Portal:United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the UK or – informally – Britain) is a sovereign state that lies to the north-west of the continent of Europe. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain and the north-east part of the island of Ireland, sharing a land border with the Republic of Ireland. The United Kingdom is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and its ancillary bodies of water, including the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, St George's Channel, and the Irish Sea. It is linked to France and Continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy composed of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the Queen and Head of State of fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man form a federacy with the United Kingdom collectively known as the British Islands. The UK also has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire which at its height encompassed a quarter of the world's surface and population.
Although Britain was the foremost great power during the 19th century, and a superpower in the early 20th century, the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its status in global affairs. However, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a nuclear power, a member of the G8, the world's sixth largest economy, and having the fourth highest defence spending, the UK remains an important political, economic and military world power. It is a member of the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.
Pauline Fowler is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, portrayed by Wendy Richard. Pauline was created by scriptwriter Tony Holland and producer Julia Smith as one of EastEnders' original characters, making her debut in the soap's first episode in 1985, and remaining for twenty-one years and ten months, making her the second longest-running original character. Her storylines focus on drudgery, money worries and family troubles. She is portrayed as a stoic, opinionated battle-axe – a family-orientated woman who alienates her kin due to overbearing interference. Her marriage to the downtrodden Arthur was central to the character for the first eleven years of the programme, culminating with his screen death in 1996. She was used for comedic purposes in scenes with her launderette colleague Dot Branning, and scriptwriters included many feuds in her narrative, most notably with her daughter-in-law, Sonia, and Den Watts, a family friend who got her daughter Michelle pregnant at 16. The character was killed off in a "whodunit" murder storyline, with Richard making her final appearance in 2006. (more...)
Paulinus of York was a Roman missionary and the first Bishop of York. A member of the Gregorian mission sent by Pope Gregory I to convert the Anglo-Saxons to Christianity in 601, Paulinus arrived in England by 604 with the second missionary group. Little is known of Paulinus' activities in the following two decades. After some years spent in Kent, Paulinus was consecrated a bishop, probably in 627. He accompanied Æthelburg of Kent, sister of King Eadbald of Kent, on her journey to Northumbria to marry King Edwin of Northumbria, and eventually succeeded in converting Edwin to Christianity. Paulinus also converted many of Edwin's subjects and built a few churches. One of the women Paulinus baptised was a future saint, Hilda of Whitby. Following Edwin's death in 633 Paulinus and Æthelburg fled Northumbria, leaving behind a member of Paulinus' clergy, James the Deacon. Paulinus returned to Kent, where he became Bishop of Rochester. After his death in 644, Paulinus was venerated as a saint. (more...)
- ... that the Mary Rose was a Tudor period warship that sank during the Battle of the Solent in 1545 and was salvaged (pictured) by maritime archaeologists 437 years later?
- ... that Sir Hugh Norman-Walker was forced to decline the appointment of the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man in 1973 because his wife would not take up the new post with him?
- ... that a skimmington, a custom in which victims were mocked and humiliated in a noisy public procession, occurred in England as late as 1917?
- ... that Princess Alice of the United Kingdom was married to Prince Louis of Hesse in an atmosphere described by Queen Victoria as "more of a funeral than a wedding"?
- ... that as a result of the Scarman report into the 1981 Brixton riots, the independent Police Complaints Authority was established in 1985?
- ... that the archaeological finds from Steeple Langford include a Bronze Age palstave and a Romano-British painted pebble?
- ... that Slade's Case has been called a "watershed" moment in English law?
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The noticeboard is the central forum for information and discussion on UK related editing. |
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This page lists deletion discussions on topics relating to the United Kingdom. |
The Entr'acte expresses its pleasure that Gilbert and Sullivan are reunited.
- February 22: Scottish prosecutors keeping quiet about Lanarkshire surgical deaths
- February 21: Tameside Council seek to ban English Defence League rally
- February 20: UK's Wright Stuff comments about Liam Aitchison murder 'resolved', Ofcom concludes
- February 20: UK politician foresees nuclear Iran triggering new Middle Eastern cold war
- February 20: US call centre business to create 600 jobs in Wales
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