United Kingdom

Question 1

Created by Dr. John Arbuthnot, this character was the UK’s equivalent of Uncle Sam. This character, however, was not an authoritarian figure and more of a “yeoman.”

Answer 1

John Bull

Question 2

This stone has been associated with the coronation of Scottish and British monarchs. It takes its name from the Scottish abbey it was once stored in. It is currently kept at Edinburgh Castle when not being used for coronations.

Answer 2

Stone of Scone

Question 3

Conservatively dressed, affluent young 1980s Londoners weren’t lone rangers, but these “rangers.”

Answer 3

Sloane Rangers

Question 4

‘In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover gem-like above the bay.’ This was the last diary entry of which explorer, written on January 5th 1922 at Grytviken in South Georgia (Falkland Islands)?

Answer 4

Ernest Shackleton

Question 5

A war that broke out in 1739 between Spain and Great Britain, as a result of Britain’s trade in South America, had as pretext a merchant marine named Robert Jenkins and his loss of a particular body part. What was that body part?

Answer 5

Ear

Question 6

By what collective noun were the long-term political and military conflicts of Ireland and, subsequently, Northern Ireland known?

Answer 6

The Troubles

Question 7

The first woman to successfully claim the crown of England, doing so in 1553, was commonly known—especially by Protestants—by what sanguineous sobriquet?

Answer 7

Bloody Mary

Question 8

“From a private gentlewoman he made me a marchioness, from a marchioness a queen, and now he hath left no higher degree of honour, he gives my innocency the crown of martyrdom.” These are the words of which royal figure, shortly before her death in 1536.

Answer 8

Anne Boleyn

Question 9

What was the name of the tiny hamlet on the far western outskirts of Greater London, in an area now a part of the London Borough of Hillingdon, which was demolished as part of a massive civil construction project in 1944?

Answer 9

Heathrow

Question 10

The series of British civil wars fought over control of the throne between 1455-87 is (1) referred to by this name and (2) pitted these two houses together.

Answer 10

1. Wars of the Roses 2. Lancaster vs. York

Question 11

Exhibited in the British Museum since 1802, it was the centerpiece in a 1999 exhibition called “Cracking Codes”

Answer 11

Rosetta Stone

Question 12

This soldier and Lord Protector of England held the nickname “Ironsides.”

Answer 12

Oliver Cromwell

Question 13

On January 1, 1801 George III relinquished this royal title claimed by English monarchs since the Hundred Years’ War.

Answer 13

King of France

Question 14

Gerry Adams, then vice president of Sinn Féin, said of his death, “With his war record I don’t think he could have objected to dying in what was clearly a war situation. He knew the danger involved in coming to this country.” What man, the last Viceroy of India prior to its independence and godfather to Prince Charles, was killed on August 27, 1979 when his fishing boat was blown up by the Provisional IRA?

Answer 14

Louis Mountbatten

Question 15

Supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War of the mid-17th century were known by what derogatory name, so called due to their close-cropped hair (contrasting with the long hair of the Royalists/Cavaliers)?

Answer 15

Roundhead

Question 16

He reigned in the United Kingdom from 1760 to 1820, with a few interruptions.

Answer 16

George III

Question 17

What city did the ‘Pilgrim Fathers’ depart from in Devon, England on their sail to the Americas in 1620?

Answer 17

Plymouth

Question 18

This British philosopher and mathematician was the logical choice to win the 1950 Nobel Prize for Literature.

Answer 18

Bertrand Russell

Question 19

In 1967, pirate radio broadcaster Paddy Roy Bates took over what former British fort in the North Sea, declaring it as the Principality of Sealand?

Answer 19

Fort Roughs

Question 20

Established in 1348, this oldest & highest order of British knighthood is named for a fashion accessory.

Answer 20

Order of the Garter

Question 21

In Sept. 2017 Prince Charles became the longest-serving Prince of Wales, passing the man who became this king.

Answer 21

Edward VII

Question 22

In 1990 this man succeeded in “rank” to the office of British Prime Minister.

Answer 22

John Major

Question 23

The stars allude to fireworks on a two pound coin the Royal Mint issued in 2005 to remember this plot on its 400th anniversary.

Answer 23

The Gunpowder Plot

Question 24

A “VI” has followed these 3 royal names of English kings.

Answer 24

Edward, George, Henry

Question 25

During a May 20 campaign event for the approaching European elections, the divisive British politician and Brexit party leader Nigel Farage was hit by protester Paul Crowther with what novel weapon? The weapon’s name became Twitter’s top trend in the U.K. by the end of the day.

Answer 25

Milkshake

Question 26

What is the sobriquet commonly assigned to King Ethelred of England, whose reign began in 978? The epithet is actually a mistranslation of a word meaning ill-advised, though arguably it fits, considering he was placed on the throne as a pre-teen.

Answer 26

Unready

Question 27

Prince Philip, the husband of Queen Elizabeth II, is a Duke whose title of nobility is named after what city (and likewise Elizabeth was Duchess of this until her accession to the throne in 1952)?

Answer 27

Edinburgh

Question 28

The Special Reserve of the Royal Irish Constabulary, a force established by the British government to help the royal police break the IRA during the Irish War of Independence, was known colloquially by what name, after the makeshift uniforms they wore? Due to their notorious tactics and brutal legacy, one should probably never order a drink by this name in the Republic of Ireland, despite the fact that it is traditionally made with a beloved Irish beverage.

Answer 28

Black and Tans

Question 29

Name the British peer who served as the Crown’s Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1798 to 1801 and as its Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William (a.k.a viceroy of India) from 1786 to 1793, though he is best remembered stateside for his actions in Virginia in 1781.

Answer 29

Charles Cornwallis

Question 30

What momentous change was made in the U.K. and Ireland on “D-Day,” February 15, 1971, when the so-called LSD system ended?

Answer 30

That was “Decimal Day,” when the LSD system of pounds, shillings, and pence was replaced with the modern decimalized version overnight.

Question 31

There’s no such thing as an “earless.” (Unless you’re talking about seals or Vincent van Gogh.) What title is given to the wife of an earl in British peerage?

Answer 31

Earls are married to countesses.

Question 32

Northumbria, Mercia, East Anglia, and Kent are generally identified as four of the seven kingdoms in England from the 5th century until the 8th century. The other three are named after what Germanic people (specifically, their West, East, and South tribes), who entered Britain with the Angles during the latter stages of the Roman occupation?

Answer 32

Saxons

Question 33

An adorned Doric column known simply as The Monument, designed by Christopher Wren and situated 202 feet west of a small street named Pudding Lane, was erected to commemorate what tragic event?

Answer 33

Great Fire of London