United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

This article is about the historical period during which Ireland and Great Britain formed a single state. For the state in its current form, see United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927. The United Kingdom was formed by the merger of the Kingdom of Great Britain (itself a merger of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland) and the Kingdom of Ireland. Its name was changed in 1927 after the majority of Ireland left the UK in 1922 and became the sovereign Irish Free State, thus leaving only six counties in the north within the UK.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1801–1922
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Dieu et mon droit  (French)² "God and my right"
Anthem: God Save the King (Queen)
Territory of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1922
Capital	London
Common languages	English³
Government	Constitutional monarchy
Monarch
• 1801–1820	George III
• 1820–1830	George IV
• 1830–1837	William IV
• 1837–1901	Victoria
• 1901–1910	Edward VII
• 1910–1927 (cont.)	George V
Prime Minister
• 1801–1801	William Pitt the Younger
• 1924–1927 (cont.)	Stanley Baldwin
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	House of Lords
• Lower house	House of Commons
History
• Act of Union 1800	1 January 1801
• Irish independence	6 December 1922
• UK name changed	12 April 1927
Area
1801	315,093 km2 (121,658 sq mi)
1927	315,093 km2 (121,658 sq mi)
Population
• 1801	16345646
• 1927	42769196
Currency	Pound sterling
ISO 3166 code	GB
Preceded by Succeeded by United Kingdom of Great Britain Kingdom of Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Irish Free State
1 The Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 as a result of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, but this fact was not reflected in the long-form name of United Kingdom until Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act in 1927. The current British state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, is universally accepted to be a direct continuation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and should not be imagined to be a break from it or a new state formed after it. ² The Royal motto used in Scotland was Nemo Me Impune Lacessit (Latin for "No-one provokes me with impunity"). ³ In addition to English (official status established by precedent), Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh were spoken regionally.

List of monarchs

The monarch continued to use the title of King or Queen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until 1927.

House of Hanover

• George III (1801–1820) (monarch from 1760)
• George IV (1820–1830)
• William IV (1830–1837)
• Victoria (1837–1901)
• House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
• Edward VII (1901–1910)
• House of Windsor (as of 1914)
• George V (1910–1922) (title used until 1927)

Related pages

• History of the United Kingdom

Other websites

• British History Online
• Act of Union 1800 Archived 2007-05-05 at the Wayback Machine

Preceded by: United Kingdom of Great Britain 1707–1801 Kingdom of Ireland 1541–1801

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801–1927

Succeeded by: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1927–present Irish Free State 1922–1937