What is Northern Isles?
[[Image:OrkneyShetlandConstituency.svg|thumb|right|220px|The Northern Isles of Scotland.]] The '''Northern Isles''' <ref>[[Old Norse language|Old Norse]]: ''Norðreyjar''; [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scots Gaelic]]: ''Na h-Eileanan Tuath''; [[Scots language|Scots]]: ''Northren Isles''</ref> are a chain of [[island]]s off the north coast of mainland [[Scotland]]. The group includes [[Shetland]], [[Fair Isle]] and [[Orkney]]. Sometimes [[Stroma, Scotland|Stroma]] is included, which is part of [[Caithness]]. ==Culture and politics== The Northern Isles are usually separated for political purposes, but they come under the '''Orkney and Shetland''' parliamentary constituency in [[Westminster]]. Due to their history, the islands have a [[Norse]], rather than a [[Gaelic]] flavour, and have historic links with the [[Faroe Islands|Faroes]], [[Iceland]], and [[Norway]]. [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]] were given to Scotland as a deposit on the dowry of [[Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland|Margaret of Denmark]] when she married [[James III of Scotland]] in 1469. == References == {{Reflist}} [[Category:Islands of Scotland]]