The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state and island country to the northwest of continental Europe. At its zenith, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain (including Wales) and several smaller outlying islands—what is today the legal unit of England and Wales. England as a nation state began in the 9th or 10th century, but broadly traces its origins to the Anglo-Saxon invasion of Britain and the Heptarchy of petty states that followed and ultimately unified.

The Norman invasion of Wales from 1067-1283 (formalized with the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284) put Wales in England's control, and Wales came under English law with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542. England was united with the neighbouring Kingdom of Scotland to create the Kingdom of Great Britain under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707. The chief royal residence was originally located at Winchester, in Hampshire, but Westminster and Gloucester were accorded almost equal status—especially Westminster.

The City of Westminster in London had become the de facto capital by the beginning of the 12th century. London has thus served as the capital of the Kingdom of England, then the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801) followed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922), and subsequently - and to this day - as the capital of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the "United Kingdom"). The present monarch, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, is the successor to the Kings and Queens of England.

The title of Queen (or King) of England has been legally incorrect since 1707, although it is colloquially still in common use. Queen Elizabeth II can trace her descent from the Kings of Wessex of the 1st millennium. Despite a political union with Scotland, modern England endures as one of the countries of the United Kingdom.

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