Great Britain and the United KingdomWhen King James VI of Scotland took over the English throne, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged to form the unified Kingdom of Great Britain. Under the Acts of Union in 1707, both England and Scotland lost their individual political (though not legal) identities. This union has subsequently changed its name twice; firstly on the merger with the Kingdom of Ireland following the Act of Union in 1800 creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Then following the secession from the union of the Irish Free State under the terms of the Government of Ireland Act 1920, it became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Throughout these changes, England (including Wales) retained a separate legal identity from its partners, with a separate legal system (English law) from those in Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland law) and Scotland (Scots law), and eventually the strong feelings of the Welsh were acknowledged when it was decided that the name would henceforth be "England and Wales".