Discovering UNITED

KINGDOM

United Kingdom

United Kingdom is full of culture and traditions which have existed

for hundreds of years.
British customs and traditions are famous all over the world.
When people think of United Kingdom they often think of:
People drinking tea,
Eating fish and chips and
Wearing hats, but ..
However there are more things to know about the UK.

United Kingdom
There are several symbols that identify United Kingdom:
The

three national symbols: Saint Georges flag (the England flag), the
red rose and the three lions crest.

The

royal family: Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and Prince William.

Royal

Guards: Life Guard, Foot Guard and Beefeater.

On

the street: Red double Decker buses, Black taxi cabs, Pillar Box (Post
box) and Red telephone box.

Monuments:
Education:
Food

Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, castles, London Eye and pubs.

Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh Universities.

and drinks: Fish and Chips, a cup of tea and a pint of beer.

 The

royal family: Queen Elizabeth,

Prince Charles and Prince William.

 Royal

Guards: Life Guard, Foot Guard

and Beefeater.

 On

the street: Red double Decker

buses, Black taxi cabs, Pillar Box
(Post box) and Red telephone box.

 Monuments:

Buckingham Palace, Big

Ben, castles, London Eye and pubs.

 Education:

Oxford, Cambridge and

Edinburgh Universities.

 Food

and drinks: Fish and Chips, a

cup of tea and a pint of beer.

Culture

The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the

patterns of human activity and symbolism associated
with the British people and the United Kingdom.

It is informed by the UK's history as a developed

island country, monarchy, imperial power and,
particularly, as consisting of four countriesEngland,
Northern Ireland, Scotland and Waleswhich each
have their own preserved and distinctive customs
and symbolism.

Popular culture of the United Kingdom has impacted

upon the world in the form of the British invasion,
Britpop and British television broadcasting. British
literature and British poetry, particularly that of
William Shakespeare, is revered across the world.

The royal family (The

Monarchy)
The

present monarch, Elizabeth II, has reigned since 6

February 1952.

Queen

Elizabeth II is a constitutional monarch. This means

that although she is the head of the state, the country is
actually run by the government, led by the Prime Minister (
The current Prime Minister is David Cameroun) .

He

Majesty the Queens title in the United Kingdom is:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The

Prince of Wales, Prince Charles eldest son of Queen

Elizabeth II is heir Apparent to the Throne.

Royal Guards
The

Queens Guard are responsible for guarding Buckingham palace and

St.Jamess Palace in London.

They

usually consist of Foot Guards (Guard on Foot ) wearing uniforms of

red tunics and bearskins (hats).

When

the Queen is in residence, there are four Foot Guards at the front of
the Palace, when she is away there are two.

The

bearskins hats measure 45.7cm and they are made of real bearskins
from Canadian brown bears.

They

were originally used to appear taller and more intimidating in wars.

Traditionally

the Queen's Guards are not allowed to move but they are
not expected to stand still for more than ten minutes. Every so often,
they march up and down in front of their sentry box.

Currency

The pound sterling, often simply called the pound, is the

currency of the United Kingdom.

1 pound is actually subdivided into 100 pence (singular: 1

penny or 1 pence).

Its symbol is: .

Today, 1 GBP is 13.64 Moroccan Dirham.

The flag

The union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the

national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.

The current design dates from the Union of Great Britain

and Ireland in 1801.

The welsh flag is not represented in the Union Jack.

Because when the first union Flag was created in 1606,
Wales was already united with England from the 13th
Century. This meant that Wales was a Principality and
not a Kingdom and as such could not be included.

The flag and countries in

UK

Religion

The United Kingdom was created as a Protestant Christian

country and Protestant churches remain the largest faith
group in each country of the UK.

The Anglican Church of England, is the Established Church

in England. The Queen is Supreme Governor of the Church
of England.

The Presbyterian Church of Scotland is regarded as the

national church in Scotland.

The Anglican Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920.

The Anglican Church of Ireland was disestablished in 1871.

Other religions followed in the UK include Roman

Catholicism, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, and
Buddhism.

