Anglo-German relations
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Germany–United Kingdom relations, or Anglo–German relations, are the bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and Germany.
Relations were very strong in the Late Middle Ages, when the German cities of the Hanseatic League traded with England and Scotland.
Before the Unification of Germany in 1871, Britain was often allied in wartime with its dominant Prussia. The royal families often intermarried. Also, the House of Hanover (1714–1837) ruled the small Electorate of Hanover, later the Kingdom of Hanover, as well as Britain.
Historians have long focused on the diplomatic and naval rivalries between Britain and Germany after 1871 to search for the root causes of the growing antagonism that led to World War I. In recent years, historians have paid greater attention to the mutual cultural, ideological and technological influences.
During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), Prussia was from some time a British ally and suffered for it; some of the other German states had supported France. Britain and Germany fought against each other in World War I and World War II. After British occupation of part of West Germany from 1945 to 1950, they became close allies in NATO, which continued after reunification. Both nations were active in the European Union, with Germany seen as one of its dominant nations and Britain a more reluctant member that never adopted the euro. In a referendum in 2016, Britain decided to leave the European Union.
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