Alternative History
This Mere Men article has not been expanded past 1952 yet.
Commonwealth of England and Wales
Cymanwlad Cymru a Lloegr (Welsh)
Timeline: Mere Men


OTL equivalent: United Kingdom

Anthem: 
God Save this Land
Capital
(and largest city)
London
Official languages English  • Welsh
Government
 -  President
 -  Prime Minister
Legislature Parliament
Establishment
 -  Union of England and Scotland 1 May 1707 
 -  Union of Great Britain and Ireland 1 January 1801 
 -  Independence of Ireland 5 December 1922 
 -  Independence of Scotland 1970s/1980s 
Area
 -  Total 147,934 km2 
57,120 sq mi 
Currency Pound sterling
Time zone GMT

England and Wales, officially the Commonwealth of England and Wales, sometimes also called Wales and England (Welsh: Cymanwlad Cymru a Lloegr), is a successor state of the United Kingdom located in the southern portion of Great Britain and on numerous smaller islands. Located north of France and east of Ireland, it borders Scotland to the north. The Commonwealth also posseses several overseas territories.

History[]

The United Kingdom declared war on Germany shortly after the invasion of Poland on 3 September 1939, together with France. After the fall of Poland, the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain authorised the British invasion of Scandinavia under pressure from the French government. However, the Scandinavian campaign turned out to be a disaster, eventually leading to German occupation of Norway and Soviet occupation of Finland. In May, the Scandinavian Debate resulted in Chamberlain's resignation and his replacement as Prime Minister by Leopold Amery, who went on to create a grand coalition wartime government. After the fall of France, Amery refused to take action against the new Vichy regime in France, hoping that it could be convinced to rejoin the Allies at some point in the future. From 1941 to 1943, the United Kingdom was the only major power to engage Germany as the United States initially focused on the Pacific War against Japan. Despite this, the British army was able to win the Battle of Britain and hold against the Axis in North Africa and the Middle East.

After the outbreak of the Soviet–German War, Amery rejected the suggestion to sign a ceasefire with the Soviet Union in his famous "We made a promise" speech. After the German occupation of Vichy France, its Chief of State Philip Pétain agreed to allow transport of Allied troops in French North Africa, which allowed for the Anglo-American victory in North Africa and invasion of Italy. Internal tensions in the British government however began rising as because of the war there was no parliamentary election since 1935, which made it the longest serving Parliament in the British history. In 1945, the Labour Party withdrew from the coalition and a general election was held, which resulted in Labour victory and appointment of Clement Attlee as the Prime Minister. The United Kingdom attempted to invade and liberate the German occupied Netherlands and Denmark to prevent the Soviet Red Army from reaching them first, but with little success. After the fall of Berlin, Attlee agreed, under pressure from the American president James Byrnes, to sign a ceasefire agreement with the Soviet Union and participate in the Havana Conference.

After the war, Attlee focused on domestic affairs and was reelected in 1949, although with only a slim majority in the Parliament. Fearing that the government could collapse during his planned 1951 trip to Canada, King George VI advised Attlee to hold a snap election to increase the majority. However, even though the Labour Party won the popular vote, the 1951 election resulted in a victory of the Conservative Party and its leader Harold Macmillan. The King's declining health however forced him to stay in London as more and more of his duties, including the trip to Canada, were taken on by his daugther Elizabeth. In 1952, George VI died and Elizabeth became Queen as Elizabeth II.