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Q. I am about to order some headed airmail paper

and I am unclear as to whether it should say United Kingdom, Great Britain or England. Please will you be so kind as to advise.

G.C., London SW1 A. England has always been correct form in the past and well within many readers’ own lifetimes ‘North Britain’ was appended to letters to Scotland. The expression ‘UK’ is jarring to sensitive ears and Great Britain is plainly absurd, so why not endorse your decision by looking to the French, who always use Angleterre when addressing envelopes?

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