capital guernsey
The English Channel (" the Sleeve " [ hence ] " Sea of Brittany " " British Sea "), also called simply the Channel , is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France , and joins the southern part of the North Sea to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean . The Bailiwick of Guernsey is one of three Crown dependencies of the United Kingdom . The Jurisdiction of Guernsey is a possession of the Crown in right of Guernsey in the English Channel , off the coast of Normandy . The jurisdiction embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey , but also the much smaller inhabited islands of Herm , Jethou and Lihou together with many small islets and rocks . The jurisdiction is not part of the United Kingdom , however defence and ___MASK22___ foreign relations are handled by the British Government . The whole jurisdiction lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Isles and is not a member of the European Union , but has a special relationship with it , being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods . Taken together with the separate jurisdictions of Alderney and Sark it forms the Bailiwick of Guernsey . The two Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey together form the geographical grouping known as the Channel Islands . Guernésiais , also known as Dgèrnésiais , Guernsey French , and Guernsey ___MASK81___ French , is the variety of the ___MASK81___ language spoken in Guernsey . It is sometimes known on the island simply as " patois ". As one of the langues d ' oïl it has its roots in Latin , but has had strong influence from both Old Norse and English at different points in its history . The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign country in western Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain ( the name of which is also loosely applied to the whole country ), the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland , and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another sovereign statethe Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - south - west , giving it the 12th - longest coastline in the world . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of , the UK is the 78th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also the 21st - ___MASK22___ populous country , with an estimated 65 . 1 million inhabitants . Together , this makes it the fourth ___MASK22___ densely populated country in the European Union . Great Britain , also known as Britain , is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe . With an area of , Great Britain is the largest European island and the ninth - largest in the world . In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people , making it the world ' s third - ___MASK22___ populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan . The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it , and together these islands , along with over 1 , 000 smaller surrounding islands , comprise the British Isles archipelago . The Channel Islands ( ___MASK81___ : " Îles d ' la Manche ", French : " Îles Anglo - Normandes " or " Îles de la Manche ") are an archipelago in the English Channel , off the French coast of Normandy . They include two Crown dependencies : the Bailiwick of Jersey , consisting of Jersey , the largest of the islands ; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey , consisting of Guernsey , Alderney , Sark and some smaller islands . They are considered the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy , and although they are not part of the United Kingdom , it is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands . The Crown dependencies are not members of the Commonwealth of Nations nor of the European Union . They have a total population of about 168 , 000 , and the bailiwicks ' respective capitals , Saint Helier and ___MASK80___ , have populations of 33 , 500 and 16 , 488 , respectively . The total area of the islands is 198 km . Normandy ( pronounced , ___MASK81___ : " Normaundie ", from Old French " Normanz ", plural of " Normant ", originally from the word for " northman " in several Scandinavian languages ) is one of the regions of France , roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy . The Crown dependencies are three territories of the United Kingdom : the Isle of Man in the Irish Sea , and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey in the English Channel . Being independently administered jurisdictions , they do not form part of either the United Kingdom or the British Overseas Territories . They are self - governing possessions of the Crown ( defined uniquely in each jurisdiction ). Internationally , the dependencies are considered " territories for which the United Kingdom is responsible " rather than as sovereign states . As a result , they are not member states of the Commonwealth of Nations . However , they do have a relationship with the Commonwealth , the European Union , and other international organisations and are members of the British  Irish Council . They are not part of the European Union ( ___MASK86___ ), although they are within the ___MASK86___ ' s customs area . Brittany ( pronounced or ; Gallo : " Bertaèyn ", pronounced ) is a cultural region in the north - west of France . Covering the western part of Armorica , as it was known during the period of ___MASK75___ occupation , Brittany subsequently became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as if it were a separate nation under the crown . Brittany has also been referred to as " Less ", " Lesser " or " Little " Britain ( as opposed to " Great Britain "). It is bordered by the English Channel to the north , the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west , and the Bay of Biscay to the south . Its land area is 34 , 023 km² . Herm ( Guernésiais : " Haerme ") is one of the Channel Islands and part of the Parish of St Peter Port in the Bailiwick of Guernsey . It is located in the English Channel , north - west of France and south of England . It is long and under wide ; orientated north - south , with several stretches of sand along its northern coast . The much larger island of Guernsey lies to the west and Jersey to the south - east , and the smaller island of Jethou is just off the south - west coast . The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint - Clair - sur - Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and Rollo , leader of the Vikings . From 1066 until 1204 it was held by the kings of England , except for the brief rule of Robert Curthose ( 1087  1106 ) and Geoffrey Plantagenet ( 1144  1150 ). Normandy was declared forfeit by ___MASK69___ II of France in 1202 , and seized by force of arms in 1204 . It remained disputed territory until the Treaty of ___MASK10___ of 1259 , when the English sovereigns ceded their claim , except for the Channel Islands . Lihou is a small tidal island located just off the west coast of the island of Guernsey , in the English Channel , between Great Britain and France . Administratively , Lihou forms part of the Parish of St . Peter ' s in the Bailiwick of Guernsey , and is now owned by the Parliament of Guernsey ( officially known as the States of Guernsey ), although there have been a number of owners in the past . Since 2006 , the island has been jointly managed by the Guernsey Environment Department and the Lihou Charitable Trust . In the past the island was used by locals for the collection of seaweed for use as a fertiliser , but today Lihou is mainly used for tourism , including school trips . Lihou is also an important centre for conservation , forming part of a Ramsar wetland site for the preservation of rare birds and plants as well as historic ruins of a priory and a farmhouse . France , officially the French Republic , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . France spans and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi - presidential republic with the capital in ___MASK10___ , the country ' s largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , ___MASK71___ , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux .