National symbols

Flag Coat of Arms

The national anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the King, with "King" replaced with "Queen" whenever the Monarch is female. The anthem's name, however, remains God Save the King.

Britannia is a personification of the UK, originating from the Roman occupation of southern and central Great Britain. Britannia is symbolized as a young woman with brown or golden hair, wearing a Corinthian helmet and white robes. She holds Poseidon's three-pronged trident and a shield, bearing the Union Flag. Sometimes she is depicted as riding the back of a lion. At and since the height of the British Empire, Britannia has often associated with maritime dominance, as in the patriotic song Rule Britannia.

The lion has also been used as a symbol of the UK; one is depicted behind Britannia on the 50 pence piece and one is shown crowned on the back of the 10 pence piece. It is also used as a symbol on the non-ceremonial flag of the British Army. Lions have been used as heraldic devices many times, including in the royal arms of both the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Wales. The lion is featured on the emblem of the England national football team, giving rise to the popular football anthem Three Lions, and the England national cricket team.

The bulldog is sometimes used as a symbol of Great Britain, and is often associated with Winston Churchill's defiance of Nazi Germany.

The ancient British landscape, and especially some of its distinctive fauna such as the oak tree and the rose, have long been a widely used for the visual representation of British identity. The red rose is the emblem of the England national rugby union team.

Vocabulary notes

anthem– гимн

arms – герб

Corinthian helmet – коринфский шлем

daffodil - желтый нарцисс (национальная эмблема валлийцев)

defiance - вызов (на поединок, спор); пренебрежение; сопротивление, открытое неповиновение;

flax - лен (растение)

identity - индивидуальность; своеобразие; отличительная черта, особенность (national identity — национальные особенности)

leek - лук-порей (тж. и как национальная эмблема Уэльсa)

maritime - морской; приморский

patron saint - святой покровитель

personification - персонификация, олицетворение; воплощение

shamrock - трилистник (тж. эмблема Ирландии в виде трилистника)

shield - щит

superimposition– наложение, совмещение

thistle - чертополох (тж. как эмблема Шотландии)

prong - зубец ( вилки, вил и т. п. ); зуб

trident – трезубец

Abbreviations

GB and GBR - Great Britain

UK - the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland