The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name and the state form of the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927. It was formed by the merger of the
Kingdom of Great BritainThe Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801...
(itself having been a merger of the Kingdoms of
EnglandThe Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state and island country to the northwest of continental Europe. At its zenith, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands—what is today the legal unit of...
and
ScotlandThe Kingdom of Scotland was a state in North-West Europe which existed from 843 until 1707...
) and the
Kingdom of IrelandThe Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to the Irish state from 1541, by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 of the Parliament of Ireland. It was based on the contested legitimacy of the right of conquest. The new Monarch replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171. King Henry...
, with Ireland being governed directly from
WestminsterThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
through its
Dublin Castle administrationThe Dublin Castle administration in Ireland was the government of Ireland under British rule from the twelfth century until 1922.- History of executive :...
.
Following
Irish independenceThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
on 6 December 1922, when the 1921
Anglo-Irish TreatyThe Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the de facto Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence...
came into effect, the name continued in official use until it was changed to the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act of 1927The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, granted Royal Assent on 12 April 1927, that formed a significant landmark in the constitutional history of the UK and British Empire as a whole...
. The part of the island of
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
that remained seceded from the United Kingdom in 1922 was succeeded by the state of
IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
in 1937.
Terms of the Union
Under the terms of the
Act of UnionThe Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
, the separate
Parliament of Great BritainThe Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
and the
Parliament of IrelandThe Parliament of Ireland was a legislature that existed in Dublin from 1297 until 1800. It comprised two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords...
were abolished, and replaced by a united
Parliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
. The new
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
consisted of all
MembersA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
of Great Britain's
18th ParliamentThe British general election, 1796 returned members to serve in the 18th and last Parliament of Great Britain to be held before the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801...
and 100 Irish MPs
co-opted*A co-option or more often co-optation is an election where members of a committee vote in order to fill a vacancy on that committee or group...
in a special
election in 1801The United Kingdom general election, 1801 was not an election as such, but the co-option of members to serve in the first Parliament to be held after the formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801...
. The new
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is also commonly referred to as "the Lords". Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons , and the Lords...
consisted of all members of Great Britain's House of Lords, and four
Lords SpiritualThe Lords Spiritual of the United Kingdom, also called Spiritual Peers, are the 26 bishops of the established Church of England who serve in the House of Lords along with the Lords Temporal. The established Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian in polity, is not represented by spiritual peers...
and twenty-eight Lords Temporal from the
Irish House of LordsThe Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediæval times until 1800...
. The new Parliament met in the
Palace of WestminsterThe Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament, is the seat of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
, formerly the home of the Parliament of Great Britain and, until 1707, the
Parliament of EnglandThe Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. The English Parliament traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot. In 1066, William of Normandy brought a feudal system, by which he sought advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
.
Part of the trade-off for Irish Roman Catholics, who since 1652 were barred from voting or attending Parliament altogether under the Cromwellian Act of Settlement, was to be the granting of
Catholic EmancipationCatholic Emancipation or Catholic Relief, was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws...
, which had been fiercely resisted by the all-
AnglicanThe Church of Ireland is a Christian church, an autonomous province of the Episcopal/Anglican Communion, operating across the island of Ireland, and the largest non-Roman Catholic religious body on the island...
Irish Parliament. However, this was blocked by
King George IIIGeorge III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
who argued that emancipating Roman Catholics would breach his Coronation Oath to act as protector of
ProtestantismProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
.
The United Kingdom
The merger was initially seen favourably in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, given that the old Irish parliament was seen as hostile to the majority Catholic population, some of whose members had only been given the vote as late as 1794 and who were legally debarred from election to the body. The Roman Catholic hierarchy endorsed the Union. However, King George III's decision to block Catholic Emancipation fatally undermined the appeal of the Union. Leaders like
Henry GrattanHenry Grattan was a member of the Irish House of Commons and a campaigner for legislative freedom for the Irish Parliament in the late 18th century...
