America at 250: What are people doing around the UK to mark American independence?

This year marks the 250th anniversary of American independence from Great Britain.

That means that 250 years ago, people in America decided they would no longer be ruled by Britain, and after lots of fighting, started to govern themselves as their own country.

A lot of people see it as the USA's birthday, and given it's a big one this year, there are lots of fun and interesting things going on to celebrate.

There will be special events in the US but also in the UK because of the shared history between the two countries.

For a long time, Britain used to rule America but lots of people weren't happy about it.

Americans had to pay taxes to Britain, even though they had no representation in the English Parliament.

So in 1776, people in the US decided they wanted to break away from Britain and govern themselves.

There were 13 colonies in America back then, which later became states:

And in June 1776, representatives from these 13 places met in Philadelphia, which at the time was the political centre of the country.

This group was called the Colonies' Second Continental Congress, and together they drafted what would become known as the Declaration of Independence.

This document took a while to make, but after 86 changes, it was finally finished on 4 July 1776 and stated that America would no longer be ruled by Great Britain.

Fighting between the Americans and the British did carry on after this date, but a few years later the British Parliament also officially recognised America's independence.

And in 1870, it was declared a national holiday in America, which is why people often have parties on 4 July.

There remain strong ties between America and the UK and these will be celebrated in the King's state visit to the US in late April.

Kew National Archives in London is one place which will be marking the occasion.

A rare copy of the United States Declaration of Independence will go on display at Kew as part of an exhibition there exploring the birth of the country.

From May to November, a copy of the document printed in Philadelphia on 4 July 1776, called a Dunlap, will be on display to the public.

They're called Dunlaps because they're named after the person who printed them, John Dunlap, whose name appears at the bottom of them.

It is believed that only 200 of these Dunlaps were ever made.

In Scotland, students from Heriot-Watt's school of textiles and design in Galashiels are designing a special tartan to celebrate Scottish-American bonds.

Tartan is a special type of checked woollen fabric which has great cultural and historic importance to the people of Scotland.

It is made up of horizontal and vertical stripes in different colours, on a coloured background. The interwoven stripes are known as a sett.

Tartan can come in many different colours and designs, to represent different clans, or families.

Five students have already been shortlisted, and the winning design will be registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority in the summer, as the official tartan of America250 - the group organising anniversary events in the US.

Around 20 projects in Northern Ireland have been awarded a share of £250,000 in order to celebrate America's 250th birthday.

Like Scotland, there will also be some crafting with one project aiming to make a 30-panel quilt, which will tell the story of how Irish and Scottish people helped the development of early America.

There will also be festivals, panel discussions and special lessons in Northern Irish schools.