5. The UK

5. The United Kingdom

The full official name of the state is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther Ireland. The UK is a country located on the British Isles between the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of continental Europe. There are also smaller islands Hebrides, Orkneys Shetlands and Isle of Man. These islands are surrounded by Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, between there is Ireland Sea and English Channel. The UK is part of Europe but separated from France by English Channel. The population of the UK is over 60 million people. It is six times more than the CR.

The UK is made up of 4 parts: Wales (Cardiff, St. David, daffodil), Scotland (Edinburgh, St. Andrew, thistle), England (London, St. George, red rose) and Northern Ireland (Belfast, St. Patrick, shamrock). London is the capital city of the UK and England and it is the biggest city.

The main language spoken is English, but there are lots of regional dialects (accents) across the country. Gaelic is spoken in some areas of Scotland, and Welsh is the second language spoken in Welsh.

The climate is mild, summers are not very hot and winters are not very cold which is caused by the warm Gulf Stream. The weather in Britain is changeable.

Now, I would like to speak about the surface of the country.

The north and north west of the country are more mountainous, the highest mountains are in Wales and Scotland: The Scottish Highlands with Ben Nevis. It is over 1 thousand meters high. The Cambrian Mountains in Wales with its highest peak Snowdon. It has also over one thousand meters high.
The Pennines are called the backbone of England. They occupy the central part of northern England. The longest river is the River Severn, flowing through Wales and England. The second longest is the River Thames, flowing through London.

It is constitutional monarchy. A constitutional monarchy is a democracy where the king or queen is the official head of state, but the parliament has real power. Queen can’t cote but she has a ceremonial role in the UK government. She opens Parliament every year and having weekly meetings with Prime Minister. Her other duties include taking diplomatic trips, meeting other heads of state, giving awards to citizen, hosting parties and doing charitable work. The head of country is Queen Elizabeth II. She is represent by Prime Minister Theresa May. The seat of Prime Minister is Downing Street no. 10 in London. Governor consists of 3 branches, Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. The parliament has two houses, The House of Lords and The House of Commons. The seat of the parliament is the Palace of Westminster known as The Houses of Parliament. There are two political parties: the Conservative Party (right wing) and the Labour Party (left wing).

The British flag is known as the Union Jack represents the three kingdoms of the UK. The red cross of St. George, The diagonal white cross of St. Andrew and The diagonal red cross of St. Patrick. The crosses are on a blue background.
The national Anthem is called God save the Queen.
The national currency is British pound.