The Difference between Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and England

**Mike_Oettle** · 14th February 11, 06:49 AM

First watched this video at the office, where I have no sound. When I ran it on my home computer, only the first part came up, with no jump to the second part (which I observed at least twice at the office).
Can anyone solve this conundrum?
Regards,
Mike

**O'Callaghan** · 14th February 11, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by Mike_Oettle

A correction here for O’Callaghan: Crown dependency is the correct term for the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
They are not represented in the Westminster Parliament, but fall directly under the Queen.
The Isle of Man has its own parliament, the Tynwald, the world’s oldest existing legislature. The Tynwald is made up of the House of Keys and the Legislative Council.
The Channel Islands comprise two bailiwicks, Jersey and Guernsey. Its legislatures are called the States of Jersey and the States of Guernsey.
Sark and Alderney both fall under the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
When Westminster proposed privatising the Post Office in the 1970s, the States (of both bailiwicks) and the Tynwald disagreed, and were allowed to form their own postal services separate from Royal Mail.
This is why these islands then ceased issuing regional postage stamps (bearing the Queen’s head but no country inscription) and instead issued their own stamps, inscribed Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.
Stamps have occasionally also been issued for Alderney by the Guernsey Post Office.
Private issues of locally valid stamps have been made for Herm island (also part of Guernsey), but these have had no official or international recognition.
During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were the only British soil to be occupied by Nazi German forces.
With permission from King George VI, the island authorities issued their own postage stamps during that time.
Regards,
Mike

I thought the inscription inside my old passport said 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain, Northern Ireland, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands'. Perhaps it said, or should have said 'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands'. Completely different, you see. The current one doesn't say anything like that.

**Mike_Oettle** · 15th February 11, 11:35 AM

Probably the bureaucrats in London were cutting corners and not being as clear as they should have been.
I imagine that British passports have always been valid for the (home) Crown dependencies as well, but the distinctions between them and the UK have been more marked in the past four decades.
Regards,
Mike

**Brian K** · 21st February 11, 08:21 AM

I enjoyed this immensely. It was an entertaining way to flesh out the details of something I understood in the main but was lacking in the some of the details. Thanks, Ron!

Could someone help out a Yank, though? In the video the presenter spoke of British citizens, but I was always taught that the correct term was subjects. I would appreciate a clarification. Some would say it's a question of semantics but, considering the video's explanation of the concept of The Crown, it is, perhaps, an important distinction.

Regards,

Brian

**Mike_Oettle** · 21st February 11, 09:22 AM

Hi, Brian – you are right in recalling the term subject. British citizenship was a new legal creation that came up relatively recently.
Perhaps our British members can tell us more about the change.
I was born a subject of King George VI. Queen Elizabeth was South Africa’s head of state for nine years.
My legal status has always been that of citizenship of South Africa, but I am proud of having also been a subject for the first 11½ years of my life.
Regards,
Mike

**McClef** · 21st February 11, 11:50 AM

The changes from subject to citizen occurred when the British Nationality Act of 1961 came into force in 1983.

More detail can be seen at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_subject .