Modern tennis evolved in England in the late 19th century.

Britain was part of the Allied Powers, which included (amongst others) France, Russia, Japan, Belgium, Serbia - and later, Greece, Italy, Romania and the United States. The Allies fought against the Central Powers - mainly Germany, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire and later Bulgaria.

‘Great Britain’ refers only to England, Scotland and Wales, not to Northern Ireland.

There are public holidays each year called bank holidays, when banks and many other businesses are closed for the day. These are of no religious significance. They are at the beginning of May, in late May or early June, and in August.

The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the political party in power.

Mary was Elizabeth l’s cousin and hoped that Elizabeth might help her, but Elizabeth suspected Mary of wanting to take over the English throne, and kept her a prisoner for 20 years. Mary was eventually executed, accused of plotting against Elizabeth I.

The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England united under King Alfred the Great, who defeated the Vikings.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel was originally from Portsmouth, England. He was an engineer who built tunnels, bridges, railway lines and ships. He was responsible for constructing the Great Western Railway, which was the first major railway built in Britain. Many of Brunel’s bridges are still in use today.

The King or Queen is the head of state of the UK. She is also the monarch or head of state for many countries in the Commonwealth.

Civil law is used to settle disputes between individuals or groups. Examples include: housing law (e.g. disputes between landlords and tenants over issues such as repairs and eviction), consumer rights (e.g. disputes about faulty goods or services), employment law (e.g. disputes over wages and cases of unfair dismissal or discrimination in the workplace), and debt (e.g. people might be taken to court if they owe money to someone).

Radar was developed by Scotsman Sir Robert Watson-Watt (1892-1973), who proposed that enemy aircraft could be detected by radio waves. The first successful radar test took place in 1935.

Britain has a long history of respecting an individual’s rights and ensuring essential freedoms. These rights have their roots in Magna Carta, the Habeas Corpus Act and the Bill of Rights of 1689, and they have developed over a period of time

The Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999.

The Mousetrap, a murder-mystery play by Dame Agatha Christie, has been running in the West End since 1952 and has had the longest initial run of any show in history.

The UK has a prestigious literary history and tradition. Several British writers, including the novelist Sir William Golding, the poet Seamus Heaney, and the playwright Harold Pinter, have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

In May 2010, and for the first time in the UK since February 1974, no political party won an overall majority in the General Election. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties formed a coalition and the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, became Prime Minister.

During the civil war, Charles I’s army was defeated at the Battles of Marston Moor and Naseby. By 1646, it was clear that Parliament had won the war. Charles was held prisoner by the parliamentary army. He was still unwilling to reach any agreement with Parliament and in 1649 he was executed.

The Eden Project is located in Cornwall, in the south west of England. Its biomes, which are like giant greenhouses, house plants from all over the world.

In November 2012, the public first elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales. These are directly elected individuals who are responsible for the delivery of an efficient and effective police force that reflects the needs of their local communities. PCCs set local police priorities and the local policing budget. They also appoint the Chief Constable, who heads the police force.

Many people in the UK enjoy cooking. They often invite each other to their homes for dinner. A wide variety of food is eaten in the UK because of the country’s rich cultural heritage and diverse population.

You can volunteer with the police, and become a special constable or a lay (non-police) representative.

Travelling on British ships in horrible conditions, they were taken to America and the Caribbean, where they were made to work on tobacco and sugar plantations.

During this period, England was an important trading nation. English wool became a very important export. People came to England from abroad to trade and also to work. Many had special skills, such as weavers from France, engineers from Germany, glass manufacturers from Italy and canal builders from Holland.

According to National Statistics, there were just over 66 million people in the UK in 2017.