The UK

one country, four nations and their symbols

 the British Isles
• two big islands –
Great Britain and
Ireland
+
• a plenty of smaller
islands (Orkney,
Shetland, Isle of
Man, Channel
Islands, etc.).
 the British Isles
• consist of
two independent states
– the UK (=the United
Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland)
– the Republic of Ireland
plus the Crown Dependencies
the Isle of Man
the Channel Islands
the United Kingdom
• is a union of 4 nations

– England, Scotland and

Wales – situated on the
island of Great Britain,
– Northern Ireland - located
on the island of Ireland.
 The Crown Dependencies :
the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
• belong to the British Crown
- possessions of the British
Monarch, though they are
not part of the UK
• own government,
Parliament, tax system and
police force
• the sovereign - the British
monarch, represented by the
Lieutenant Governor in the
absence of the Queen.
 the symbols of the UK
• the Union Jack
– is in fact a union of three flags
– The English flag is a red cross on
a white ground – known as
Saint George’s Cross
– the Scottish flag a white
diagonal cross on a blue field –
Saint Andrew’s Cross
– the old flag of the former
united Ireland - a diagonal red
cross on a white background -
the Cross of Saint Patrick
– The Welsh flag does not appear
on the Union Jack because by
the time the first version of the
flag was designed in 1606, after
the union of the English and the
Scottish crowns, Wales had
already belonged to England.
the symbols of the UK
• the anthem, is currently
entitled God Save the
Queen

• It has been the national

anthem of the UK since
the early 19th century.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk
 England
• patron saint is Saint
George- often depicted as a
dragon slayer.
• John Bull - another figure
representing the country
• the national plant is the
rose.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o9rLDCfO6o

• the traditional heraldic

symbol of the country,
appearing also on the coat
of arms of the UK, is the
lion.
 Scotland
• the patron saint is one of the 12
apostles of Jesus Christ, Saint
Andrew.
• the national plant is the thistle,
the symbol of defence.
• the famous skirt worn by man,
the kilt, is another symbol of the
Scots.
• the instrument most frequently
associated with Scotland is the
bagpipes

• the heraldic symbol is the

unicorn. (This mythological animal,
a white horse with a goat’s beard and
a pointed horn, represents Scotland
on the coat of arms of the UK)
 Wales
• Its patron saint, St. David
- a Celtic monk, who
spread Christianity across
the country in the 6th
century.

• two national plants, the

leek and the daffodil.
Northern Ireland - Ulster
• The patron saint, St Patrick -
he brought Christianity to
the island, to explain the
meaning of the Holy Trinity
to the Irish pagans he used a
shamrock – it is the national
plant.
• The third symbol, the harp,
has nothing to do with St
Patrick.
• Its most unique symbol is
the red hand