Great Britain Great Britain was the largest of the British Isles . It was governed by the United Kingdom . It consisted of England , Scotland and Wales . Correcting Mr Copper ' s use of " Great France " and " Great Germany " , the Tenth Doctor clarified that " only Britain [ was ] great . " ( TV : " Voyage of the Damned " ) Geography . Great Britain was first united as one nation in 1707 , by events set in motion through the Alien Act of 1705 . ( TV : " The Highlanders " ) Its capital city was London , with Edinburgh and Cardiff serving as the regional capitals of Scotland and Wales respectively . ( TV : " The War Machines " , " The Highlanders " , " The Unquiet Dead " ) Britain shared its eastern coast with the North Sea . ( TV : " The Lie of the Land " ) Nationality . People from Great Britain were variously self - identified as " English " , " Scottish " or " Welsh " — although members of any of these identities were also more generally considered " British " internationally . The Doctor ' s long association with the country led him to often be identified as British , typically when he was visiting other parts of Earth . ( TV : " The Gunfighters " , " Doctor Who " ) Influence on the Doctor . The Doctor visited Great Britain more than anywhere else on his travels . He developed a great affinity for it and even lived there for some time . ( TV : " An Unearthly Child " , et al . ) He was well acquainted with the island ' s historical figures , and was both a friend , and antagonist , to several of her monarchs . ( TV : " Voyage of the Damned " , " The Crusade " , " Tooth and Claw " , " The Impossible Astronaut " , " The Shakespeare Code " ) In 1562 , when the Tenth Doctor married Queen Elizabeth I , he was effectively King of England . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) The Doctor sometimes considered himself to be British and would often refer to himself as such , ( TV : " Doctor Who " , PROSE : " History 101 " , et al ) though on one occasion his tenth incarnation said he wasn ' t English . ( TV : " The Day of the Doctor " ) He accepted a British knighthood from Queen Victoria ( TV : " Tooth and Claw " ) and an English knighthood from an imposter posing as King John . ( TV : " The King ' s Demons " ) History . After several failed attempts , the Roman Empire succeeded in conquering Britain in 43 . The Roman occupation of the island lasted until the early 5th century . ( AUDIO : " The Wrath of the Iceni " ) One of these failed attempts was led by Julius Caesar in 55 BC . ( AUDIO : " Living History " ) In 305 , the Eighth Doctor and Charley Pollard stopped the Nimon from invading a Roman fort in Britannia . ( AUDIO : " Seasons of Fear " ) By the 21st century , Britain was identified as one of the most obese nations of the galaxy . ( TV : " Partners in Crime " ) In the Year That Never Was where the Toclafane ruled Earth , ' s new name for Britain was Zone One . ( TV : " Last of the Time Lords " ) In the 24th century , it was known as ConCorp . ( AUDIO : " Antidote to Oblivion " ) By the 26th century , it was known as Greater Britannica . ( AUDIO : " Scorpius " ) In the 29th century , due to solar flare s , the United Kingdom abandoned Earth for Starship UK ; Scotland opted for its own starship separate from the rest of the kingdom . ( TV : " The Beast Below " ) This continued until at least the 52nd century . ( TV : " The Pandorica Opens " ) During the Ice Age of 5000 , Brittanicus Base was located in Britain . ( TV : " The Ice Warriors " )