Lion (all of Britain); lion, Tudor rose, oak (England); lion, unicorn, thistle (Scotland); dragon, daffodil, leek (Wales); shamrock, flax (Northern Ireland).
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Lyric/music |
Date of Independence | no official date of independence: 927 (minor English kingdoms unite); 3 March 1284 (enactment of the Statute of Rhuddlan uniting England and Wales); 1536 (Act of Union incorporates England and Wales); 1 May 1707 (Acts of Union unite England, Scotland, and Wales as Great Britain); 1 January 1801 (Acts of Union unite Great Britain and Ireland as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland); 6 December 1921 (Anglo-Irish Treaty formalizes partition of Ireland; six counties become Northern Ireland and remain part of the UK); 12 April 1927 (Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act establishes current name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) |
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National holiday | the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday |
Legal system | common law system; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998 |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Uncoded; partly statutes, partly common law and practice |
Amendment process | Proposed as a bill for an Act of Parliament by the government, by the House of Commons, or by the House of Lords; passage requires agreement by both houses and by the monarch (Royal Assent) |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of the United Kingdom |
Dual citizenship recognized | yes |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 5 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022) |
Head of government | Prime Minister Keir STARMER (since 5 July 2024) |
Cabinet | Cabinet appointed by the prime minister |
Election/appointment process | the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually becomes the prime minister |
Legislative branch | |
Legislature name | UK Parliament |
Legislative structure | Bicameral |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court (consists of 12 justices, including the court president and deputy president) |
Judge selection and term of office | Judge candidates selected by an independent committee of several judicial commissions, then recommended to the prime minister, and appointed by the monarch; justices serve for life |
Subordinate courts | England and Wales: Court of Appeal (civil and criminal divisions); High Court; Crown Court; County Courts; Magistrates' Courts; Scotland: Court of Sessions; Sheriff Courts; High Court of Justiciary; tribunals; Northern Ireland: Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland; High Court; county courts; magistrates' courts; specialized tribunals |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Peter MANDELSON (since 25 February 2025) |
Chancery | 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 588-6500 |
FAX | [1] (202) 588-7870 |
Email address and website | ukin.washington@fcdo.gov.uk https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-washington |
Consulate(s) general | Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Warren A. STEPHENS (since 21 May 2025) |
Embassy | 33 Nine Elms Lane, London, SW11 7US |
Mailing address | 8400 London Place, Washington DC 20521-8400 |
Telephone | [44] (0) 20-7499-9000 |
FAX | [44] (0) 20-7891-3845 |
Email address and website | SCSLondon@state.gov https://uk.usembassy.gov/ |
Consulate(s) general | Belfast, Edinburgh |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 33 (28 cultural, 4 natural, 1 mixed); note - includes one site in Bermuda |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast (n); Ironbridge Gorge (c); Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites (c); Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd (c); Blenheim Palace (c); City of Bath (c); Tower of London (c); St Kilda (m); Maritime Greenwich (c); Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (c); Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (c); The English Lake District (c) |
Want to know more about United Kingdom? Check all different factbooks for United Kingdom below.