The
Kingdom of Great Britain, described occasionally as the United Kingdom of Great Britain,
was a sovereign state in
northwest Europe, that existed from 1707 to 1801. It came into being on 1 May 1707, with the
political union of the
Kingdom of Scotland and the
Kingdom of England. With the 1706
Treaty of Union, it was agreed to create a single, united kingdom, encompassing the whole of the island of
Great Britain and its minor outlying islands, excluding
Ireland, which remained a separate realm under the newly created British crown. A
single parliament and government, based at
Westminster, controlled the new kingdom. The former kingdoms had already shared the same monarch since
James VI, King of Scots became
King of England in 1603 following the death of
Queen Elizabeth I, bringing about a "
Union of the Crowns".