Commonwealth of Nations

[macwilkin]

A little misunderstanding has crept into this thread and should really be corrected.

Her Majesty is not now, nor ever has been, Queen of England. Nor is she Queen of Scotland.

Her full title and style is:

Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of Her other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.

In the Scottish Parliament, Her Majesty is referred to as Queen of Scots. That is to say queen of the people, rather than the ground they stand on.

There is also a misconception about the word 'Brit'. Members often say "the Scots and the Brits", when what they mean is "the Scots and the English". England, Wales and Scotland are all part of Britain and their people are all British or Brits. It is like me going to New York and saying that I had met many Americans and Yanks.

Regards

Chas

You are quite correct, Chas, save one caveat: in the United States, "Yankee" or "Yank" is also a regional designation. Let's hear from noted author E.B. White on this subject:

To foreigners, a Yankee is an American.
To Americans, a Yankee is a Northerner.
To Northerners, a Yankee is an Easterner.
To Easterners, a Yankee is a New Englander.
To New Englanders, a Yankee is a Vermonter.
And in Vermont, a Yankee is somebody who eats pie for breakfast.

My grandfather, a native of the great state of Iowa, bristled when anyone called him a "Yankee".

T.