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Life in the UK Practice Test 27 (2026) — free, with answers

24 original practice questions in the official Life in the UK Test formats — multiple choice, select TWO, TRUE or FALSE and “which statement is correct”. The real test has 24 questions in 45 minutes with a 75% pass mark (18 of 24). Every answer below includes an explanation. Written from the official study material; no log-in, completely free.

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1. What was the English republic declared after the execution of Charles I called?

  1. The Commonwealth
  2. The Protectorate Union
  3. The Free State
  4. The Dominion
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Answer: A — The Commonwealth

England declared itself a republic called the Commonwealth, with no monarch.

2. In which year had the revolt in Ireland begun that Cromwell was sent to put down?

  1. 1641
  2. 1649
  3. 1660
  4. 1690
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Answer: A — 1641

Cromwell was sent to Ireland where the revolt begun in 1641 continued; he established the authority of the English Parliament with such violence that he remains a controversial figure in Ireland.

3. At which TWO battles did Cromwell defeat the Scottish army that supported Charles II?

  1. Dunbar
  2. Worcester
  3. Naseby
  4. Bosworth
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Answer: A and B — Dunbar; Worcester

The Scots crowned Charles II king of Scotland; Cromwell defeated his army at Dunbar and Worcester.

4. Is the statement below TRUE or FALSE? After his defeat at Naseby, Charles II escaped, famously hiding in an oak tree, and fled to Europe.

  1. TRUE
  2. FALSE
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Answer: B — FALSE

FALSE — Charles II was defeated at WORCESTER. He escaped, hid in an oak tree on one occasion, and eventually fled to Europe. NASEBY was one of the battles where his father, Charles I, was defeated.

5. In which year did Oliver Cromwell die?

  1. 1658
  2. 1649
  3. 1660
  4. 1666
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Answer: A — 1658

Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector until his death in 1658; his son Richard succeeded him but could not control the army or the government.

6. For how long was Britain a republic?

  1. 11 years
  2. 3 years
  3. 20 years
  4. 40 years
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Answer: A — 11 years

Britain was a republic for 11 years, but without Oliver Cromwell there was no clear leader or system of government, and people began to talk of the need for a king.

7. Which faith again became the established official Church after the Restoration?

  1. The Church of England
  2. The Roman Catholic Church
  3. The Presbyterian Church
  4. The Puritan congregations
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Answer: A — The Church of England

The Church of England became the established Church again, and both Roman Catholics and Puritans were kept out of power.

8. In which year was there a major outbreak of plague in London during the reign of Charles II?

  1. 1665
  2. 1666
  3. 1649
  4. 1679
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Answer: A — 1665

The plague of 1665 killed thousands, especially in poorer areas; the great fire followed in 1666.

9. Which architect designed the new St Paul's Cathedral after the Great Fire of London?

  1. Sir Christopher Wren
  2. Inigo Jones
  3. Robert Adam
  4. Sir Edwin Lutyens
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Answer: A — Sir Christopher Wren

The fire destroyed much of the city including St Paul's; London was rebuilt with a new St Paul's designed by Sir Christopher Wren.

10. Who wrote a famous diary describing the plague and the Great Fire of London?

  1. Samuel Pepys
  2. Geoffrey Chaucer
  3. John Barbour
  4. Sir Edmund Halley
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Answer: A — Samuel Pepys

Samuel Pepys wrote about these events in a diary which was later published and is still read today.

11. In which year did the Habeas Corpus Act become law?

  1. 1679
  2. 1665
  3. 1689
  4. 1690
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Answer: A — 1679

The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 guaranteed that no one could be held prisoner unlawfully, and that every prisoner has a right to a court hearing.

12. What does the Latin phrase 'habeas corpus' mean?

  1. You must present the person in court
  2. The king is subject to the law
  3. Let justice be done
  4. The people shall decide
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Answer: A — You must present the person in court

Habeas corpus is Latin for 'you must present the person in court'.

