The Commonwealth is an association of countries that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development. Most member states were once part of the British Empire, although a few countries which were not have also joined. The King or Queen is the ceremonial head of the Commonwealth, which currently has 54 member states. Membership is voluntary.

Although Britain is one of the world’s most diverse societies, there is a set of shared values and responsibilities that everyone can agree with. Some of these values and responsibilities are working to provide for yourself and your family, helping others, and voting in local and national government elections.

Satire has continued to be important, with TV shows like That Was The Week That Was in the 1960s and Spitting Image in the 1980s and 1990s.

In Wales the elected members, known as MSs (members of the Senedd), meet in the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay.

Stonehenge still stands in what is now the English county of Wiltshire. Skara Brae on Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, is the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe.

The Magna Carta established the idea that even the king was subject to the law. It protected the rights of the nobility and restricted the king’s power to collect taxes or to make or change laws. In future, the king would need to involve his noblemen in decisions.

Queen Elizabeth I was a Protestant. She re-established the Church of England as the official Church in England.

During the 1960s, the position of women in the workplace also improved. It was quite common at the time for employers to ask women to leave their jobs when they got married, but Parliament passed new laws giving women the right to equal pay and made it illegal for employers to discriminate against women because of their gender.

Despite losing the Battle of Britain during the Second World War, the German air force was able to continue bombing London and other British cities at night-time. This was called the Blitz.

Northern Ireland has a system of youth conferencing to consider how a child should be dealt with when they have committed an offence.

There were two main groups in Parliament, known as the Whigs and the Tories. The modern Conservative Party is still sometimes referred to as the Tories. This was the beginning of party politics.

Mo Farah is a British distance runner, born in Somalia. He won gold medals in the 2012 Olympics for the 5,000 and 10,000 metres and is the first Briton to win the Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 metres.

When William reached England, there was no resistance. James fled to France and William took over the throne, becoming William Ill in England, Wales and Ireland, and William Il of Scotland.

Belfast is the capital city of Northern Ireland.

The 1970s were also a time of serious unrest in Northern Ireland. In 1972, the Northern Ireland Parliament was suspended and Northern Ireland was directly ruled by the UK government. Some 3,000 people lost their lives in the decades after 1969 in the violence in Northern Ireland.

In the 18th century, Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown designed the grounds around country houses so that the landscape appeared to be natural, with grass, trees and lakes. He often said that a place had ‘capabilities’.

There are many large venues that host music events throughout the year, such as: Wembley Stadium; The 02 in Greenwich, south-east London; and the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) in Glasgow.

Hanukkah is in November or December and is celebrated for eight days. It is to remember the Jews’ struggle for religious freedom. On each day of the festival a candle is lit on a stand of eight candles (called a menorah) to remember the story of the festival, where oil that should have lasted only a day did so for eight.

During the 1800s, a movement began to demand the vote for the working classes and other people without property. Campaigners, called the Chartists, presented petitions to Parliament.

The King or Queen has an important role in providing stability and continuity. While governments and Prime Ministers change regularly, the Queen continues as head of state. She provides a focus for national identity and pride, which was demonstrated through the celebrations of her Jubilee.

There are several islands which are closely linked with the UK but are not part of it: the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. These have their own governments and are called ‘Crown dependencies’. There are also several British overseas territories in other parts of the world, such as St Helena and the Falkland Islands. They are also linked to the UK but are not a part of it.

Each department has a number of other ministers, called Ministers of State and Parliamentary UnderSecretaries of State, who take charge of particular areas of the department’s work.

Located on the north-east coast of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway is a land formation of columns made from volcanic lava. It was formed about 50 million years ago. There are many legends about the Causeway and how it was formed.

Forcing another person to marry is a criminal. offence. Forced Marriage Protection Orders were introduced in 2008 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007. Similar Protection Orders were introduced in Scotland in November 2011. Court orders can be obtained to protect a person from being forced into a marriage, or to protect a person in a forced marriage.