United Kingdom

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
  - The highland zone
  - The lowland zone
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
- Demographic trends
  - Population growth
  - Migration patterns
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
  - Agriculture
  - Forestry
  - Fishing
- Resources and power
  - Minerals
  - Energy
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labour and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Regional government
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
  - The National Health Service
  - Cash benefits
- Housing
- Education
  - Primary and secondary education
  - Private schools
  - Higher education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
  - Newspapers
  - Broadcasting
History
- Ancient Britain
  - Pre-Roman Britain
    - Neolithic Period
    - Bronze Age
    - Iron Age
  - Roman Britain
    - The conquest
    - Condition of the province
      Army and frontier
      Administration
    - Roman society
      Economy
      Towns
      Villas
      Religion and culture
    - The decline of Roman rule
- Anglo-Saxon England
  - The invaders and their early settlements
    - The social system
    - The conversion to Christianity
    - The golden age of Bede
  - The heptarchy
    - The supremacy of Northumbria and the rise of Mercia
    - The great age of Mercia
    - The church and scholarship in Offa’s time
    - The decline of Mercia and the rise of Wessex
  - The period of the Scandinavian invasions
    - Viking invasions and settlements
    - Alfred’s government and his revival of learning
  - The achievement of political unity
    - The reconquest of the Danelaw
    - The kingdom of England
    - The church and the monastic revival
  - The Anglo-Danish state
    - The Danish conquest and the reigns of the Danish kings
    - The reign of Edward the Confessor and the Norman Conquest
- The Normans (1066–1154)
  - William I (1066–87)
    - Resistance and rebellion
    - The introduction of feudalism
    - Government and justice
    - Church–state relations
    - William’s accomplishments
  - The sons of William I
    - William II Rufus (1087–1100)
    - Henry I (1100–35)
  - The period of anarchy (1135–54)
    - Matilda and Stephen
    - Civil war
  - England in the Norman period
- The early Plantagenets
  - Henry II (1154–89)
    - Government of England
    - Struggle with Thomas Becket
    - Rebellion of Henry’s sons and Eleanor of Aquitaine
  - Richard I (1189–99)
  - John (1199–1216)
    - Loss of French possessions
    - Struggle with the papacy
    - Revolt of the barons and Magna Carta
    - Economy and society
- The 13th century
  - Henry III (1216–72)
    - Minority
    - Early reign
    - The county communities
    - Simon de Montfort and the Barons’ War
    - Later reign
  - Edward I (1272–1307)
    - Law and government
    - Finance
    - The growth of Parliament
    - Edward’s wars
    - Domestic difficulties
  - Social, economic, and cultural change
- The 14th century
  - Edward II (1307–27)
  - Edward III (1327–77)
    - The Hundred Years’ War to 1360
    - Domestic achievements
    - Law and order
    - The crises of Edward’s later years
  - Richard II (1377–99)
    - The Peasants’ Revolt (1381)
    - John Wycliffe
    - Political struggles and Richard’s deposition
  - Economic crisis and cultural change
- Lancaster and York
  - Henry IV (1399–1413)
    - The rebellions
    - Henry and Parliament
  - Henry V (1413–22)
    - The French war
    - Domestic affairs
  - Henry VI (1422–61 and 1470–71)
    - Domestic rivalries and the loss of France
    - Cade’s rebellion
    - The beginning of the Wars of the Roses
  - Edward IV (1461–70 and 1471–83)
  - Richard III (1483–85)
  - England in the 15th century
- England under the Tudors
  - Henry VII (1485–1509)
    - Economy and society
    - Dynastic threats
    - Financial policy
    - The administration of justice
  - Henry VIII (1509–47)
    - Cardinal Wolsey
    - The king’s “Great Matter”
    - The Reformation background
    - The break with Rome
    - The consolidation of the Reformation
    - The expansion of the English state
    - Henry’s last years
  - Edward VI (1547–53)
  - Mary I (1553–58)
  - Elizabeth I (1558–1603)
    - The Tudor ideal of government
    - Elizabethan society
    - Mary, Queen of Scots
    - The clash with Spain
    - Internal discontent
- The early Stuarts and the Commonwealth
  - England in 1603
    - Economy and society
    - Government and society
  - James I (1603–25)
    - Triple monarchy
    - Religious policy
    - Finance and politics
    - Factions and favourites
  - Charles I (1625–49)
    - The politics of war
    - Peace and reform
    - Religious reform
    - The Long Parliament
    - Civil war and revolution
    - Commonwealth and Protectorate
- The later Stuarts
  - Charles II (1660–85)
    - The Restoration
    - War and government
    - The Popish Plot
    - The exclusion crisis and the Tory reaction
  - James II (1685–88)
    - Church and king
    - The Revolution of 1688
  - William III (1689–1702) and Mary II (1689–94)
    - The revolution settlement
    - A new society
    - The sinews of war
  - Anne (1702–14)
    - Whigs and Tories
    - Tories and Jacobites
- 18th-century Britain, 1714–1815
  - The state of Britain in 1714
  - Britain from 1715 to 1742
    - The supremacy of the Whigs
    - Robert Walpole
      George II and Walpole
      Foreign policy
      Religious policy
      Economic policies
    - The electoral system
    - Walpole’s loss of power
  - Britain from 1742 to 1754
    - The Jacobite rebellion
    - The rule of the Pelhams
    - Domestic reforms
  - British society by the mid-18th century
    - Joseph Massie’s categories
    - Urban development
    - Change and continuity
    - The revolution in communications
  - Britain from 1754 to 1783
    - Conflict abroad
    - Political instability in Britain
    - The American Revolution
    - Domestic responses to the American Revolution
  - Britain from 1783 to 1815
    - William Pitt the Younger
    - Economic growth and prosperity
    - The Industrial Revolution
    - Britain during the French Revolution
    - The Napoleonic Wars
    - Imperial expansion
- Great Britain, 1815–1914
  - Britain after the Napoleonic Wars
    - State and society
    - The political situation
  - Early and mid-Victorian Britain
    - State and society
    - The political situation
      Whig reforms
      Chartism and the Anti-Corn Law League
      Peel and the Peelite heritage
      Palmerston
      Gladstone and Disraeli
    - Economy and society
    - Cultural change
      The development of private life
      Religion
      Leisure
  - Late Victorian Britain
    - State and society
    - The political situation
      Gladstone and Chamberlain
      The Irish question
      Split of the Liberal Party
      Imperialism and British politics
      The return of the Liberals
      The international crisis
    - Economy and society
    - Family and gender
    - Mass culture
- Britain from 1914 to the present
  - The political situation
    - World War I
      The Asquith coalition
      Lloyd George
    - Between the wars
      The election of 1918
      Harsh peace and hard times
      Ireland and the return of the Conservatives
      The Baldwin era
      Baldwin and the abdication crisis
      Foreign policy and appeasement
    - World War II
      The phases of war
      Political developments
    - Britain since 1945
      Labour and the welfare state (1945–51)
      Economic crisis and relief (1947)
      Withdrawal from the empire
      Conservative government (1951–64)
