Wales (Welsh: Cymru[ˈkəm.rɨ]ⓘ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic Sea to the south-west. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 3,107,494. It has a total area of 21,218 square kilometres (8,192 sq mi) and over 2,700 kilometres (1,680 mi) of coastline. It 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. The capital and largest city is Cardiff.
A distinct
English rule in the early 15th century, and briefly re-established an independent Welsh state with its own national parliament (Welsh: senedd). In the 16th century the whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by David Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century: a nationalist party, Plaid Cymru, was formed in 1925, and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. A governing system of Welsh devolution is employed in Wales, of which the most major step was the formation of the Senedd (Welsh Parliament, formerly the National Assembly for Wales) in 1998, responsible for a range of devolved policy matters. (Full article...
HMS Cardiff (D108) is a Type 42destroyer, the third ship of the Royal Navy to be named in honour of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff. She was built by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria and launched on 22 February 1974. During her career, Cardiff served in the Falklands War, where she shot down the last enemy aircraft of the conflict and accepted the surrender of a 700-strong Argentine garrison at the settlement of Port Howard. During the 1991 Gulf War, Cardiff was part of the British contribution to the Coalition, and her Lynx helicopter sank two Iraqiminesweepers. Later participating in the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq as part of the Royal Navy's Armilla patrol, Cardiff thwarted attempts to smuggle oil out of the country, but was not involved with the actual invasion. Cardiff was decommissioned in July 2005, having earned two battle honours for service in the Falklands and Gulf wars. She is currently moored in Portsmouth Harbour, next to sister ship HMS Newcastle. Former servicemen have petitioned for her preservation as a museum ship and local tourist attraction at Cardiff, but her fate remains undecided.
BBC News 24. He has made guest appearances in various programmes, including The Mighty Boosh (2004) and Doctor Who (2006). In 2007 Jones was a contestant in Series 5 of Strictly Come Dancing
Image 19'The Welsh at Mametz Wood' painted by Christopher Williams, commissioned by Secretary of State for War at the time, David Lloyd George. (from History of Wales)