When UK was formed?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain and sometimes, as a synecdoche, as England)^[1] was the formal name and the state form of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927. It was formed by the merger of the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself having been a merger of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland) and the Kingdom of Ireland, with Ireland being governed directly from Westminster through its Dublin Castle administration.

Following Irish independence on 6 December 1922, when the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty came into effect, the name continued in official use until it was changed to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by the Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act of 1927. The part of the island of Ireland that remained seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 was succeeded by the state of Ireland in 1937.^[2]

The difference between UK, GBR, and Britain

The various terms used to describe the different (and sometimes overlapping) geographical and political areas of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland and surrounding islands are often a source of confusion, partly owing to the similarity between some of the actual words used, but also because they are often used loosely. The purpose of this article is to explain the meanings of and inter-relationships among those terms.

In brief, the main terms and their simple explanations are as follows.

• Geographical terms
  • The British Isles is an archipelago consisting of the two large islands of Great Britain and Ireland and many smaller surrounding islands.
  • Great Britain is the largest island of the archipelago^[1][2][3] and lies directly north of France.
  • Ireland is the second largest island of the archipelago and lies directly to the west of Great Britain.
  • The full list of islands in the British Isles includes over 1,000 islands,^[4] of which 51 have an area larger than 20 km².

• Political terms
  • The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the constitutional monarchy occupying the island of Great Britain, the small nearby islands (but not the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands), and the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Usually, it is shortened to United Kingdom, the UK, Great Britain or Britain.^[5][6] The abbreviation GB is generally used for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in international agreements e.g. Universal Postal Union and Road Traffic Convention, as well as in the ISO 3166 country codes (GB and GBR).
  • Ireland is the sovereign republic occupying the larger portion of the island of Ireland. However, to distinguish the state from the island it occupies the majority of, or to distinguish either of these from Northern Ireland, it is also called "the Republic of Ireland" or simply "the Republic". Periodically, its Irish-language name, Éire, will be used in an English-language context to distinguish it from "Northern Ireland", even though the word "Éire" directly translates as "Ireland".
  • England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are sometimes referred to as the constituent countries of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Alternatively, they are referred to as the countries of the United Kingdom.
  • England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are legal jurisdictions within the United Kingdom.
  • Great Britain means the countries of England, Wales and Scotland considered as a unit.^[7][6]
  • British Islands consists of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These are the states within the British Isles that have the British monarch as head of state.

• Linguistic terms
  • The United Kingdom and the (Republic of) Ireland are sometimes referred to as nations and countries in formal documents while England, Wales, Scotland and (to a lesser extent) Northern Ireland are also referred to as nations and countries. In everyday language the terms nation and country are used almost interchangeably.
  • British is an adjective pertaining to the United Kingdom; for example, a citizen of the UK is called a British citizen.
  • Wales is sometimes erroneously referred to as the 'Principality of Wales', or just 'the Principality', although this has no modern geographical or constitutional basis.
  • Northern Ireland can also be referred to, by those of a unionist persuasion, as the Province, in relation to its locality within the Province of Ulster.
• Sport
  • The constituent countries of the United Kingdom often compete separately in international competition as nations (and can be described as "the home nations"). For example in association football, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England play as nations and are officially referred to as nations. An additional complication is that in some sports, such as rugby union, players from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland play as one team, Ireland, in international competitions.
  • Rugby union players from both Ireland and Great Britain play for British and Irish Lions representing the four "Home Unions" of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
  • Great Britain is often used to mean United Kingdom. Usually this is simply sloppy language, but it is sometimes used as an official shortening of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For example, at the Olympic Games, the team officially called "Great Britain" represents the political entity the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland. The "Ireland" Olympic team represents the whole island of Ireland, a geographical entity. Athletes from Northern Ireland have the choice of participating in either the "Great Britain" team or the "Ireland" team.^[8]
  • In the majority of individual sports (e.g. tennis and athletics), at international level competitors are identified as GB if they are from Great Britain or Northern Ireland. A small number of sports (e.g. golf) identify participants as representing their constituent country. In the Commonwealth Games, different parts of the United Kingdom compete as separate nations.

St Patrick Flag

Saint Patrick's Cross (or Saint Patrick's Saltire) is a red saltire (X-shaped cross) on a white field, when considered as a symbol of Ireland or of Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Argent, a saltire gules. Saint Patrick's Flag is a flag composed of Saint Patrick's Saltire.

The antiquity of the association with Ireland and Saint Patrick has been questioned. The cross was used in the regalia of the Order of Saint Patrick, established in 1783 as the premier chivalric order of the Kingdom of Ireland, and later in the arms and flags of a number of institutions. After the 1800 Act of Union joined Ireland with the Kingdom of Great Britain, the saltire was added to the British flag to form the Union Flag still used by the United Kingdom. Saint Patrick's Cross is rejected by many Irish nationalists as a British invention. There is no universally accepted flag for the island of Ireland.

St George Flag

St George's Cross (or the Cross of St George) is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times.

St George's Cross has been adopted on the coat of arms and flags of several countries and cities which have St George as a patron saint, notably England, Georgia, Greece, Genoa and Barcelona.

The cross is also found, for various reasons, on the provincial flag of Huesca, Zaragoza and Teruel as well as the municipal flag for numerous cities, including Montreal, Almería, Milan, Genoa, Padua, Zadar and Freiburg im Breisgau. It is also the basis for the Four Moors flag of Sardinia. Guernsey was permitted to use it as its state flag between 1936 and 1985.

Historically, the cross appeared on many now extinct flags, emblems and coats of arms, such as that of the Swabian League in late Medieval Germany.

St Andrew flag

The Flag of Scotland, also known as the Saint Andrew's Cross or more commonly The Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland.As the national flag, the Saltire differs from the Royal Standard of Scotland in that it is the Saltire which is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly in order to demonstrate both their loyalty and Scottish nationality.It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8am until sunset, with certain exceptions.

According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, (Patrae), in Achaea.[6] Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180, during the reign of William I. This image was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century; including on one particular example used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286.

Use of a simplified symbol associated with Saint Andrew which does not depict his image, namely the saltire, or crux decussata, (from the Latin crux, 'cross', and decussis, 'having the shape of the Roman numeral X'), has its origins in the late 14th century; the Parliament of Scotland decreed in 1385 that Scottish soldiers wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross on their person, both in front and behind, for the purpose of identification.

The earliest reference to the Saint Andrew's Cross as a flag is to be found in the Vienna Book of Hours, circa 1503, where a white saltire is depicted with a red background.In the case of Scotland, use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century, with the first certain illustration of a flag depicting such appearing in Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount's Register of Scottish Arms, circa 1542

The legend surrounding Scotland's association with the Saint Andrew's Cross dates from a 9th century battle, where Óengus II led a combined force of Picts and Scots to victory over the Angles, led by Æthelstan. Consisting of a blue background over which is placed a white representation of an X-shaped cross, the Saltire is one of Scotland's most recognisable symbols.