Portal:United Kingdom.html

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (usually shortened to the United Kingdom, the UK or - informally - Britain) is a country and sovereign state that lies to the north-west of the continent of Europe. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain and the north-east part of the island of Ireland, sharing a land border with the Republic of Ireland. The United Kingdom is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean, and its ancillary bodies of water, including the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea, St George's Channel, and the Irish Sea. It is linked to France and Continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy composed of four constituent countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who is also the Queen and Head of State of fifteen other Commonwealth Realms, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. The Crown Dependencies of the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man form a federacy with the United Kingdom collectively known as the British Islands. The UK also has fourteen overseas territories, all remnants of the British Empire which at its height encompassed a quarter of the world's surface and population.

Although Britain was the foremost great power during the 19th century, and a superpower in the early 20th century, the economic cost of two world wars and the decline of its empire in the latter half of the 20th century diminished its status in global affairs. However, as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a nuclear power, a member of the G8, the world's fifth largest economy, and having the third highest defence spending, the UK remains an important political, economic and military world power. It is a member of the European Union and the Commonwealth of Nations.

Oriel College is the fifth-oldest of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Oriel has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford, a title formerly claimed by University College, whose claim of being founded by King Alfred is no longer promoted. The original medieval foundation set up by Adam de Brome, under the patronage of Edward II, was called the House of the Blessed Mary at Oxford. The first design allowed for a Provost and ten Fellows, called 'scholars', and the College remained a small body of graduate Fellows until the sixteenth century, when it started to admit undergraduates. During the English Civil War, Oriel played host to high-ranking members of the King's Oxford Parliament. The College has nearly 40 Fellows, about 300 undergraduates and some 160 graduates, the student body having roughly equal numbers of men and women. Oriel's notable alumni include two Nobel laureates; prominent Fellows have included John Keble and John Henry Newman, founders of the Oxford Movement. As of 2003, the college's estimated financial endowment is £63.5m. (more...)

Elias Ashmole (23 May 1617–18 May 1692), the celebrated English antiquary, was a politician, officer of arms, student of astrology and alchemy, and an early speculative Freemason. He supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he was rewarded with several lucrative offices. Throughout his life he was an avid collector of curiosities and other artifacts. Many of these he acquired from the traveller, botanist, and collector John Tradescant the younger, and most he donated to Oxford University to create the Ashmolean Museum. He also donated his library and priceless manuscript collection to Oxford. (more...)

• ... that the Banc Ty'nddôl sun-disc (pictured), a gold ornament discovered at Cwmystwyth, is over 4,000 years old, making it the earliest gold artifact discovered in Wales?
• ... that the force-feeding of suffragette, arsonist and hunger-striker Lilian Lenton caused food to enter her lungs and led to public outrage?
• ... that David Morrissey gained 2 stone (13 kg) for his role as Gordon Brown in The Deal?

The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) conduct their sittings. The Palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the London borough of the City of Westminster.

• November 19: UK football club criticized by council for attempting to trademark city's bird
• November 18: BBC's famous 'Top of the Pops' programme to be axed
• November 15: Scotland denies bail to terminally ill man convicted of Lockerbie bombing
• November 15: Scotland's First Minister does comedy sketch for charity
• November 13: Wikinews Shorts: November 13, 2008

United Kingdom

• UK geography
• UK subdivisions
• British Government

Area based (Subdivisions) Projects

• England
• Scotland
• Derbyshire
• Greater Manchester
• London
• Sheffield
• Yorkshire
• West Midlands

Subject Specific Projects

• Baronetcies
• Clans of Scotland
• Cricket
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld
• Football Clubs
• Sherlock Holmes
• British military history
• Peerage