As a result , in 1927 Britain changed its formal title to `` The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland '' , usually shortened to `` the United Kingdom '' , `` the UK '' or `` Britain '' . As a result , in 1927 the United Kingdom changed its formal title to the `` United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , '' usually shortened to the `` United Kingdom '' , the `` UK '' or `` Britain '' , but the Style of the British sovereign , as the result of the dissolution of the previous Union , entirely abandoned the term `` United Kingdom '' .