, who sat in the new parliament, having been leading members of the old one, were bitterly critical.
The eventual achievement of
Catholic EmancipationCatholic Emancipation or Catholic Relief, was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the Penal Laws...
in 1829, following a campaign by
Daniel O'ConnellDaniel O'Connell , known as The Liberator, or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the nineteenth century...
,
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
for
County ClareCounty Clare commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a county of Ireland and part of the wider province of Munster. Clare is one of the 26 counties within the Republic of Ireland and it provides a basis for local government, in the form of its own constituency within the Dáil Éireann...
, who had won election to
WestminsterThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. It alone has parliamentary sovereignty, conferring upon it ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories...
and who could not for religious beliefs take the
Oath of SupremacyThe Oath of Supremacy, imposed by the Act of Supremacy 1559, provided for any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so swear was to be treated as treasonable...
, removed the main negative that had undermined the appeal of the old parliament, the exclusion of Catholics. From 1829 on a demand grew again for a native Irish parliament separate from Westminster. However, his campaign to repeal the Act of Union ultimately failed.
Aspects of the United Kingdom met with popularity in Ireland during the 122-year union. Hundreds of thousands flocked to
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
for the visits of Queen Victoria in 1900, King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra in 1903 and 1907 and
King George VGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
and
Queen MaryMary of Teck was Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Empress of India as the consort of King-Emperor George V. By birth, she was a princess of Teck, in the Kingdom of Württemberg, with the style Serene Highness...
in 1911. About 210,000 Irishmen fought in
Irish regimentAn Irish regiment is a regiment , excluding those actually in the Irish Defence Forces, that at some time in its history has or had intentional recruitment consisting primarily of members either from Ireland or of Irish descent. Irish regiments took part in several conflicts in world history...
s of the United Kingdom and
Allied armiesThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
in
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, at a time when Ireland was the only
home nationHome Nations is a collective term used to refer to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales . It is most commonly heard in sporting contexts...
where conscription was not in force.
Irish Home Rule
Figures such as
Isaac ButtIsaac Butt Q.C. M.P. was an Irish barrister, politician, MP in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the founder and first leader of a number of Irish nationalist parties and organizations, including the Irish Metropolitan Conservative Society in 1836, the...
and
Charles Stewart ParnellCharles Stewart Parnell was an Irish Protestant landowner, nationalist political leader, land reform agitator, Home Rule MP in the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, founder and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party...
, the first leader of the
Irish Parliamentary PartyThe Irish Parliamentary Party was formed in 1882 by Charles Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Nationalist Party, replacing the Home Rule League, as official parliamentary party for Irish nationalist Members of Parliament elected to the House of Commons at...
, campaigned for a version of all-Ireland self-government called home rule within the United Kingdom, which was nearly achieved in the 1880s under the (British) ministry of
William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone was a British Liberal Party statesman and four times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
who introduced two
Irish Home Rule BillThe Irish Home Rule bills were bills introduced in the British House of Commons during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, intended to grant self-government and national autonomy to the whole of Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and reverse parts of the Act of Union...
s. However, the measures were defeated in Parliament, and following the ascension of the
ConservativesThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
to the majority, the issue was buried as long as that party was in power.
With the return to power of the
LiberalsThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
in 1910 general election supported by the Irish Party under
John RedmondJohn Edward Redmond M.P. was an Irish nationalist politician, barrister, MP. in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party from 1900 to 1918...
who now held the balance of power in the Commons, the veto power of the
Lords- Places :*Lord's Cricket Ground, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone County Cricket Club.- Politics :*House of Lords, upper house of the British parliament*Lords Spiritual, clergymen of the House of Lords...
was removed under the
Parliament Act 1911The Parliament Act 1911 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland .This Act is to be construed as one with the Parliament Act 1949...
and a Home Rule Bill introduced in 1912 passed Parliament as the Third Home Rule Act in 1914, but was temporarily suspended for the duration of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
. However the constant delaying of Home Rule and the opposition of the Orange Order in
UlsterUlster is one of the four Provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island.Ulster is composed of nine counties: Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, and Tyrone are part of Northern Ireland; while Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of the Republic of Ireland.-Terminology:The...
created the frustration that eventually led to political violence and the 1916
Easter RisingThe Easter Rising , was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic...
