The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during th: The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.[m][24] The UK has three distinct jurisdictions; England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.[25] Since 1998, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own devolved governments and legislatures while England is governed directly by the UK Government.[26] The capital and largest city of the United Kingdom is London. Other major cities include Birmingham, Liverpool, Nottingham, Sheffield, Bristol, Glasgow and Leicester.[27] Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland's national capital cities are Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively.