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I.) The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

• 1) basics

◦ it consists of England (the capital city is London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland

(Edinburgh), Northern Ireland (Belfast)

◦ total area is almost 250 thousand square kilometres

◦ has a population of about 60 million inhabitants

◦ constitutional monarchy

◦ religion = mostly Church of England = Anglicans

◦ currency = British pounds

◦ flag = Union Jack consists of three crosses (English, Scottish, Irish)

◦ patrons = Saint George (England), St Andrew (Scotland), St Patrick (Ireland)

◦ national anthem = God save the Queen

• 2) geography

◦ lies on islands

◦ surrounded by Atlantic ocean, North See, English Channel

◦ the climate is mild, humid and unpredictable

▪ influenced by Atlantic Ocean and warmed by Gulf Stream

• 3) surface

◦ Scotland = the most hilly country, Ben Nevis = highest mountain

▪ the Loch Ness lake, Loch Ness monster

◦ England = Pennines, lowlands, flatlands, swamps

◦ rivers = Severn (the longest), the river Thames, Avon

◦ England = divided into shires

◦ cities = London, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Leeds, Oxford,

Cambridge, Canterbury, Dover, Plymouth, Brighton

• 4) royal family

◦ Queen Elizabeth II is 85 years old, she has ruled for almost 60 years

▪ she is Windsor by birth

▪ her official residence is the Buckingham Palace

▪ English queen is a head of Commonwealth (= economic and political organisation,

Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Malta, India, Jamaica, Cyprus, Pakistan)

◦ husband prince Philip

◦ sister princess Margaret

◦ four children

◦ the oldest son is prince Charles

◦ most famous grandchildren = William and Harry



II.) Government

• a constitutional monarchy (with unwritten constitution)

• her Majesty Elizabeth II is a head not only of The UK but also Australia, Canada and some

other countries of Commonwealth

• although she is for example a command-in-chief of the armed forces., she has only

representative function and must follow the advice of the government

• the seat of government is in Palace of Westminster also called The houses of Parliament• the parliament consists of the Queen and two chambers:

◦ the House of Lords

◦ the House of Commons

• the queen formally summons and dissolves Parliament and every year she opens it with a

speech from the throne

◦ but the speech is made by the parliament

• the House of Lords is consisted of hereditary and life peers and peeresses, arcibishops and

bishops of the Church of England

• there are 650 members in The House of Commons

• they are elected• general elections must be held at least every five years

• the leader of the major political party becomes a Prime Minister

• then other ministers are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister

• current Prime Minister is David Cameron

• the second largest party forms the official Opposition – shadow cabinet

• there are three main political parties in the UK:

◦ the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal-Democratic Party



III.) London

• 1) location

◦ is situated in the south-east of England, along the River Thames

◦ 8 million inhabitants

• 2) the City of London

◦ centre of Roman colony in the past (50 AD)

◦ historical and financial centre

▪ a) the Tower of London

• fort made of wood to protect Londinium

• complex of towers

• William the Conqueror had the White Tower built

• lots of functions: a fort, observatory, zoo, treasury, prison, place of executions

• today there is a Jewel House with coronation jewels

• Beefeaters symbolically guard Tower, every night they lock the gate = the

Ceremony of Keys

• superstition = as long as there are 8 ravens in the Tower, England is safe

▪ b) the Tower Bridge

• a lifting bridge over the River Thames

• close to the Tower

• it was finished in the 19th century

• it opens every time a big ship flows under it, the traffic over bridge must be

stopped at that time

▪ c) St. Paul's Cathedral

• seat of archbishop of London

• the royal family uses it for weddings and funerals

• some members of of army and some artists are buried there

• 3) The City of Westminster

◦ a) Westminster Abbey

▪ English rulers are coronated and buried here

▪ also about 400 important people (Charles Dickens, Isaac Newton) are buried here

◦ b) the Houses of Parliament with Big Ben

▪ along the River Thames

▪ Big Ben is a big bell inside the tower, it strikes every hour

◦ c) the Buckingham palace

▪ official residence of English Queen, she accepts all state visits there

▪ tourists watch there the changing of guards

◦ d) Downing Street No. 10

▪ a residence of Prime Minister

◦ e) Trafalgar Square

▪ a square with Nelson's Column (English admiral who defeated Napoleon in battle at

Trafalgar in 1805)

▪ it is said that statues of lions are made from cannons used in the battle

▪ above the square is a National Gallery



• 4) the West End

◦ heart of London's shopping

◦ a) Oxford Street

▪ shops and luxury department stores

▪ theatres, cinemas, opera houses, restaurants, café’s

◦ b) Piccadilly Circus

▪ round square, full of tourists

◦ c) Soho

▪ bohemian part, multicultural part, famous for clubs, bars, pubs

▪ in the past there was a hunting park, Soho was a greeting of hunters

◦ d) Chinatown

▪ full of Chinese restaurants and shops

◦ e) Hyde Park

▪ one of the largest parks

▪ famous for Speaker's corner, where everybody can say anything without punishment

• 5) others

◦ Tate Modern = a gallery of 21st century

◦ London Eye = the biggest wheel in the whole world, built to welcome 3 rd millennium

◦ Madame Tussaud's Museum = wax figurines of famous people

◦ Greenwich = parks with royal observatory, the zero meridian goes through it

◦ Globe theatre = W. Shakespeare acted here

◦ Stonehenge = a mystery circle of large stones