Name of the Kingdom. Part II.

Tags

Act of Union 1800, Act of Union of 1707, King George III, Kingdom of Great Britain, Queen Anne, United Kingdom of Great Britain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

From the Emperor’s Desk: This is the information I discovered.

The Treaty of Union and the subsequent Acts of Union state that England and Scotland were to be “United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain”, and as such “Great Britain” was the official name of the state, as well as being used in titles such as “Parliament of Great Britain”.

The websites of the Scottish Parliament, the BBC, and others, including the Historical Association, refer to the state created on May 1, 1707 as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Both the Acts and the Treaty describe the country as “One Kingdom” and a “United Kingdom”, leading some publications to treat the state as the “United Kingdom”. The term United Kingdom was sometimes used during the 18th century to describe the state.

Kingdoms

The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The acts came into force on January 1, 1801, and the merged Parliament of the United Kingdom had its first meeting on January 22, 1801.

George III was King during this transition.

In Great Britain, George III used the official style “George the Third, by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and so forth”. In 1801, when Great Britain united with Ireland, he dropped the title of king of France, which had been used for every English monarch since Edward III’s claim to the French throne in the medieval period. His style became “George the Third, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith.”

The Name of the Kingdom. Part I.

Tags

Act of Union of 1707, Act of Union of 1801, Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland, Parliament King of Great Britain, Queen Anne of Great Britain, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The other day I got into a debate on the internet about the name of the Kingdom after the passing of the Act of Union of 1707 which united England and Scotland.

I was under the impression that this new Kingdom was simply called “Great Britain” or the “Kingdom of Great Britain” and Queen Anne’s title becoming “Queen of Great Britain and Ireland.”

Anne, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland

At the time Ireland was not joined to Great Britain but was in personal union with the sovereign and didn’t politically join Great Britain until the Act of Union of 1801. Therefore in 1801 the country then became known as “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland” and the sovereigns title reflected that change.

Now my internet debating friend insisted that the name of the kingdom after the Act of Union of 1707 became ” The United Kingdom of Great Britain.”

I assert the term “United” in association with the name of the kingdom only came into effect with the Act of Union of 1801 and not the 1707 Act.

For his proof he cited the UK Parliament website:

“The Acts of Union, passed by the English and Scottish Parliaments in 1707, led to the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain on 1 May of that year. The UK Parliament met for the first time in October 1707.”

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/evolutionofparliament/legislativescrutiny/act-of-union-1707/#:~:text=The%20Acts%20of%20Union%2C%20passed,first%20time%20in%20October%201707.

I had never heard that before! All text books and biographies of various monarchs have all said that the Act of Union of 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain and the term United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland didn’t come into being until 1801.

I know this may seem a bit petty so forgive me for that…but is the UK Parliament website (and my debating friend) correct or all my old history books right?

If you have any evidence or thoughts leave me a comment!