How do I address a letter from the US to the UK?

Is there a special way to address a letter from the US to the UK?

• I need to write a letter to London, and I live in America. Upon writing the envelope, do I need to do anything special? And what sort of stamp do I use?

• Answer:

  Where to find the most confusing addresses on earth... What should be the name of this section? THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND (as it was once labeled), while technically correct if IRELAND is taken as the name of the country and not the island, can easily be misconstrued. THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND would not be correct since there is no country whose name is REPUBLIC OF IRELAND. THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ÉIRE is correct (two non-overlapping countries) but it contains a mixture of languages. Hence BRITAIN AND IRELAND (two non-overlapping islands) -- perhaps not quite adequate either since it might not encompass the various associated outlying islands. Let's begin by reviewing the terminology: BRITAIN, the largest island in the archipelago just north of France; the island of Britain contains three countries: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, and WALES. ENGLAND is one of the countries of Britain. SCOTLAND is one of the countries of Britain. WALES is one of the countries of Britain. NORTHERN IRELAND is a jurisdiction having approximately the same status as England, Scotland, and Wales, but on a different island. The UNITED KINGDOM is the union of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including whatever islands are also included in those countries. The full name of the United Kingdom is THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND. The United Kingdom itself is a country. Thus it is a country that is made up of four countries. A country made of countries might seem a paradox, yet the countries that make up the UK, especially England, Scotland, and Wales, do not think of themselves as anything less; Scotland has its own Parliament and banknotes, Wales has its own language and National Assembly, all three have national identities going back more than a thousand years, and the Encyclopedia Britannica calls them countries (next item). Perhaps more to the point, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND are listed in the USPS Index of Countries and Localities. (According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term UNITED KINGDOM was first used in 1801 and, until 1921, included Ireland.) GREAT BRITAIN is a term that means different things to different people. Canada Post uses it as their only recognized name for the United Kingdom. Webster's dictionary defines "Britain" as "the island of Great Britain", and defines Great Britain as "(a) island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales, or (b) United Kingdom" (which in turn is defined to include Northern Ireland). The Encyclopedia Britannica says "Technically, Great Britain is one of the two main islands that make up the British Isles. By this definition it includes the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales. Popularly, Great Britain is the shortened name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." The OED says that Great Britain is "the whole island containing England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies". William Wallace says, however, that the term "is actually a remnant of the Norman Conquest times, and was used to distinguish between Large Britain (Grande Bretagne) and Little Britain (Petite Bretagne, Brittany). It has nothing to do with Empire or world domination and simply refers to the time when the island was administered and fought over by the French." In any case, the ambiguity of the term Great Britain -- is it a country, an island, or a group of islands? -- suggests it is best avoided. BRITTANY is a region and former province of northwestern of France, mentioned here only to add to the confusion. It is home to the Bretons, Britons who fled from the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries and who renamed the place "Little Britain", and who speak a Celtic language, also called Breton, similar to Welsh and Cornish. The French name of Brittany is Bretagne; the Breton name is Breiz. Bretagne became part of France in 1532. Some say that Breton and Welsh fisherfolk can chat with each other in their closely related languages. The BRITISH ISLES is another unclear geographical term denoting (according to both Webster and the OED) Great Britain, Ireland, and the adjacent islands, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Another term to avoid, since the Irish do not consider their island a British isle. A better term would be "The Islands of Britain and Ireland". BRITISH ISLES is sometimes used in postal addresses, but only within the UK postal system, e.g. when sending mail from England to the Isle of Man (the USPS does not recognize the term, and does not need it, as explained below). The CROWN DEPENDENCIES include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, which are self-governing, and not part of the UK. Opinions are divided as to whether these and other "adjacent islands" such as the Scottish islands (Outer Hebrides) are also "British Isles" or part of "Great Britain" (see conflicting definitions above). The UNITED KINGDOM AND ISLANDS refers to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. The BRITISH ISLANDS, as (re)defined in the Interpretation Act 1978, is synonymous with UNITED KINGDOM AND ISLANDS. (But be careful: in the Western