The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign country located in north-western Europe. Commonly known as the United Kingdom or simply Britain, it includes the north-eastern part of an island of Ireland, several smaller islands of the British Isles, and Great Britain’s Island.
Northern Ireland shares its border with the Republic of Ireland, and The Atlantic Ocean surrounds Great Britain. Thus, its North Sea is to the east, English channels towards the south, and the Celtic Sea towards the southwest, making it the 12th longest coastline of the world.
Facts about England
Origin of champagne – One of the facts of United Kingdom is the origin of champagne. Its origin is synonymous with a famous French region, but Dom Perignon didn’t invite the signature sparkling wine in popular beliefs. It is claimed that more than forty years before, champagne was invented by Perignon. And it was documented by an English scientist named Christopher Merret as an early version of fermentation.
Ancient languages are still spoken – About the UK, the four surviving languages are still officially recognized in the modern days. They are the Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Cornish, and the Irish Gaelic. But these languages are not spoken widely and are slowly fading away.
Stamps were originated in the UK – One of the cool facts about England is that the first-ever symbols originated as postage stamps were from the United Kingdom. The first-ever stamp known as Penny Black was issued in May 1840. Nowadays, it’s not as cheap to send a letter as before, but the price of a first-class stamp is 65p, and the second stamp comes at 56p.
World’s first billionaire author is from the UK – J.K.Rowling, the first-ever billionaire author, best known for her Harry Potter series of books, has sold more than 400m copies in almost 55 languages worldwide.
The largest library in the world – About UK, one of the facts is that with over 170 million items in its catalog, the towering British library located in King’s Cross, London is the world’s most extensive library ever.
The famous clock Big Ben – one of the most famous sights of London is the tall clock tower of Big Ben. But big Ben is not the name of the clock and instead is the name of the bell. The building has undergone a long-term refurbishment project leading to significant tensions in the UK.
The pound is rooted in their history – The UK in 2017 changed the design of its humble pound coin, and the older coins are now only accepted by the banks. But the currency remains the oldest one in the whole world that is still in use and is estimated to be about an impressive 1200 years.
The shard towers – One of the fun facts about London is that with some of the most iconic older buildings of the UK, the Shard Tower of London is currently Europe’s tallest building with a height of 1,150 feet. It is located near the London Bridge and was completed in 2012.
England fought the shortest war in history – The shortest war ever fought in the past is the Anglo-Zanzibar war and is one of the cool facts of England. On the 27 of august in 1896, the battle began at 9 am when five ships of the Royal Navy attacked the royal palace of Zanzibar. The war lasted between 38 to 45 minutes until the white flag was raised to surrender. In this war, around 500 people lost their lives, and only one British marine was injured.
The rolling cheese sports – One of the england fun facts is that during the springs, one of the weirdest sports that take place every year in Gloucestershire, the West of England, is the rolling cheese sports.
During this game, an 8 pound round double Gloucester cheese is rolled down from the top of cooper hill, and the participants are supposed to chase it down to the bottom. In this game, the participants are supposed to catch the cheese. But since it is impossible to do so, whoever crosses the finish line wins the cheese.
Birthplace of many famous scientists – with some of the best universities in the world like Oxford and Cambridge, many prominent politicians, novelists and scientists have graduated from these universities. The country is also the birthplace of many scientists who have had a significant impact on the globe. To name a few, they are Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and last but not least, Stephen hawking.
England is mostly flat – The fun fact about England is that most of the lands in England are flat, especially the southern region. The north has mountains under 1000 meters in elevation, and the highest point of the country is the Scafell Pike in Lake District national park, with an altitude of 978 meters above sea level.
The World Wide Web – The World Wide Web was invented by a British scientist, Tim Berners-Lee, in 1989 when he was working at CERN and is one of England’s interesting facts to know.
The House of Commons – No British monarch can set their foot in the House of Commons of the UK parliament. The rule dates back to 1642 when king Charles 1 stormed inside the House of Commons to arrest its five members but was unsuccessful, and since then, the monarch was banned from entering the parliament.
Where do they come from – The fun fact about London is that it is one of the cities having the highest cultural diversity globally. Around 25% of the inhabitants of London were born outside England.
Tea drinking – One of the facts about England is tea is the most famous drink among the Britishers. It is estimated that around 165 million cups of tea are consumed every single day by them.
Monument of Stonehenge – The monument of Stonehenge is considered one of the oldest and most mysterious man-made monuments of the world. It is believed that it was built over in 3,000 B.C. and is located near Salisbury of Somerset, south of England. It is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world and is England’s interesting fact to know.
The queen doesn’t have a passport : Queen Elizabeth 2 has visited over 100 countries on her official duties without any British passport. The reason behind this is that all the British passports are issued in the queen’s name while all the other members of the monarch, including the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess of Wales, have passports.
The public pays for BBC – One of the facts about England is the BBC, or a TV licensing fee pays for British Broadcasting Corporations in the UK. So every household in Britain that opts to watch TV has to pay 145 Euros annually for the license.
Golf, the gentleman’s game – Golf was invented in Scotland and traced back to 1457. However, King James II of Scotland had outlawed it for a while because it distracted the army’s training. The oldest golf course in the world is the old golf course at StAndrew’s Links in Fife, Scotland.
The Welsh town of Llanfairpwllgwyngll – The longest name of a city in the whole world is the gogercy chwyrndrolandysiliogogo goch and is hard to pronounce, making it the longest and the most challenging name of a town in the world.
Windsor castle – The oldest and the largest inhabited castle in the whole world is the Windsor castle. This castle has been in use since the 11th century. It is one of the official residences of the queen, and some areas of the castle are accessible to the public on tours.
The economy of the United Kingdom – Great Britain has a mixed economy. The country’s economy is considered the fifth largest in the world in terms of market exchange rates. But in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), it is regarded as the sixth-largest in the world.
British Empire the largest empire – Back in 1922, the British Empire was at its peak. About a quarter of the world’s population, along with a quarter of the earth’s total land area, was under its rule. Thus in the 20th century, the British Empire was considered the largest empire in the world.
Chicken tikka- the national dish – Originally from India, the chicken tikka masala is now considered one of its national dishes. This beautifully shows how Great Britain absorbs external influences smoothly.
Prince Charles and Prince William are forbidden from traveling on the same plane – Prince Charles and Prince Williams can never travel on the same plane and are forbidden to do so. The British royal protocol states that two heirs should never fly together on the same plane to protect the royal lineage.
The debtor’s prisons of England – During the 18th and 19th centuries, debtor’s prisons were ordinary and were exclusively for people who fell into debts and were unable to repay the owed money. It was a lucrative business too, and Charles Dickens’s father was one of the people who spent time in this debtor’s prison. Later Dickens wrote about these institutions immortalizing them in his literature.
Winchester was the first capital of the UK – The first capital of England during the 9th century was the ancient city of Winchester. Known as the Wintanceaster by Saxons, it was the capital city of the kingdom Wessex until the first monarch of Great Britain, King Athelstan, established a unified England.
Shakespeare influenced the English language – William Shakespeare, the world’s most celebrated playwright, approximately added around three thousand new words to the English language and shaped it into the modern language we know today.
French was once the official language – During the invasion of England by William Conqueror, a nobleman from Normandy in France in 1066, the official language of England was French for almost 300 years, starting from 1066 to 1362.
English kings like Richard the lionheart and Edward Longshanks spoke little to no English and spent most of their time in France. But 200 years later, Henry IV took the throne and was the first king of England who could fluently speak English.
The universal language – Roughly around 1 billion people can speak English, which counts to be one-seventh of the world. The greatest export of England is perhaps its language which has become the universal language due to the influence of the British regime and the global influence of America.
Bloodiest war of England- One of the facts of the United Kingdom is that with a reputation of a warrior race, England has fought countless wars for many centuries, including home and abroad. But the war that killed the highest proportion of English soldiers was the 17th-century English civil war.
All the war causalities on both sides were English, with the battle taking place on English soil. Around 85,000 soldiers died on the battlefield, with an addition of 100,000 mores due to the wounds. This war amounted to the death of one-tenth of all the English adult males of the country.
Conclusion
One of the most prominent countries and territories of the world, the United Kingdom, is the heart of Europe. The history of this kingdom is as old as 30,000 years old with so many emperors rule, which periodically got converted into a very civilized nation. The emperors of the United Kingdom also ruled down several other countries.
They formed many colonies of Great Britain in several regions worldwide, including North America and the sub-continent. The deep history of the United Kingdom is difficult to remember as it is ancient and complex. But the United Kingdom over ally has enjoyed a perfect time in history.
Faq’s
How far is england from usa ?
Its near about 7210 kms approx
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