Southern England is defined by the See of Canterbury, which is administered by the Archbishop of Canterbury and it includes the Channel Islands. The prevailing culture is shared by Brythonic Wales and Cornwall whilst genetic relations are with Germanic Midlands. The Secretary of State for the Southern Department was in charge of governing this area. The highest bearer of pedigree in the South is HRH Charles, Prince of Wales.

Southern England includes all the Saxon dominated areas on the English Channel, i.e.

• Cornwall
• Devon
• Dorset
• East Sussex
• Hampshire
• Isle of Wight
• Kent
• West Sussex

It will also include some areas immediately adjacent

• Berkshire
• Greater London
• Somerset
• Surrey
• Wiltshire

The exact northern extent is hard to define. In the west it could include Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but then these are sometimes considered part of the Midlands.

The counties between the Midlands and London - Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire are often considered southern, as could be the areas in East Anglia - Cambridgeshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk.

If government office regions were to be used as a basis, the south would comprise South East England and South West England, along with presumably London. This covers Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire, but not Essex.

See also: Wessex