Recent history

The Act of Union of 1800 formally assimilated Ireland within the British political process, and created a new state "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland" with effect from 1 January 1801, uniting England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Since then England has not existed as an independent political entity, but as a country it has remained highly dominant in the United Kingdom. The majority of the political and economic leadership the UK is English. London has remained the economic and centre of Britain and one of the world's great cities.

During the early 19th century, the working classes began to find a voice. Concentrations of industry led to the formation of guilds and unions, which, although at first suppressed, eventually became powerful enough to resist.

Chartism is thought to have originated from the passing of the 1832 Reform Bill, which gave the vote to the majority of the (male) middle classes, but not to the 'working class'. Many people made speeches on the 'betrayal' of the working class and the 'sacrificing' of their 'interests' by the 'misconduct' of the government. In 1838, six members of Parliament and six workingmen formed a committee, which then published the People's Charter.

The revolutions which spread like wildfire throughout mainland Europe during the 1840s did not occur in England and Queen Victoria's reign was largely one of consensus, despite huge disparities in living standards between the few rich and the multitudinous poor.

The Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) as a separate nation, leaving Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom; its official name became "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

England bore the full brunt of German bombing during World War II, many of its cities were badly damaged and huge amounts of infrastructure destroyed. England rapidly recovered after the war, and while internationally the relative wealth and power of Britain have faded, England still remains paramount in the British Isles. 1999 saw the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. There is no English equivalent. In part this is a reflection of the hold England has on the British government.British Council

1688年，英国发生光荣革命，英王詹姆斯二世和其信奉天主教的后裔被逐离英国。詹姆斯信奉新教的女儿玛丽和安妮陆续继位，但不幸二人都驾崩后都无存活子嗣可继承王位。

在安妮女王长子夭折后，英国国会为避免英国王位再次落入天主教徒手上，通过1701年嗣位法，当中规定: 若1689权利法案中所规定的继承人全部无子死亡后，王位由英王詹姆士一世的外孙女，汉诺威选帝侯夫人苏菲亚和她的新教后代继承。

这部法律，令当时在英国王位继承序列头50名的王室成员都失去王位继承权。虽然，法案导致数次因王位争端而起的冲突，但位于王位继承序列第52名的汉诺威选帝侯，乔治一世（George I），最终于1714年继位为大不列颠国王及爱尔兰国王，直至1727年驾崩。而大不列颠王国和爱尔兰王国于1801年合并，组成大不列颠及爱尔兰联合王国。

温莎王朝(The House of Windsor)，自1917年统治英国和其海外领地的家族，其前身为萨克森-科堡-哥达王朝，而其家族实际姓氏为韦廷(Wettin)。该分支的数位王子通过婚姻或获选多国国王，如葡萄牙、比利时和保加利亚国王等。1840年2月10日，英女王维多利亚和她的大表哥萨克森-科堡-哥达亲王阿尔伯特结婚，萨克森-科堡-哥达这个德国姓氏就此带入英国王室。

1901年1月22日，维多利亚女王驾崩，其长子继位为爱德华七世，爱德华成为第一位萨克森-科堡-哥达王朝的君主。

1914年8月4日，英国加入第一次世界大战。但由于经历多年复杂的联姻，此时欧洲各国的君主，多是表兄弟的关系。而英国王室带有德国姓氏，更令英国人觉得不顺。为安抚民心，当时在位的英王乔治五世，在1917年7月17日颁布一道枢密院御令，宣布将英国王室名和王室父系子裔私人姓氏，改为温莎。温莎一名来自温莎堡，是英国最古老的王宫之一，遽闻由英王征服者威廉一世选址奠基的。

温莎王朝经历两次世界大战，两次皆成功令英国成为战胜国。而另一方面，大英帝国在二战后迅速瓦解，殖民地陆续宣布独立，令英国在世界的影响力大不如前，陆续失去爱尔兰国王和印度皇帝等称号。但通过各种妥协方式，令英国在前殖民地区的影响力依然举足轻重。这些妥协包括成立英联邦，和允许一些国家独立自主。直至今天，仍有15个国家奉英王为国家元首，其中包括加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰等等，令英王至今依然为名义上统治最大面积领土的君主。1999年，苏格兰议会和威尔士政府建立，而英格兰没有类似的机构。这体现了英格兰在英国政府中的地位。

British Council