Marriage in England and Wales is legally recognised in the forms of both civil and religious unions, and is open to opposite-sex and same-sex couples. Marriage laws in England and Wales have historically evolved separately from marriage laws in other jurisdictions in the United Kingdom. There is a distinction between religious marriages, conducted by an authorised religious celebrant, and civil marriages, conducted by a state registrar.

The legal minimum age to enter into a marriage in England and Wales is sixteen years, although this requires parent consent if a participant is under eighteen. Certain relatives are not allowed to marry. For foreign nationals, there are also residency conditions that have to be met before people can be married. Same-sex marriage was introduced under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act in March 2014. Prior to this, Civil partnerships had been made available to same-sex couples in the United Kingdom in 2005, granting rights and responsibilities virtually identical to civil marriage.

Great Britain and Ireland was a set of special commemorative postage stamps issued by the Royal Mail in 2006. The stamps were the final part of the British Journey series, which had previously featured Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. It was available as mint stamps, as a presentation pack, stamps cards, and a first day cover.

British Journey series

These stamps are the final issue in the British Journey series; which started in 2003 with Scotland, followed in 2004 with Northern Ireland and Wales, and South West England in 2005. The series was brought to a premature end with this issue due to a lack of popularity amongst collectors.

Stamp details

The stamps were issued as a block of stamps, five wide by two deep. The photographs selected for this issue show no sky but are intended to demonstrate the colours and textures of the United Kingdom. All values are first class.

Photos

The Kingdom of England ⁱ/ˈɪŋɡlənd/ was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the 10th century—when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms—until 1707—when it was united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan (r. 927–939), became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The Norman conquest of England in 1066 led to the transfer of the English capital city and chief royal residence from the Anglo-Saxon one at Winchester to Westminster, and the City of London quickly established itself as England's largest and principal commercial centre.

Histories of the kingdom of England from the Norman conquest of 1066 conventionally distinguish periods named after successive ruling dynasties: Norman 1066–1154, Plantagenet 1154–1485, Tudor 1485–1603 and Stuart 1603–1714 (interrupted by the Interregnum of 1649–1660). Dynastically, all English monarchs after 1066 ultimately claim descent from the Normans; the distinction of the Plantagenets is merely conventional, beginning with Henry II (reigned 1154-1189) as from that time, the Angevin kings became "more English in nature"; the houses of Lancaster and York are both Plantagenet cadet branches, the Tudor dynasty claimed descent from Edward III via John Beaufort and James VI and I of the House of Stuart claimed descent from Henry VII via Margaret Tudor.

England were a progressive rock group active in the late 1970s, and briefly reformed in 2006. The band is notable for their album Garden Shed released on Arista Records, and for keyboardist Robert Webb playing a Mellotron sawn in half.

Biography

The band was formed in 1975 by drummer Mark Ibbotson, and, after a variety of prototype groups, stabilised around a line-up of himself, bassist Martin Henderson, guitarist Jamie Moses and keyboardist Robert Webb. Moses and Webb had previously collaborated on an unreleased album. Ibbottson owned a Mk II Mellotron, which Webb took an interest in, later saying "it opens up possibilities. It's having control like the conductor of an orchestra." To make the instrument portable, Webb sawed the instrument in half, rehousing the left-hand manual and the right-hand tapes (which contained the lead sounds on a Mk II model) it in a new case. After a number of gigs at the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone, Moses quit and was replaced by Franc Holland. In March 1976, immediately following a showcase gig that resulted in a contract with Arista Records, Ibbotson quit the band and was replaced by Jode Leigh.

.wales is one of two country code top level domains for Wales (the other being .cymru) which were put forth by Nominet UK in 2012. Final approval for both top level domains for Wales was granted by ICANN in June 2014.

A phased launch of the new domains was scheduled, with trademark holders being eligible to apply initially. General availability was expected by the spring of 2015. Early adopters of the domains include the Welsh government and male voice choir Only Men Aloud!.

References

External links

Wales (ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/; Welsh: Cymru [ˈkəm.rɨ]) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east, the Irish Sea to its north and west, and the Bristol Channel to its south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

Wales is a village in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, first settled by Welsh immigrants. The population was 2,549 at the 2010 census.

Geography

Wales is located at 43°0′14″N 88°22′39″W / 43.00389°N 88.37750°W / 43.00389; -88.37750 (43.003882, -88.377558).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.29 square miles (8.52 km²), of which, 3.28 square miles (8.50 km²) of it is land and 0.01 square miles (0.03 km²) is water.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,549 people, 949 households, and 792 families residing in the village. The population density was 777.1 inhabitants per square mile (300.0/km²). There were 987 housing units at an average density of 300.9 per square mile (116.2/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.9% White, 0.4% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.