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'''The United Kingdom''' ('''UK''') is a sovereign [[state]] north-west of mainland [[Europe]]. It comprises [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], which occupy the island of [[Great Britain]], and [[Northern Ireland]] on the island of [[Ireland]]. It attained its current identity in 1922 after most of Ireland was granted independence.<ref> The current official name 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' was not adopted until 1927, but its origins can be traced back at least to 1603, when England and Scotland came to be ruled by a single monarch. England and Scotland were formally united under a single parliament, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain, on 1 May 1707. Murdoch, Alexander, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/themes/96/96282.html England, Scotland, and the Acts of Union (1707)], Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, online edn, Oxford University Press, Jan 2007, accessed 1 May 2007</ref>

'''The United Kingdom''' ('''UK''') is a sovereign [[state]] north-west of mainland [[Europe]]. It comprises [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]], which occupy the island of [[Great Britain]], and [[Northern Ireland]] on the island of [[Ireland]]. It attained its current identity in 1922 after most of Ireland was granted independence.  

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Its current [[head of state]] is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith <ref>http://www.worldwhoswho.com/public/views/royal_families.html?country=UNITED_KINGDOM</ref> (often shortened to HM Queen [[Elizabeth II]]), and its [[head of government]] is the Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]].  

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. Its current [[head of state]] is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith <ref>http://www.worldwhoswho.com/public/views/royal_families.html?country=UNITED_KINGDOM</ref> (often shortened to HM Queen [[Elizabeth II]]), and its [[head of government]] is the Prime Minister [[Gordon Brown]].  

The United Kingdom has the fifth largest economy in the world, and is a member of the [[European Union]], [[NATO]] and the [[United Nations]]. The UK's values, culture and institutions were spread throughout many parts of the world during the period of the [[British Empire]], and the UK's contributions to world culture include the English language, the [[parliament|parliamentary]] form of government, the [[Church of England|Anglican]] (or Episcopalian) Church, a tradition of personal liberty, and the common-law legal system.

The United Kingdom has the fifth largest economy in the world, and is a member of the [[European Union]], [[NATO]] and the [[United Nations]]. British values, culture and institutions were spread throughout many parts of the world during the period of the [[British Empire]], 1600-1960, and British contributions to world culture include the English language, the [[parliament|parliamentary]] form of government, the [[Church of England|Anglican]] Church ("Church of England"), a tradition of personal liberty, and the common-law legal system.

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