pair of tunnels between its western terminus at Shepherd's Bush and its eastern terminus at the Bank of England. After a rejected proposal to turn the line into a loop, it was extended at the western end to Wood Lane in 1908 and at the eastern end to Liverpool Street station in 1912. In 1920, it was extended along a Great Western Railway line to Ealing. After initially making good returns for investors, the railway suffered a decline in passenger numbers due to increased competition from other underground railway lines and new motorised buses. In 1913, it was taken over by the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, operator of the majority of London's underground railways. In 1933 the two companies were taken into public ownership and, today, the railway's tunnels and stations form the central section of the London Underground's Central line. (Full article...)

William III of England

William III of England (1650–1702) was the Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the main provinces of the Dutch Republic, and King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Born a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, William III won the English, Scottish and Irish crowns following the Glorious Revolution, in which his uncle and father-in-law, James II, was deposed. In England, Scotland and Ireland, William ruled jointly with his wife, Mary II, until her death in 1694. A Protestant, William participated in several wars against the powerful Catholic King Louis XIV of France in coalition with Protestant and Catholic powers in Europe. Many Protestants heralded him as a champion of their faith. Largely due to that reputation, William was able to take the British crowns where many were fearful of a revival of Catholicism under James. William's victory over James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is commemorated by the Orange Institution in Northern Ireland to this day. His reign marked the beginning of the transition from the personal rule of the Stuarts to the more Parliament-centered rule of the House of Hanover. (Full article...)

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Wikinews UK

13 March 2025 –
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announces that NHS England will be abolished in a drive to reduce bureaucracy and bring National Health Service management back under "democratic control". The move is expected to result in around 6,500 job losses. (BBC News)
2 March 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
United Kingdom prime minister Keir Starmer announces after a meeting of European Union leaders in London that a "coalition of the willing" is working on a Ukraine peace plan that they will present to U.S. president Donald Trump. (Sky News)
1 March 2025 – United Kingdom–Ukraine relations
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with UK prime minister Keir Starmer in London, where they sign off on a British loan of GB£2.26 billion to buy military supplies for Ukraine. (BBC)
27 February 2025 – United Kingdom–United States relations
U.S. President Donald Trump meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington, D.C., for talks that include the Russo-Ukrainian War peace negotiations. Starmer also presents a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump to visit London later this year. (NPR)
25 February 2025 – 2020s European re-armament
The United Kingdom announces an increase in military spending to 2.5% of its GDP by 2027, and 3% by 2034 at the latest. The move comes just before UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington, D.C. (The New York Times)
25 February 2025 – Rwanda–United Kingdom relations, Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda conflict
The UK government suspends financial aid and imposes economic sanctions on several high-ranking Rwandan officials over the country's military support for M23 rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (Reuters)

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