13. The Royal Society, formed during the reign of Charles II, is best described as what?

  1. The oldest surviving scientific society in the world
  2. The first university in England
  3. A society of poets
  4. The forerunner of Parliament
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Answer: A — The oldest surviving scientific society in the world

The Royal Society was formed to promote 'natural knowledge' and is the oldest surviving scientific society in the world.

14. Which early member of the Royal Society successfully predicted the return of a comet?

  1. Sir Edmund Halley
  2. Sir Isaac Newton
  3. Samuel Pepys
  4. Sir Christopher Wren
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Answer: A — Sir Edmund Halley

Sir Edmund Halley predicted the return of the comet now named after him.

15. Where was Isaac Newton born, and where did he first become interested in science?

  1. Born in Lincolnshire; studied at Cambridge University
  2. Born in Cambridge; studied at Oxford University
  3. Born in London; studied in Edinburgh
  4. Born in Lincolnshire; studied in London
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Answer: A — Born in Lincolnshire; studied at Cambridge University

Newton was born in Lincolnshire in eastern England and first became interested in science at Cambridge University.

16. What did Newton's Principia Mathematica show?

  1. How gravity applied to the whole universe
  2. That white light is made of colours
  3. How to predict comets
  4. The laws of chemistry
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Answer: A — How gravity applied to the whole universe

His most famous published work showed how gravity applied to the whole universe; he separately discovered that white light is made up of the colours of the rainbow.

17. When James became king in 1685, what title did he hold in Scotland?

  1. James VII
  2. James II
  3. James III
  4. James I
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Answer: A — James VII

He was James II in England, Wales and Ireland, and James VII of Scotland.

18. Which TWO actions of James II alarmed people in England?

  1. He allowed Roman Catholics to be army officers, which an Act of Parliament had forbidden
  2. He arrested some of the bishops of the Church of England
  3. He abolished the House of Lords
  4. He sold Ireland to France
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Answer: A and B — He allowed Roman Catholics to be army officers, which an Act of Parliament had forbidden; He arrested some of the bishops of the Church of England

James favoured Roman Catholics and did not seek agreement with Parliament, and people feared he wanted to make England Catholic again.

19. What changed the expectation that a Protestant monarch would soon follow James II?

  1. James's wife had a son
  2. His daughters converted to Catholicism
  3. Parliament was dissolved
  4. William of Orange died
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Answer: A — James's wife had a son

His heirs were his two firmly Protestant daughters — until his wife had a son, making a Catholic succession suddenly likely.

20. Whom did James II's elder daughter Mary marry?

  1. William of Orange, the Protestant ruler of the Netherlands
  2. Charles II of England
  3. A French Catholic prince
  4. Her cousin Richard Cromwell
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Answer: A — William of Orange, the Protestant ruler of the Netherlands

Mary married her cousin William of Orange, the Protestant ruler of the Netherlands.

21. In which year did William of Orange come to England at the invitation of important English Protestants?

  1. 1688
  2. 1685
  3. 1690
  4. 1660
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Answer: A — 1688

In 1688 he was asked to invade and proclaim himself king; when he reached England there was no resistance and James fled to France.

22. Which of the following statements is correct?

  1. The Glorious Revolution was so called because there was no fighting in England and it guaranteed the power of Parliament.
  2. The Glorious Revolution was so called because of the scale of the battles fought across England.
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Answer: A — The Glorious Revolution was so called because there was no fighting in England and it guaranteed the power of Parliament.

It ended the threat of a monarch ruling alone as he or she wished. William ruled jointly with Mary.

23. At which battle in 1690 did William defeat James II in Ireland?

  1. The Battle of the Boyne
  2. The Battle of Killiecrankie
  3. The Battle of Culloden
  4. The Battle of Dunbar
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Answer: A — The Battle of the Boyne

The Battle of the Boyne in 1690 is still celebrated by some in Northern Ireland today; William re-conquered Ireland and James fled back to France.

24. Where was the armed rebellion in Scotland in support of James quickly defeated?

  1. Killiecrankie
  2. Culloden
  3. Bannockburn
  4. Glencoe
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Answer: A — Killiecrankie

The rising in support of James was defeated at Killiecrankie, after which all Scottish clans had to take an oath accepting William as king.

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