      Labour interlude (1964–70)
      The return of the Conservatives (1970–74)
      Labour back in power (1974–79)
      The Margaret Thatcher government (1979–90)
      The Falkland Islands War, the 1983 election, and privatization
      Racial discrimination and the 1981 England riots
      The 2001 England riots
      The “Troubles” in Northern Ireland
      “Thatcherism”
      The government of John Major (1990–97)
      “Black Wednesday,” epidemic scandals, and Major’s “Citizens Charter”
      “Mad cow disease”
      The Tony Blair government (1997–2007)
      The struggle for control of Labour
      New Labour, the repeal of Clause IV, and the “third way”
      Navigating the European monetary system and the EU Social Chapter
      The Good Friday Agreement
      London’s local government, House of Lords reform, and devolution for Scotland and Wales
      The royal family’s “annus horribilis,” the death of Princess Diana, and the Millennium Dome
      The battle for the soul of the Conservative Party
      Response to the September 11 attacks
      Weapons of mass destruction and the Iraq War
      The Gordon Brown government (2007–10)
      Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition rule (2010–15)
      The U.K. general election of 2010
      First-past-the-post referendum
      Intervention in Libya
      News of the World hacking scandal
      The 2011 riots, the European sovereign debt crisis, and Cameron’s veto of changes to the Lisbon Treaty
      The 2012 London Olympics, Julian Assange’s embassy refuge, and the emergence of UKIP
      The birth of George, rejection of intervention in Syria, and regulation of GCHQ
      Euroskepticism
      Scottish independence referendum
      Economic recovery
      David Cameron on his own (2015–16)
      The U.K. general election of 2015
      The “Brexit” referendum
      The premiership of Theresa May (2016–19)
      The resignation of Cameron, the rise of May, and a challenge to Corbyn’s leadership of Labour
      Triggering Article 50
      The Manchester arena bombing and London bridge attacks
      The snap election campaign
      The 2017 U.K. general election
      The Grenfell Tower fire, a novichok attack in Salisbury, and air strikes on Syria
      The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Chequers plan, and Boris Johnson’s resignation
      EU agreement and Parliamentary opposition to May’s Brexit plan
      Objections to the Irish backstop and a challenge to May’s leadership
      Parliamentary rejection of May’s plan, May’s survival of a confidence vote, and the Independent Group of breakaway MPs
      Parliament rejects May’s plan again
      “Indicative votes,” May’s pledge to resign, a third defeat for her plan, and a new deadline
      The Boris Johnson government
      Boris Johnson’s ascent, the December 2019 snap election, and Brexit
      The coronavirus pandemic
      “Partygate”
      Further scandal and Johnson’s resignation
      The premiership of Liz Truss
      Ascent to office
      The death of Elizabeth II
      Abrupt resignation
      The premiership of Rishi Sunak
  - Society, state, and economy
    - State and society
    - Economy and society
    - Family and gender
    - Mass culture
Sovereigns of Britain
Prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map of the United Kingdom highlighting current political boundaries and subdivisions for Scotland, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The map shows administrative counties, unitary authorities, metropolitan counties, and other local authorities, with major cities and numbered subdivisions labeled in each country. Insets display the Channel Islands, Shetland Islands, and a locator map for geographic context. Lists of numbered subdivisions for each UK country are included around the map.

Map of northwestern Europe with the United Kingdom highlighted in orange, showing its location relative to neighboring countries such as Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland. The map also labels major bodies of water including the Atlantic Ocean, North Sea, and English Channel, and marks London with a star.

Map showing the islands of the British Isles with labeled outlines distinguishing the terms British Isles (red), Great Britain (purple), Ireland (green), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (blue). The map highlights the locations of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

At a Glance

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland summary

Sovereigns of Britain

United Kingdom

Also known as: Britain, Great Britain, U.K., United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(Show More)

Written by

Asa BriggsAll

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

The table provides a chronological list of the sovereigns of Britain.

Sovereigns of Britain
Kings of Wessex (West Saxons)
	name	dynasty or house	reign
¹Athelstan was king of Wessex and the first king of all England.
²James VI of Scotland became also James I of England in 1603. Upon accession to the English throne, he styled himself "King of Great Britain" and was so proclaimed. Legally, however, he and his successors held separate English and Scottish kingships until the Act of Union of 1707, when the two kingdoms were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain.
³The United Kingdom was formed on January 1, 1801, with the union of Great Britain and Ireland. After 1801 George III was styled "King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland."
⁴Oliver and Richard Cromwell served as lords protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland during the republican Commonwealth.
⁵William and Mary, as husband and wife, reigned jointly until Mary's death in 1694. William then reigned alone until his own death in 1702.
⁶George IV was regent from February 5, 1811.
⁷In 1917, during World War I, George V changed the name of his house from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor.
⁸Edward VIII succeeded upon the death of his father, George V, on January 20, 1936, but abdicated on December 11, 1936, before coronation.
	Egbert	Saxon	802–839
	Aethelwulf (Ethelwulf)	Saxon	839–856/858
	Aethelbald (Ethelbald)	Saxon	855/856–860
	Aethelberht (Ethelbert)	Saxon	860–865/866
	Aethelred I (Ethelred)	Saxon	865/866–871
	Alfred the Great	Saxon	871–899
	Edward the Elder	Saxon	899–924
Sovereigns of England
	name	dynasty or house	reign
	Athelstan¹	Saxon	925–939
	Edmund I	Saxon	939–946
	Eadred (Edred)	Saxon	946–955
	Eadwig (Edwy)	Saxon	955–959
	Edgar	Saxon	959–975
	Edward the Martyr	Saxon	975–978
	Ethelred II the Unready (Aethelred)	Saxon	978–1013
	Sweyn Forkbeard	Danish	1013–14
	Ethelred II the Unready (restored)	Saxon	1014–16
	Edmund II Ironside	Saxon	1016
	Canute	Danish	1016–35
	Harold I Harefoot	Danish	1035–40
	Hardecanute	Danish	1040–42
	Edward the Confessor	Saxon	1042–66
	Harold II	Saxon	1066
	William I the Conqueror	Norman	1066–87
	William II	Norman	1087–1100
	Henry I	Norman	1100–35
	Stephen	Blois	1135–54
	Henry II	Plantagenet	1154–89
	Richard I	Plantagenet	1189–99
	John	Plantagenet	1199–1216
	Henry III	Plantagenet	1216–72
	Edward I	Plantagenet	1272–1307
	Edward II	Plantagenet	1307–27
	Edward III	Plantagenet	1327–77
	Richard II	Plantagenet	1377–99
	Henry IV	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1399–1413
	Henry V	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1413–22
	Henry VI	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1422–61
	Edward IV	Plantagenet: York	1461–70
	Henry VI (restored)	Plantagenet: Lancaster	1470–71
	Edward IV (restored)	Plantagenet: York	1471–83
	Edward V	Plantagenet: York	1483
	Richard III	Plantagenet: York	1483–85
	Henry VII	Tudor	1485–1509
	Henry VIII	Tudor	1509–47
	Edward VI	Tudor	1547–53
	Mary I	Tudor	1553–58
	Elizabeth I	Tudor	1558–1603
Sovereigns of Great Britain and the United Kingdom^{2, 3}
	name	dynasty or house	reign
	James I (VI of Scotland)²	Stuart	1603–25
	Charles I	Stuart	1625–49
	Commonwealth (1653–59)
	Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector⁴		1653–58
	Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector⁴		1658–59
	Charles II	Stuart	1660–85
	James II	Stuart	1685–88
	William III and Mary II⁵	Orange/Stuart	1689–1702
	Anne	Stuart	1702–14
	George I	Hanover	1714–27
	George II	Hanover	1727–60
	George III³	Hanover	1760–1820
	George IV⁶	Hanover	1820–30
	William IV	Hanover	1830–37
	Victoria	Hanover	1837–1901
	Edward VII	Saxe-Coburg-Gotha	1901–10
	George V⁷	Windsor	1910–36
	Edward VIII⁸	Windsor	1936
	George VI	Windsor	1936–52
	Elizabeth II	Windsor	1952–2022
	Charles III	Windsor	2022–

Prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom

The table provides a chronological list of the prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom.

Prime ministers of Great Britain and the United Kingdom*
	name	party**	term
The origin of the term prime minister* and the question of to whom it should originally be applied have long been issues of scholarly and political debate. Although the term was used as early as the reign of Queen Anne (1702–14), it acquired wider currency during the reign of George II (1727–60), when it began to be used as a term of reproach toward Sir Robert Walpole. The title of prime minister did not become official until 1905, to refer to the leader of a government.
**Before the development of the Conservative and Liberal parties in the mid-19th century, parties in Britain were largely simply alliances of prominent groups or aristocratic families. The designations Whig and Tory tend often to be approximate. In all cases, the party designation is that of the prime minister; he might lead a coalition government, as did David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill (in his first term).
	Robert Walpole (from 1725, Sir Robert Walpole; from 1742, earl of Orford)	Whig	1721–42
	Spencer Compton, earl of Wilmington	Whig	1742–43
	Henry Pelham	Whig	1743–54
	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st duke of Newcastle (1st time)	Whig	1754–56
	William Cavendish, 4th duke of Devonshire	Whig	1756–57
	Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st duke of Newcastle (2nd time)	Whig	1757–62
	John Stuart, 3rd earl of Bute		1762–63
	George Grenville		1763–65
	Charles Watson Wentworth, 2nd marquess of Rockingham (1st time)	Whig	1765–66
	William Pitt, 1st earl of Chatham		1766–68
	Augustus Henry Fitzroy, 3rd duke of Grafton		1768–70
	Frederick North, Lord North (from 1790, 2nd earl of Guilford)		1770–82
	Charles Watson Wentworth, 2nd marquess of Rockingham (2nd time)	Whig	1782
	William Petty-Fitzmaurice, 2nd earl of Shelburne (from 1784, 1st marquess of Lansdowne)		1782–83
	William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd duke of Portland (1st time)	Whig	1783
	William Pitt, the Younger (1st time)	Tory	1783–1801
	Henry Addington (from 1805, 1st Viscount Sidmouth)	Tory	1801–04
	William Pitt, the Younger (2nd time)	Tory	1804–06
	William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville		1806–07
	William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd duke of Portland (2nd time)	Whig	1807–09
	Spencer Perceval	Tory	1809–12
	Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd earl of Liverpool	Tory	1812–27
	George Canning	Tory	1827
	Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich (from 1833, 1st earl of Ripon)	Tory	1827–28
	Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington (1st time)	Tory	1828–30
	Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey	Whig	1830–34
	William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (1st time)	Whig	1834
	Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington (2nd time)	Tory	1834
	Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (1st time)	Tory	1834–35
	William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne (2nd time)	Whig	1835–41
	Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet (2nd time)	Conservative	1841–46
	John Russell, Lord Russell (from 1861, 1st Earl Russell) (1st time)	Whig-Liberal	1846–52
	Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th earl of Derby (1st time)	Conservative	1852
	George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th earl of Aberdeen		1852–55
	Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (1st time)	Liberal	1855–58
	Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th earl of Derby (2nd time)	Conservative	1858–59
	Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (2nd time)	Liberal	1859–65
	John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (2nd time)	Liberal	1865–66
	Edward Geoffrey Stanley, 14th earl of Derby (3rd time)	Conservative	1866–68
	Benjamin Disraeli (1st time)	Conservative	1868
	William Ewart Gladstone (1st time)	Liberal	1868–74
	Benjamin Disraeli, (from 1876, earl of Beaconsfield) (2nd time)	Conservative	1874–80
	William Ewart Gladstone (2nd time)	Liberal	1880–85
	Robert Cecil, 3rd marquess of Salisbury (1st time)	Conservative	1885–86
	William Ewart Gladstone (3rd time)	Liberal	1886
	Robert Cecil, 3rd marquess of Salisbury (2nd time)	Conservative	1886–92
	William Ewart Gladstone (4th time)	Liberal	1892–94
	Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th earl of Rosebery	Liberal	1894–95
	Robert Cecil, 3rd marquess of Salisbury (3rd time)	Conservative	1895–1902
	Arthur James Balfour, (from 1922, 1st earl of Balfour)	Conservative	1902–05
	Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman	Liberal	1905–08
	H.H. Asquith, (from 1925, 1st earl of Oxford and Asquith)	Liberal	1908–16
	David Lloyd George, (from 1945, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor)	Liberal	1916–22
	Bonar Law	Conservative	1922–23
	Stanley Baldwin (1st time)	Conservative	1923–24
	Ramsay Macdonald (1st time)	Labour	1924
	Stanley Baldwin (2nd time)	Conservative	1924–29
	Ramsay Macdonald (2nd time)	Labour	1929–35
	Stanley Baldwin, (from 1937, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley) (3rd time)	Conservative	1935–37
	Neville Chamberlain	Conservative	1937–40
	Winston Churchill (1st time)	Conservative	1940–45
	Clement Attlee, (from 1955, 1st Earl Attlee)	Labour	1945–51
	Winston Churchill, (from 1953, Sir Winston Churchill) (2nd time)	Conservative	1951–55
	Sir Anthony Eden, (from 1961, 1st earl of Avon)	Conservative	1955–57
	Harold Macmillan, (from 1984, 1st earl of Stockton)	Conservative	1957–63
	Sir Alec Douglas-Home, (until 1963, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, 14th earl of Home; from 1974, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home)	Conservative	1963–64
	Harold Wilson (1st time)	Labour	1964–70
	Edward Heath	Conservative	1970–74
	Harold Wilson, (from 1976, Sir Harold Wilson) (2nd time)	Labour	1974–76
	James Callaghan	Labour	1976–79
	Margaret Thatcher	Conservative	1979–90
	John Major	Conservative	1990–97
	Tony Blair	Labour	1997–2007
	Gordon Brown	Labour	2007–10
	David Cameron	Conservative	2010–16
	Theresa May	Conservative	2016–19
	Boris Johnson	Conservative	2019–22
	Liz Truss	Conservative	2022
	Rishi Sunak	Conservative	2022–24
	Keir Starmer	Labour	2024–