THE UNITED KINGDOM

 

United Kingdom (UK) is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe, which has a temperate climate, with plentiful rainfall all year round. London, an important global city and financial center with the second-largest urban area in the European Union, is its capital city. The UK was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. Today, it is still globally influential in different aspects such as politics, music, literature and sports.

 

 

The UK consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The latter three have devolved administrations with varying powers respectively. It is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of state and monarch at the moment. It has a parliamentary system of governance. The flag of the UK is the Union Flag . It was created in 1606 by the superimposition of the Flag of England on the Flag of Scotland and updated in 1801 with the addition of Saint Patrick's Flag. Wales is not represented as it had been conquered and annexed to England prior to the formation of the UK.