After a long period when England was split into various kingdoms, it was finally made into one country by Æthelstan (Athelstan) in 945AD. England and Wales were unified by Edward I (Longshanks) by force in the 13th century. This union is known as Britain.
Union with Scotland took much longer; there were hundreds of years of conflicts between the two countries. This union is known as Great Britain. In 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I of England died, her closest relative was King James VI of Scotland. He became king of England as well as king of Scotland, but the two countries stayed separate. In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments agreed the Treaty of Union, which joined the two countries into one country called The Kingdom of Great Britain under Queen Anne.
Queen Elizabeth has reigned since 1952.
By 1800, both Scotland and England had already independently had much influence over Ireland for over 600 years. In that year laws were passed in Great Britain and Ireland to merge the two states. The new country was called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 much of Ireland became independent as the Irish Free State (now called Ireland) from the United Kingdom. However, six northern counties (called Northern Ireland) continue to be part of the United Kingdom. The country was renamed The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
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