60 free British trivia questions with answers — geography quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
47 free British trivia questions with answers. Britain is a country made of countries, with a flag that leaves one of them out, a clock everyone calls by the name of its bell, and a currency that ran to 240 pence in a pound until 1971. This quiz is for people who like that sort of thing. It runs 60 questions across British geography (the four nations and their capitals, the highest peaks, the longest river, the Prime Meridian), history (the Normans, Magna Carta, the Acts of Union, Culloden, the Empire, the NHS, Brexit), institutions (Parliament, the Union Jack, the Crown Dependencies) and the culture that outsiders find baffling and Britons find normal: tea, fish and chips, cheese rolling, Bonfire Night and red telephone boxes. It starts with warm-ups and works up to questions that will catch out plenty of Britons. Every answer has been checked against reference sources, shown under each question once you answer, so it works for a pub quiz, a citizenship-test warm-up or a Britain-themed party.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which four countries make up the United Kingdom?
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
The Prime Minister's website has called it 'countries within a country'; the population passed 69 million in 2024.
Q 02What are the capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?
Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast
London is the capital of both England and the UK.
Q 03What does 'Great Britain' strictly refer to?
The island of England, Scotland and Wales
'Britain' is used loosely for either; the BBC style guide only insists that Great Britain excludes Northern Ireland.
Q 04In what year did the Kingdoms of England and Scotland unite to form Great Britain?
1707
The crowns had been united in 1603 under James VI and I; the parliaments merged with the Acts of Union on 1 May 1707.
Q 05When did the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland come into being?
1801
Most of Ireland left as the Irish Free State in 1922 and the name became 'Great Britain and Northern Ireland' in 1927.
Q 06What happened in England in 1066?
The Norman conquest
The Battle of Hastings is depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry; the Normans brought feudalism and Norman-French culture.
Q 07Where and when did King John seal Magna Carta?
Runnymede, 1215
Only four original 1215 copies survive: two at the British Library, one at Lincoln Castle and one at Salisbury Cathedral.
Q 08Which Stuart king was executed in 1649 after the English Civil War?
Charles I
The Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland followed, then the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.
Q 09Who is considered the de facto first British prime minister?
Robert Walpole
Cabinet government developed under him between 1721 and 1742.
Q 10Roughly what share of the world's land and population did the British Empire cover at its 1920s peak?
A quarter
It was the largest empire in history; London was the world's biggest city from about 1830.
Q 11What is the highest mountain in the UK and the British Isles?
Ben Nevis
It stands near Fort William in the Scottish Highlands; Scafell Pike, Snowdon and Slieve Donard top England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Q 12Which is the longest river in Great Britain?
The Severn
It rises on Plynlimon in mid Wales and reaches the sea via the Bristol Channel, passing Shrewsbury, Worcester and Gloucester.
Q 13What is England's highest mountain?
Scafell Pike
It sits in the Lake District; England's largest island is the Isle of Wight.
What links the UK to continental Europe, running under the sea further than any similar link in the world?
Q 21How many constituencies elect MPs to the House of Commons?
650
Each returns one member under first-past-the-post; the Lords is appointed.
Q 22How many independent states besides the UK had Charles III as head of state in 2025?
14
They are the Commonwealth realms, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Q 23What percentage of UK voters chose to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum?
51.9
The UK formally left in 2020 and the Trade and Cooperation Agreement took effect on 1 May 2021.
Q 24In what year was the National Health Service launched?
The Channel Tunnel
It opened in 1994 between Folkestone and Coquelles.
Q 15Which London site was chosen in 1884 as the defining point of the Prime Meridian?
Greenwich Observatory
Hence Greenwich Mean Time.
Q 16The Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are what, in relation to the UK?
Crown Dependencies, not part of the UK
They are in union with the monarch but outside the UK's four countries; the British government handles their external affairs.
Q 17What is 'Big Ben' strictly the name of?
The Great Bell of the Westminster clock
The tower itself was renamed the Elizabeth Tower in 2012; the nickname probably comes from Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the bell's installation.
Q 18What was the Westminster clock tower renamed in 2012, in place of 'Clock Tower'?
Elizabeth
It marked Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee; the tower was designed by Pugin and Barry after the 1834 fire.
Q 19Which country is NOT represented on the Union Jack?
Wales
The Great Britain flag was designed in 1606 when Wales was legally part of the Kingdom of England.
Q 20Which three saints' crosses are combined in the Union Jack?
George, Andrew and Patrick
Red cross of St George for England, white saltire of St Andrew for Scotland, red saltire of St Patrick for Northern Ireland.
1948
Aneurin Bevan launched it at Park Hospital in Davyhulme, near Manchester, on the principle of care free at the point of delivery.
Q 25Which Labour health minister founded the NHS?
Aneurin Bevan
Attlee appointed him after the 1945 election; the NHS employs about 1.6 million people.
Q 26Before Decimal Day in 1971, how many old pence were there in a pound?
240
Twenty shillings of twelve pence each; banks shut for four days to convert every account.
Q 27On what date did Britain switch to decimal currency?
15 February 1971
Ireland decimalised on the same day.
Q 28Where and roughly when did the first fish-and-chip shops open in Britain?
London and Lancashire, 1860s
Jewish immigrant Joseph Malin in Bow and John Lees in Mossley both claim the honour; by 1910 there were 25,000 shops.
Q 29Which prime minister called fish and chips 'the good companions'?
Winston Churchill
The dish was traditionally wrapped in old newspapers, a practice now largely gone.
Q 30Which Dickens novel contains the earliest known use of 'chips' meaning fried potato?
A Tale of Two Cities
'Husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil', from 1859.