The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The official name of the country is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capital of the UK is London.

The UK occupies the British Isles which lie on the north-west coast of Europe between the North Atlantic Ocean and the Northern Sea. The area of the country is about 244 thousand sq km. The population is 59 million. The official language of the UK is English. The major cities are Birmingham, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Belfast, Newcastle, Cardiff.

The flag of the UK  The flag of the United Kingdom is called the Union Flag or THE UNION JACK. The Union Jack is a combination of the crosses of three patron saints of the country: the red cross of Saint GEORGE for England on a white background; the white diagonal cross of Saint ANDREW for Scotland on a blue background; the red diagonal cross of Saint PATRICK for Ireland on a white background.

The symbol of England  The symbol of the country is RED ROSE. Earlier, it decorated the arms of the House of Lancaster. The Lancastrians argued for the throne of England with the Yorkists whose arms had a white rose. The war for the throne became known as the War of the Red and White Rose. When the Lancastrians won the war, their arms of the Red Rose became the symbol of the whole England.

The emblem of the UK  The State Emblem of the country shows the union of its four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There are emblems of England(three lions on a red background), emblem of Scotland(a red lion on a yellow background) and the emblem of Northern Ireland (a yellow harp on a blue background).