Spaniards in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

are people of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

descent resident in Britain. They may be

British citizens British nationality law prescribes the conditions under which a person is recognised as being a national of the United Kingdom. The six different classes of British nationality each have varying degrees of civil and political rights, due to the ...

or non-citizen

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Historical migration of royalty

Spanish and English royalty intermarried on numerous occasions, a notable example is found in King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

and

Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I, whom she married as part of a political deal to affirm English sovereignty over Gascony. The marriage was known to be particularly close, and ...

, parents of King

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

. In 1501,

Catherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously ...

came to London aged 15. After the early death of her first husband, she became Henry VIII's first wife. Their daughter, Mary Tudor attempted to re-introduce

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as the state religion during her own reign and married

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

. Both women at that time brought the influence of

Spanish culture The culture of ''Spain'' is based on a variety of historical influences, primarily based on the culture of ancient Rome, Spain being a prominent part of the Greco-Roman world for centuries, the very name of Spain comes from the name that the Rom ...

to the royal court.

Demographics

The

2001 UK Census A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organised by the Office for National ...

recorded 54,482 Spanish-born people. 54,105 of these were resident in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

(that is, the UK excluding

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

). The equivalent figure in the 1991 Census was 38,606. The

census tract A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...

s with the highest numbers of Spanish-born residents in 2001 were

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, all in west

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The

2011 UK Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

recorded 77,554 Spanish-born residents in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, 1,630 in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, 4,908 in Scotland and 703 in

. According to Instituto Nacional de Estadística statistics, the number of Spanish citizens registered with the Spanish consulate in the UK was 102,498 as of 1 January 2016. The

Office for National Statistics The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament. Overview The ONS is responsible for th ...

estimates that the Spanish-born population of the UK was 164,000 in 2020.

Economics

According to analysis by the

Institute for Public Policy Research The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 and is an independent registered charity. IPPR has offices in Newcastle upon Tyne, Manchester, and Edinburgh. Funding comes from ...

, 71.22 per cent of recent Spanish immigrants to the UK of

working age Working age is the range of ages at which people are typically engaged in either paid or unpaid work. It typically sits between the ages of adolescence Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that ...

are employed as opposed to unemployed or inactive (which includes students), compared to 73.49 per cent of British-born people. 15.05 per cent of recent Spanish-born immigrants are low earners, defined as having an income of less than £149.20 per week (compared to 21.08 per cent of British-born people), and 2.15 per cent are high earners, earning more than £750 per week (compared to 6.98 per cent of British-born people). Amongst settled Spanish-born immigrants, 71.48 per cent are employed, with 23.44 per cent being low earners and 7.81 per cent high earners.

Education

There is a Spanish school in London,

Instituto Español Vicente Cañada Blanch Instituto Español Vicente Cañada Blanch (Vicente Cañada Blanch Spanish School) is a Spanish international school in Kensington, London, England,Spain–United Kingdom relations Spain–United Kingdom relations, also called Spanish–British relations or Anglo-Spanish relations, are the bilateral international relations between Spain and United Kingdom. History The history of Spanish–British relations is complicated b ...

Spanish Australian Spanish Australians refers to Australian citizens and residents of Spanish descent, or people who were born in Spain and immigrated to Australia. There are approximately 123,000 Australians who are of full or partial Spanish descent, most of ...

British migration to Spain British migration to Spain has resulted in Spain being home to one of the largest British people, British-born populations outside the United Kingdom in the world, and the largest in Europe. Migration from the UK to Spain has increased rapidly sin ...

Gibraltarians in the United Kingdom Gibraltarians in the United Kingdom may be Gibraltarian-born immigrants to the United Kingdom or their British-born descendants. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory therefore it allows individuals born there the right of abode in the Unite ...

References

{{Spanish diaspora Immigration to the United Kingdom by country of origin