. An attempt to introduce Irish self-government was made by PM Lloyd George in 1917 when he called an
Irish ConventionThe Irish Convention was an assembly which sat in Ireland from July 1917 until March 1918 to address the Irish Question and other constitutional problems relating to an early enactment of self-government for Ireland, to debate its wider future, discuss and come to an understanding on ...
which after six months deliberating failed to agree on the inclusion or exclusion of Ulster. The European situation with the threat of conscription changed the political climate such that in the 1918 general election, the Irish Party lost most of its seats to the new
Sinn FéinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
party.
Breakdown of the Union
In 1919,
Sinn FéinSinn Féin is a political party in Ireland. The current party, led by Gerry Adams, was formed following a split in January 1970 and traces its origins back to the original Sinn Féin party formed in 1905. It is a major party of Irish republicanism and its political ideology is left wing...
MPs elected to Westminster formed a unilaterally independent Irish parliament in
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
, the first
Dáil ÉireannThe First Dáil was Dáil Éireann as it convened from 1919–1921. In 1919 candidates who had been elected in the Westminster elections of 1918 refused to recognise the Parliament of the United Kingdom and instead assembled as a unicameral, revolutionary parliament called "Dáil Éireann"...
with an executive under the
President of Dáil ÉireannThe President of Dáil Éireann was the leader of the revolutionary Irish Republic of 1919–1921. The office, also known as Príomh Aire, was created in the Dáil Constitution adopted by Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Republic, at its first meeting in January 1919. This provided that the...
,
Éamon de ValeraÉamon de Valera was one of the dominant political figures in 20th century Ireland...
. A War of Independence was fought between 1919 and 1921. The island of Ireland was partitioned on 3 May 1921 under the
Government of Ireland Act 1920An Act to Provide for the Better Government of Ireland, more usually the Government of Ireland Act 1920, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
into two distinct autonomous United Kingdom regions, the short-lived
Southern IrelandSouthern Ireland was the short-lived autonomous region of the United Kingdom established on 3 May 1921 and dissolved on 6 December 1922....
and
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. On 6 December 1922, a year after the
Anglo-Irish TreatyThe Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the de facto Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence...
was signed, the entire island of Ireland seceded from the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and formed a new
DominionA dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of semi-autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, from the late 19th century. They included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the...
, the
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
. However, as was widely expected,
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
almost immediately exercised its right under the
Anglo-Irish TreatyThe Anglo-Irish Treaty , officially called the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was a treaty between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and representatives of the de facto Irish Republic that concluded the Irish War of Independence...
, to
opt out of the Irish Free State and back into the United Kingdom. With that, the
Irish borderThe partition of Ireland between the north-eastern six counties and the rest of Ireland took place on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The entire island of Ireland provisionally became the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922...
became an international frontier.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland continued in name until 1927 when it was renamed as the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
by the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927The Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom, granted Royal Assent on 12 April 1927, that formed a significant landmark in the constitutional history of the UK and British Empire as a whole...
.
Legacy
Despite increasing political independence from each other from 1922 and complete political independence since 1949, the union left the two countries intertwined with each other in many respects. Ireland used the
Irish poundThe Irish pound or punt Éireannach was the currency of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the usual notation was the prefix £, or IR£ where confusion might have arisen with the pound sterling or other pounds...
from 1928 until 2001 when the
euroThe euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...
replaced it. Until it joined the
ERMThe European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM, was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System , to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of...
in 1979, the Irish pound was directly linked to the
pound sterlingThe pound sterling , often simply called the pound, is the currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and British Antarctic Territory...