Architecture

The architecture of the United Kingdom has a long

and diverse history from beyond Stonehenge to the
designs of Norman Foster and the present day.

The earliest remnants of architecture are mainly

neolithic monuments.

Over the two centuries following the Norman

conquest of 1066, and the building of the Tower of
London, many great castles such as Caernarfon
Castle in Wales and Carrickfergus Castle in Ireland
were built to suppress the natives.

Architecture

British Traditional food &

Cuisine

British cuisine is the specific set of cooking

traditions and practices associated with the United
Kingdom.

Historically, British cuisine means "unfussy dishes

made with quality local ingredients, matched with
simple sauces to accentuate flavour, rather than
disguise it."

However, British cuisine has absorbed the cultural

influence of those that settled in Britain, producing
hybrid dishes, such as the Anglo-Indian Chicken
tikka masala, hailed as "Britain's true national
dish".

British Traditional food &

Cuisine

British dishes include fish and chips, the Sunday

roast, and bangers and mash.

British cuisine has several national and regional

varieties, including English, Scottish and Welsh
cuisine, which each have developed their own
regional or local dishes, many of which are
geographically indicated foods such as Cheshire
cheese, the Yorkshire pudding, Arbroath Smokie
and Welsh rarebit.

British Traditional food &

Cuisine

British food had traditionally been based on beef,

lamb, pork, chicken and fish and generally served
with potatoes.

Education

Education in UK is ranked among the top ten

education systems in the world.

Each country of the United Kingdom has a separate

education system, with power over education
matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
being devolved.

Education matters for England are dealt with by the

UK government since there is no devolved
administration for England.

Universities in the UK

England's universities include the so-called Oxbridge

universities of (Oxford University and Cambridge
University) which are amongst the world's oldest
universities and are generally ranked top of all
British universities.

Some institutions are world-renowned in specialised

and often narrow areas of study, such as Imperial
College London (science and engineering) and
London School of Economics (economics and social
sciences).

Academic degrees are usually split into classes: first

class (I), upper second class (II:1), lower second class
(II:2) and third (III), and unclassified (below third
class).

Sociological Issues

England has one of the highest population

densities in Europe. Housing, therefore, tends to
be smaller and more closely packed than in other
countries.

In the modern United Kingdom more detached

housing has started to be built, most beginning in
the mid-nineties.
Driven by the strong economy, city living has
boomed with city centre population's rising rapidly.

Most of this population growth has been

accommodated through new apartment blocks in
residential schemes, such as those in Leeds,
Birmingham and Manchester.

Sociological Issues

Historically most people in the United Kingdom

lived either in conjugal extended families or
nuclear families.

In the 20th century the general trend is a rise in

single people living alone, the virtual extinction
of the extended family (outside certain ethnic
minority communities), and the nuclear family
arguably reducing in prominence.

Some research indicates that in the 21st century

young people are tending to continue to live in
the parental home for much longer than their
predecessors.

Sport

The national sport of the UK is football, having

originated in England, and the UK has the
oldest football clubs in the world. The first ever
international football match was between
Scotland and England in 1872. The match
ended goalless.
A great number of major sports originated in
the United Kingdom, including football, squash,
golf, tennis, boxing, rugby (rugby union and
rugby league), cricket, field hockey, snooker,
billiards, badminton and curling.

Sport

Other famous British sporting events include

the Wimbledon tennis championships, the
Grand National, the London Marathon, the Six
Nations rugby championships (of which 4
"home nations" participate), the British Grand
Prix, The Open Championship, The Ashes
cricket series and The Boat Race between
Oxford and Cambridge universities.

National Costume and Dress

There is no national costume of the United Kingdom.

Some people think men in England wear suits and bowler hat
but it isnt true.

English customs and traditions involve a variety of costumes .

Beefeaters (the nearest thing to English national costume) .

Scotland has the kilt and Tam o'shanter. In England certain

military uniforms such as the Beefeater or the Queen's Guard
are considered national symbols.

British fashions defined acceptable dress for men of business.

Key figures such as Beau Brummell, the future Edward VII and
Edward VIII created the modern suit and cemented its
dominance.

Thank you for you attention