Difference between Great Britain and Great Britain

Hanisauland: Lexicon @todo: from Preprocess

Official name:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
British pound
English, Welsh, Irish, Cornish
66.5 million
National holiday:
Second Saturday in June, the Queen's birthday

Great Britain is located in the north-west of Europe in the Atlantic and is the largest island nation on our continent. The "United Kingdom" is made up of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England, Scotland and Wales together form Great Britain. Great Britain and Northern Ireland together form the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland", in English one says "United Kingdom" (UK). When we speak of “England” or “Great Britain” today, we usually mean this “United Kingdom”, whose government is in London and whose head of state is the Queen.

Former member of the European Union (EU)

The "United Kingdom" has been a member of the EU since the European Union (EU) was founded in 1993. Twenty years earlier it had already been accepted into the European Community. The British did not want to introduce European money, the euro. They preferred to stick with the British pound. In 2016, a narrow majority of the British voted in a referendum for “Brexit”, the country's exit from the EU. There has never been anything like it before. On January 31, 2020, the UK left the EU after long negotiations on the new cooperation.

The Queen

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The "Queen", Queen Elizabeth II, is the official head of state. As Queen, she is allowed to represent the "United Kingdom" at special festivals and other important occasions. England is a constitutional monarchy. How the country is governed is not decided by the Queen, but by Parliament. Only when it comes to laws does the Queen have a say: Every law passed by the politicians in parliament only applies when it receives "royal approval". Your Queen is very important to the people of the "United Kingdom". English newspapers report almost every day what is going on with the Queen and her family. At Buckingham Palace, the royal palace in London, there are always many tourists trying to catch a glimpse of the Queen through the black iron bars.

School uniforms for all children

In the “United Kingdom” all children wear school uniforms when they go to school. That is, the children wear uniform clothes with the same colors. But girls are also allowed to wear skirts.

Very British - very British

In the United Kingdom, a few things are different than in many other European countries: you pay in pounds, popcorn tastes salty, toast is best eaten cold and there is “left-hand traffic”: drivers sit on the right-hand side of the car and drive up the left side of the street. That can be dangerous for tourists from Germany! You should also try the unofficial national dish "Fish and Chips". Please don't be surprised if the fried fish and potato slices are wrapped in newspaper. This is also common in Great Britain.

Beautiful Northern Ireland

In Northern Ireland in the north of the Irish island there are, in addition to the beautiful and wild nature, many remains of a very old cultural landscape to be seen: Celtic graves, round towers and monastery ruins, but also well-tended country houses and castles.