The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK's official title) is in fact a unitary state composed of four main parts: the three constituent countries of England, Scotland and Wales (collectively known as Great Britain) - and the province of Northern Ireland.

The UK has 66 'official' cities, though perhaps confusingly it has many more towns easily large enough to be considered cities, and some of its official cities are even smaller than large villages or small towns.

Despite having a parliamentary democracy, many decisions within the UK are not open to the public, but instead controlled by the monarchy or parts of the British government which answer to the monarchy, irrespective of which political party is in office. The decision to grant a town city status is one such decision. Hence in the UK city status is not granted automatically just because a town becomes very large, or because of a cathedral. A town must be granted city status by the British monarch.

According to the part of the British government known as the Department for Constitutional Affairs:
"City status is a rare mark of distinction granted by the Sovereign and conferred by Letters Patent. It is granted by personal Command of The Queen, on the advice of Her Ministers. It is for Her Majesty The Queen to decide when a competition for city status should be held. Competitions are usually held on occasions such as important Royal anniversaries."

Britain's major cities have become just as much a part of world culture and news as those of any other countries across the world. The major cities of UK are steeped in religious and political history as well as the history of those people who - from humble beginnings - went on to make both themselves and their country famous all across the globe.