> "United Kingdom of Great Britain" as opposed to the present "United Kingdom > of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The whishful misnomer "United > Kingdom" of course refers to the union of the erstwhile independant kingdoms > of England (including the principality of Wales and various other > territories) and Scotland. "Ireland" and later the reduced "Northern > Ireland" was tagged onto the official name of the country as somewhat of an > afterthought (no doubt reflecting its status within the political union). > > BTW the Duchy of Cornwall is part of England, even if the Cornish are not > necessarily English. > This sort of thing is endlessly fascinating to (some of) us Americans, whose concepts of "nation" and "state" are so simplistic :-) Here's my attempt to sort it out:
http://www.columbia.edu/kermit/postal.html#uk It is in constant need of revision and refinement. - Frank