Hemisphere, sometimes this term is used to refer to the British Virgin Islands and possibly other Caribbean Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, Bahamas, and Bermuda, and territories such as the Cayman Islands.) The BRITISH EMPIRE is a historical term -- "The sun never sets on the British Empire;" the monarch was "... Britt. Omn. Rex (or Regina) F.D. et Ind. Imp." (King or Queen of All the Britons, Defender of the Faith, and Emperor/Empress of India). Included in the British Empire, at one time or another, were Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, parts of the USA; Guyana (as British Guyana), Belize (as British Honduras), the British West Indies, Jamaica, Bermuda, the Bahamas; Egypt, Iraq, Israel (as Palestine); Sri Lanka (as Ceylon), India, what are now Pakistan and Bangladesh, Myanmar (as Burma), Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia (as Malaya), Brunei Darussalam, Malawi (Nyasaland), South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe (as Rhodesia), Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania (as Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Uganda, ... you name it. Most of these countries gained their independence after World War II (some earlier) but many of them remained in the Commonwealth (next item). THE COMMONWEALTH ("a unique family of 54 nations", formerly known as the British Commonwealth) includes the United Kingdom, plus the Crown Dependencies (the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man), plus former colonies Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, etc, as well as at least one country -- Moçambique (Mozambique) -- that was never a British colony. The non-UK, non-Dependency parts of the Commonwealth do not use UK postal codes because they are independent countries. The BRITISH OVERSEAS TERRITORIES are Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, Saint Helena and its Dependencies, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Overseas Territories are not members of the Commonwealth because they are not independent countries. Each Overseas Territory is a separate jurisdiction with its own postal addressing arrangements; some of them participate in the UK postcode system. IRELAND is an independent country, since the proclamation of the Irish Republic in 1916 and the ensuing struggle. Prior to that Ireland was ruled by England (and before that, like much of England itself, by Vikings, but unlike England, never by the Romans or Normans). Ireland's capital is Dublin. Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom or the Commonwealth. IRELAND is also an island presently containing two countries: IRELAND (ÉIRE) and NORTHERN IRELAND. Some might prefer to say that IRELAND is an island and a country which happens, at present, to be artificially divided. ULSTER is a region (formerly a kingdom) containing all of NORTHERN IRELAND, plus Counties Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan in IRELAND. Thus contrary to popular belief, "Ulster" is not a proper synonym for Northern Ireland. Here's a summary table for the Islands of Britain and Ireland, the Crown Dependencies, and the British Overseas Territories. The notation and formats used are the very latest recommended by Royal Mail (except Ireland, which has nothing to do with Royal Mail). As always, links are to the appropriate postal authorities. British Antarctic Territory is not included because "you can't get there from here" (the USPS does not recognize it as a destination). Similarly for the British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia, etc), Akrotiri and Dhekelia (on Cyprus), etc, which are SBAs (Sovereign Base Areas) under British military jurisdiction, so use BFPO numbers. Akrotiri is BFPO 57 and Dhekelia BFPO 58. There is no BFPO number for Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory, but it is reachable from the USA via APO AP 96490. USPS Name ISO Car City Line Format City and Country Line Example ALDERNEY GB GBA island uk-postcode ALDERNEY GY9 3UX CHANNEL ISLANDS ANGUILLA AI -- town THE VALLEY ANGUILLA ASCENSION ?? -- town uk-postcode TWO BOATS VILLAGE ASCN 1ZZ ASCENSION BERMUDA BM -- town LL nn Hamilton HM 12 BERMUDA BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS VG -- town, island Road Town, Tortola BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS CAYMAN ISLANDS KY -- po-box island KYn-nnnn P.O. Box 123 SAV Grand Cayman KY1-1010 CAYMAN ISLANDS ENGLAND GB GB town uk-postcode MANCHESTER M8 8LG ENGLAND FALKLAND ISLANDS FK -- town uk-postcode PORT HOWARD FIQQ 1ZZ FALKLAND ISLANDS GIBRALTAR GI -- town IRISH TOWN GIBRALTAR GUERNSEY GB GBG town island uk-postcode ST. PETER PORT GUERNSEY GY1 1FD CHANNEL ISLANDS ISLE OF MAN GB GBM town uk-postcode DOUGLAS IM99 1PB ISLE OF MAN IRELAND IE IRL town, Co. county Tuam, Co. Galway IRELAND JERSEY GB GBJ town island uk-postcode ST. HELIER JERSEY JE4 8NF CHANNEL ISLANDS MONTSERRAT MS -- town OLD TOWNE MONTSERRAT NORTHERN IRELAND GB GB town uk-postcode BELFAST BT6 9HQ NORTHERN IRELAND PITCAIRN ISLAND PN -- post-office-box P.O. BOX N PITCAIRN ISLAND SARK GB GBG island uk-postcode SARK GY9 OSF CHANNEL ISLANDS SCOTLAND GB GB town uk-postcode GLASGOW G21 2LH SCOTLAND SAINT HELENA SH -- town uk-postcode JAMESTOWN STHL 1ZZ SAINT HELENA SOUTH GEORGIA GS -- town uk-postcode GRYTVIKEN SIQQ 1ZZ SOUTH GEORGIA TRISTAN DA CUNHA -- -- town uk-postcode EDINBURGH TDCU 1ZZ TRISTAN DA CUNHA TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS TC -- town Providenciales TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS WALES GB GB town uk-postcode CARDIFF CF23 6DS WALES