What is Parliament of the United Kingdom?
[[File:houses.of.parliament.overall.arp.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The British Houses of Parliament at [[Palace of Westminster]], seen over [[Westminster Bridge]]]] The '''Parliament of the [[United Kingdom]] of [[Great Britain]] and [[Northern Ireland]]''' is the highest political-legislative and [[legislature|legislative body]] in the United Kingdom and [[British overseas territories]]. It alone has [[parliament]]ary [[sovereignty]] over all other political bodies. The [[parliament]] has an [[upper house]], the [[House of Lords]], and a [[lower house]], the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]. At its head is the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]], [[Charles III|King Charles III]]. The monarch is the third part of Parliament. The [[British people]] choose the people in the lower house ([[members of parliament]]) in [[elections]]. The development of parliament started with the councils of [[bishops]] and [[Earl|earls]] that advised the kings and queens of the [[Middle Ages]]. In 1707, during the [[early modern period]], the [[Parliament of England]] and the [[Parliament of Scotland]] joined to become the [[Parliament of Great Britain]]. The first Parliament of the United Kingdom came into existence in 1801, after the [[Irish Parliament]] joined with the Parliament of Great Britain. Between 1801 and 1927, the British legislature's name was the '''Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland'''. == How the British Parliament works == The Parliament of the United Kingdom is split into three separate parts, the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] (the [[lower house]]), the [[House of Lords]] (the [[upper house]]) and the monarch (the King). Most legislative power is concentrated in the House of Commons. It is made up of 650 [[members of parliament]] (MPs). These people are elected by the people of the United Kingdom to represent them in the House of Commons. The leader of the political party who commands a majority of MPs is usually made the [[pri