what do you know about great britain





the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland lies at the northwestern edge of europe, separated from the european mainland by the english channel, the north sea, and the narrow strait of dover. it consists of the formerly separate kingdoms of england and scotland and the principality of waleswhich are collectively referred to as great britainand the six counties of northern ireland, which elected to remain within the united kingdom in 1921 when southern ireland withdrew to form the irish free state after 1949, the republic of ireland, or eire. the loss of ireland and its withdrawal from the commonwealth of nations in 1949 rendered politically obsolete the use of the collective term british isles. other integral parts of the united kingdom are the outlying hebrides, orkney islands, and shetland islands, off the coast of scotland anglesey see gwynedd, off the coast of wales and the isle of w...