On 17 June 1944, 200 days after the 25-year Danish–Icelandic Act of Union had expired and following a referendum, Iceland was declared an independent republic with this being recognised by London as well as the King of Denmark.

Since then relations have improved, mainly because both countries have common interests including free trade, defence, environmental protection and international peace.

[2] In October 2015, David Cameron became the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom to officially visit Iceland (to attend the Northern Future Forum) since it became a republic in 1944.

Iceland has an embassy in London and seventeen honorary consulates in: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cardiff, Dover, East Riding of Yorkshire, Edinburgh, Fleetwood, Glasgow, Grimsby, Guernsey, Jersey (in the Channel Islands), Lerwick, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northern Ireland, and York.

[5][6] Rockall was claimed by a number of nations, including Iceland and the United Kingdom, as well as by the Republic of Ireland and Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands).