United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or as Britain) is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. The largest island, Great Britain, is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.

It came to being in 1707, with the union between the Kingdom of Scotland to the North, and the Kingdom of England to the south - the Kingdoms of Wales being annexed by the English three centuries earlier. The Kingdom of Ireland - which had been an English crown dependency since 1659, joined in 1801. As of 1927, the majority of Ireland left to form its own republic.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and unitary state consisting of four countries: England, Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland. It is governed by a parlimentary system with its seat of government in London, the capital, but with three devolved national administrations in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinbrough, the capitals of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland respectively. The channel island bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey, and the Isle of Man are Crown Dependencies and are often not considered part of the UK, though they are treated as part of it for many purposes including nationality. The UK has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire, which at its height in 1922 encompassed almost a quarter of the world's land surface, the largest empire in history. British influence can continue to be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies.

The UK is a developed country, with the world's sixth largest economy by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity. It was the world's first industrialised country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries, but the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its leading role in global affairs. The UK nevertheless remains a major power with strong economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence. It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and has the third highest defence spending in the world.

Additional Information
Current Prime Minister - Gordon Brown of the UK Labour Party.

Current King/Queen - Queen Elizabeth ll.

National Anthem - God Save the Queen. Changes to God Save the King should the monarch be male.

Catterick Garrison - Catterick Garrison is the largest army garrison in Britain. Located in England, the garrison has a population of some 12,000. It is also said to be the largest in Europe.

Big Ben - Big Ben is the nickname given to the bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster. It has accumulated world wide fame as being a symbol of Great Britain.

HMS Victory - HMS Victory is the oldest naval ship still in commision with the British Navy. Today she acts as a sign of British patriotism and history.

Sir Winston Churchill - Known as the ultimate Brit, Winston Churchill held many positions within the British army, navy and government. He was the British Prime Minister during World War 2.

Operation Hurricane - Operation Hurricane was the first British nuclear weapons test in which a British device was detonated. It was a close copy of the American Fat Man design.

Sir Alexander Fleming - Alexander Fleming was a Scotish scientist who became world famous due to his descovery of the Antibiotic Penicillin.

NHS - The NHS is the National Health Service of the UK.

1908 Summer Olympics - Britain hosted the 1908 Summer Olympics within the newly constructed White City Stadium. They were also the winning team.

The London Eye - The London Eye (full name The Merlin Entertainments London Eye) also known as the Millennium Wheel is the largest Ferris wheel in Europe.

Britannia Monument - Located in Great Yarmouth, the monument plays tribute to the victories over the French and Spanish.

2012 Olympics - Great Britain is set to host the 2012 Olympics.

Flags of the four countries
The Flag of England is the St George's Cross. The red cross appeared as an emblem of England during the middle ages and the Crusades and is one of the earliest known emblems representing England. It achieved status as the national flag of England during the sixteenth century. Saint George became the patron saint of England in the thirteenth century, and the legend of Saint George slaying a dragon dates from the twelfth century.

The flag appeared during the Middle Ages. The first known recorded use of the St George's Cross as an emblem (but not as a flag) of England was in a roll of account relating to the Welsh War of 1275. The English royalist forces at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 used a red cross on their uniforms, to distinguish themselves from the white crosses used by the rebel barons at the Battle of Lewes a year earlier.

The Flag of Scotland is a white saltire, a crux decussate (X-shaped cross) representing the cross of the Christian martyr Saint Andrew, the Patron Saint of Scotland, on a blue field. It is named the Saltire or the St Andrew's Cross. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned Azure, a saltire argent.

According to legend, in 832 A.D. King Óengus (II) (or King Angus) led the Picts and Scots in battle against the Angles under a king named Athelstan near modern-day Athelstaneford in East Lothian. King Angus and his men were surrounded and he prayed for deliverance. During the night Saint Andrew, who was martyred on a saltire cross, appeared to Angus and assured him of victory. On the following morning a white saltire against the background of a blue sky appeared to both sides. The Picts and Scots were heartened by this, but the Angles lost confidence and were defeated. This saltire design has been the Scottish flag ever since.

The Flag of Wales is Y Ddraig Goch (English: The Red Dragon), consisting of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist.

The flag incorporates the red dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 after which it was carried in state to St. Paul's Cathedral. The red dragon was then included in the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959.

Northern Ireland has not had its own unique, government sanctioned flag since its government was prorogued in 1972, and abolished in 1973 under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973. During official events, the British government uses the Union Flag which is the official flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and is the only flag used by the government in Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Banner remains in use by Unionists, a number of sporting organisations in Northern Ireland and some local government authorities under Unionist control.

In Game
A British campaign currently appears in Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty: Finest Hour, Call of Duty 2, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty: World at War
Although initially it was thought there was no British campaign in World At War, the discovery of code within the game showing British weapons hinted one had been planned but dropped last minute.