The 

territorial evolution of the British Empire is considered to have begun with the
foundation of the English colonial empire in the late 16th century. Since then, many territories
around the world have been under the control of the United Kingdom or its predecessor
states. When the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed in 1707 by the union of the Kingdom
of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, the latter country's colonial possessions passed to
the new state. Similarly, when Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland in 1801 to
form the United Kingdom, control over its colonial possessions passed to the latter state.
Collectively, these territories are referred to as the British Empire. Upon much of Ireland
gaining independence in 1922 as the Irish Free State, the other territories of the empire
remained under the control of the United Kingdom.
From 1714 to 1837 the British throne was held by a series of kings who were also the rulers
of the German state of Hanover. However, this was purely a personal union, with Hanover
maintaining its political independence otherwise, and so it is not usually considered to have
formed part of the British Empire.
The nature of the territories (and peoples) ruled as part of the British Empire varied
enormously. In legal terms the territories included those formally under the sovereignty of the
British monarch (who held the additional title of Emperor (or Empress) of India from 1876 to
1947); various "foreign" territories controlled as protectorates; territories transferred to British
administration under the authority of the League of Nations or the United Nations; and
miscellaneous other territories, such as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium with
Egypt. No uniform system of government was applied to any of these.
A number of countries (dominions) within the British Empire gained independence in stages
during the earlier part of the 20th century. Much of the rest of the empire was dismantled in
the twenty years following the end of the Second World War, starting with the independence
of India and Pakistan in 1947, and continued until the handover of Hong Kong to China in
1997. There remain, however, 14 global territories which remain under the jurisdiction and
sovereignty of the United Kingdom.
Many of the former territories of the British Empire are members of the Commonwealth of
Nations. Fourteen of these (known, with the United Kingdom, as the 15 Commonwealth
realms) retain the British monarch (currently Queen Elizabeth II) as head of state. The British
monarch is also Head of the Commonwealth, but this is a purely symbolic and personal title;
members of the Commonwealth (including the Commonwealth realms) are fully sovereign
states.