England Crossword Puzzle for Kids

England is a country and the largest of the four countries which make up the United Kingdom.

Over 57.7 million English people live in England (2021 estimate). This is 84% of the population of the United Kingdom. The capital city of England is London. London is also the biggest city in the country. Other large cities in England are Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

The English flag is a red cross on a white background. This cross is the cross of Saint George, who is the patron saint of England. Some other symbols used for England are a red rose and the three lions.

History

Although people had lived in England long before, it was a long time before the land was unified. The earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, about 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date to 500,000 years ago.

The Beaker culture arrived around 2,500 BC. They used drinking and food vessels made from clay, and vessels used as reduction pots to smelt copper ores. Neolithic people of this era built the famous Stonehenge monument and many other stone circles and burial sites across England.

Unification was first done by Æthelstan in 927 and Eadred in 953. A wave of Scandinavian attacks occurred from the late 10th century. They ended with the conquest of this united kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard in 1013 and again by his son Cnut in 1016. This turned the country into the centre of a short-lived North Sea Empire which included Denmark and Norway. However, the native royal dynasty was restored with the accession of Edward the Confessor in 1042. When King Edward died, Harold Godwinson (the Earl of Wessex) became king. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy (today part of northern France), said that Harold had promised to make William the king. He invaded England and fought King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William won, and became king of England.

Subsequently, the House of Plantagenet from Anjou inherited the English throne under Henry II, adding England to the budding Angevin Empire. They reigned for three centuries, some noted monarchs being Richard I, Edward I, Edward III and Henry V.

The period saw changes in trade and legislation, including the signing of Magna Carta, an English legal charter. Catholic monasticism flourished. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge were founded with royal patronage. The Principality of Wales became a Plantagenet fief during the 13th century and the Lordship of Ireland was given to the English monarchy by the Pope.

Geography

England is the largest part of the island of Great Britain, and it is also the largest constituent country of the United Kingdom. Scotland and Wales are also part of Great Britain (and the UK), Scotland to the north and Wales to the west. To the east and south, and part of the west, England is bordered by sea. France is to the south, separated by the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel, (Chunnel) under the English Channel, connects England to northern France (and the rest of mainland Europe). Ireland is a large island to the west, divided into Northern Ireland which is part of the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Ireland.

London is the largest city and the capital. The longest river in England is the River Severn. Other large rivers are the Thames (which flows through London), the Trent and the Humber. In geological terms, the Pennines, known as the "backbone of England", are the oldest range of mountains in England, originating from the end of the Paleozoic Era around 300 million years ago. Most of England's landscape consists of low hills and plains, with upland and mountainous terrain in the north and west of the country.

The English Lowlands are in the central and southern regions of the country, consisting of green rolling chalk hills, including the Cotswold Hills, Chiltern Hills, North and South Downs; where they meet the sea they form white chalk exposures such as the cliffs of Dover. This also includes relatively flat plains such as the Salisbury Plain, Somerset Levels, South Coast Plain. The Fens are the natural marshlands once widespread in various parts of England.

The United Kingdom is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In 2019, the British Parliament became the first national government in the world to officially declare a climate emergency.

Achievements

England has been central to many aspects of the modern world. Global exploration and trade, the British Empire, modern science, modern agriculture, railways, the Industrial Revolution, the development of modern representative democracy. In all these developments England was deeply involved. In some of them, such as the Industrial Revolution, England was the place where modern developments first occurred.

The Royal Society is a society for science and scientists. It was founded in 1660 by Charles II. It is the oldest society of its kind still in existence.

Language

The English language is a West Germanic language spoken in many countries around the world. With around 380 million native speakers, it is the second most spoken language in the world, as a native language. As many as a billion people speak it as a second language. English is an influence on, and has been influenced by, many other languages.

William Shakespeare was an English playwright. He wrote plays in the late 16th century. Some of his plays were Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. In the 19th century, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens were novelists. Twentieth century writers include the science fiction novelist H.G. Wells and J.R.R. Tolkien. The children's fantasy Harry Potter series was written by J.K. Rowling. Aldous Huxley was also from England.

English language literature is written by authors from many countries. Eight people from the United Kingdom have won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Climate

All of Great Britain has an oceanic climate. There can be a temperature difference of 510°c between the north and the south (the north is generally colder), and there is often snow in the north before there is in the south.

The prevailing wind for most of the year is from the Atlantic, to the west of England. Therefore, there is more rain on the western side of the country. The east is colder and drier than the west. The country usually has a mild climate because the Gulf Stream to the western side is warm water. The climate is warmer than it was 200 years ago, and now ice and snow are rare in the southern part of the country. Occasionally, air from the Arctic Circle comes down the eastern side of the country and the temperature can drop below 0oC.

Politics

As part of the United Kingdom, the basic political system in England is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary system. It has a monarch (meaning a king or queen is the head of that country). The head of state is King Charles III, who is became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland upon his Mother's death on 9/8/2022, after her 70-year reign. The House of Commons is the lower house of the British Parliament in the Palace of Westminster. There are 532 Members of Parliament (MPs) for constituencies in England, out of the 650 total.

The English people are represented by members of Parliament, not ruled by monarchs. After the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector, and the monarchy was disbanded. Although the monarchy was restored after his death, the Crown slowly became the secondary power, and Parliament the first. Members of Parliament (called MPs) were elected, but until the early twentieth century, only men who owned property could vote. In the nineteenth century, more people were given suffrage. But in 1928, all men and women got the vote: this is called "universal suffrage". Parliament is in Westminster in London, but it has power over the whole of the United Kingdom.

Almost all members of Parliament belong to political parties. The biggest parties are the Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and Green Party. Members of the same party agree to act and vote more or less together. A party with more than half the seats (a majority) forms the government; the leader of the party becomes the Prime Minister, who then appoints other ministers. Because the government has a majority in Parliament, it can normally control what laws are passed.

Economy

England has a mixed market economy. It has adopted many free market principles, yet has an advanced social welfare infrastructure. The official currency in England is the pound sterling, which is the oldest currency in use. England is a leader in the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors and in key technical industries, particularly aerospace, the arms industry, and the software industry.

London is home to the London Stock Exchange, the United Kingdom's main stock exchange and the largest in Europe. It is England's financial centre, with 100 of Europe's 500 largest corporations being based there. London is the largest financial centre in Europe, and as of 2014 is the second largest in the world. Manchester is the largest financial and professional services sector outside London and is the mid tier private equity capital of Europe as well as one of the growing technology hubs of Europe.

Text adapted from the Simple English Wikipedia article “England” (revision 10897293, 2026-06-23), authors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.