commonwealth countries

[fatdancer]

just watched lottery quiz show contestant had to name countries that are part of the commonwealth. they said united kingdom and this was marked as correct. is the united kingdom a country or are group of countries/ surely england scotland and wales are three separate commonwealth countries..they are on medal tables for commonwealth games.. any views appreciated or am i being a little bit padantic

[alexanderd]

according to Wikapedia the United kingdom is part of the commonwealth, not seperate countries. I think the Commonwealth games are a different thing altogether

[Buenchico]

The Commonwealth Games may recognise the separate nations individually but the country which they are all part of is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It's that country which is a member of the Commonwealth:
http://www.thecommonw...91086/142227/members/

Chris

[Wellingtonian]

Buenchico has the answer so far as the Commonwealth goes.
Wales, not then I think a unified "country" was annexed to the English Crown by the conquests of Edward I and legally by the Statute of Wales 1284. This was followed by the Tudor Acts of 1536 - 1543 which brought the Welsh territories into complete unity with England.
England and Wales united with Scotland by the Act of Union 1707 to form Great Britain.
Ireland was added (all of it) by the Act of Union of 1800, and that lasted until 1922 when the Irish Free State came into being, leaving only Northern Ireland in the Union.