.
DecimalisationIn the management of currencies, decimalisation is the process of converting from traditional denominations to a "decimal" system, usually with two units differing by a factor of one hundred....
of both currencies occurred simultaneously on
Decimal DayDecimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-The old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with twelve pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
in 1971. Coins of equivalent value had the same dimensions and size until the introduction of the
British twenty pence coinThe British decimal twenty pence coin – often pronounced "twenty pee" – was issued on 9 June 1982 to fill the obvious gap between the ten pence and fifty pence coins...
in 1982, the first new coin to be issued since the break with sterling. British coinage, therefore, although technically not legal tender in the
Republic of IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
was in wide circulation and usually acceptable as payment, and vice versa. The new
British twenty pence coinThe British decimal twenty pence coin – often pronounced "twenty pee" – was issued on 9 June 1982 to fill the obvious gap between the ten pence and fifty pence coins...
and later
British one pound coinThe circulating British one pound coin is minted from a nickel-brass alloy of approximately 70% copper, 24.5% zinc, and 5.5% nickel. The coin weighs 9.50 grams and has a diameter of 22.50 millimetres ....
were the notable exceptions to this, as there was initially no equivalent Irish coin value, and when subsequently, Irish coins of these values were introduced, their designs differed significantly, thereby not allowing for 'stealth' passing of the coins in change.
Irish citizens in the UK have a status almost equivalent to British citizens. They can vote in all elections and even stand for Parliament. As well as this, some people born in the
Republic of IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
before 1949, but after 3 March 1922, are
British subjectIn British nationality law, the term British subject has at different times had different meanings. The current definition of the term British subject is contained in the British Nationality Act 1981.- Prior to 1949 :...
s. British citizens have similar rights to Irish citizens in the Republic of Ireland and can vote in all elections apart from
presidentialThe President of Ireland is the head of state of Ireland. The President is usually directly elected by the people for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office, but the President does exercise certain limited powers with absolute...
elections and
referendumA referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal...
s. Under the
nationality law of the Republic of IrelandIrish nationality law is the law of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through naturalisation. Irish nationality law is currently contained in the provisions of the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to...
, people from Northern Ireland can have Irish, and therefore dual, nationality.
List of monarchs
Until 1927, part of the monarch's royal title included the words
King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1927, the words
United Kingdom were dropped from the royal title so that the monarch was instead styled as
King of Great Britain, Ireland...[and other places]. The words
United Kingdom were restored to the monarch's title in 1953 with the reference to
Ireland replaced with a reference to
Northern Ireland.
- George III
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
(1801–1820) (monarch from 1760)
- George IV
George IV was the king of Hanover and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
(1820–1830)
- William IV
William IV was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death on 20 June 1837...
(1830–1837)
- Victoria
Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India of the British Raj from 1 May 1876, until her death...
(1837–1901)
- Edward VII
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death on 6 May 1910...
(1901–1910)
- George V
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
(1910–1922) (title used until 1927)
See also
- History of Ireland (1801-1922)
- History of the United Kingdom
The history of the United Kingdom as a unified sovereign state began with the political union of the kingdoms of England, which included Wales, and Scotland on 1 May 1707 in accordance with the Treaty of Union, signed on 22 July 1706, and ratified by both the Parliaments of England and Scotland...
- British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
- British Empire, bibliography
External links
Preceded by:
Kingdom of Great BritainThe Kingdom of Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, in existence from 1707 to 1801...
1707–1801
Kingdom of IrelandThe Kingdom of Ireland was the name given to the Irish state from 1541, by the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 of the Parliament of Ireland. It was based on the contested legitimacy of the right of conquest. The new Monarch replaced the Lordship of Ireland, which had been created in 1171. King Henry...
1541–1801 |
United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland
1801–1922 |
Succeeded by:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
1922–present
Irish Free StateThe Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand....
1922–1937 |