Did the UK revoke the US's independence?
Executive summary
The claim that “the UK revoked the US’s independence” is false: it originated as a satirical spoof letter that circulated on the internet and in photocopies, not as an official act by the British government, and reputable fact-checkers have debunked it [1] [2]. Legally and practically the United Kingdom has no power to unilaterally annul another sovereign state's independence, and historical documents show the United States asserted and secured its independence through explicit rejection of British authority in the 18th century [3] [4].
1. The rumor’s origin: a spoof letter and online folklore
The “Notice of Revocation of Independence” began as a piece of modern folklore — a mocking, satirical “letter” purporting to notify Americans that Queen Elizabeth II was resuming royal duties and that the UK would “harmonise” prices and collect back taxes — and it spread widely by e‑mail, newsgroups and photocopies during the early internet era [1] [2]; versions have been reposted across hobbyist and right‑wing forums and attributed, wrongly, to public figures such as John Cleese [5] [6].
2. Fact‑checking and attribution: satire misread as state action
Independent fact‑checking traced the text to anonymous internet circulation and identified it as parody rather than an authentic governmental notice, noting in particular that John Cleese did not write the original and that the piece predates later misattributions [1] [7]; multiple reposted copies on amateur sites reproduce the same jokey points — petrol prices, “tax collectors” arriving, and cultural barbs — hallmarking satire rather than diplomatic communiqué [8] [9].
3. Legal reality: sovereign independence cannot be “revoked” by a foreign power
From a legal and political perspective, once independence has been achieved and recognized, a former colonial power cannot unilaterally “revoke” it; scholars and legal commentators observe that Britain and the United States are separate sovereign states and that the UK lacks the legal authority to annul another nation’s sovereignty [3]. Historical acts and the Declaration of Independence reflect a conscious, unilateral severing of British authority in 1776 — actions not subject to later revocation by the Crown [4].
4. Why the hoax stuck: humor, grievance and internet virality
The spoof’s survival owes to its mix of topical mockery and cultural grievance: it lampoons American politics and institutions while offering comic reversals (e.g., imposing British petrol prices or renaming baseball events), which made it shareable as political satire and as a taunt during periods of partisan tension; online platforms and message boards amplified versions that stripped context, fostering belief among some readers [1] [6] [2].
5. Alternative viewpoints and the misattribution problem
While most reliable sources classify the text as parody, some online communities repost it as “authentic” political commentary or claim it as celebrity satire by figures like Cleese, creating ambiguity for casual readers; that misattribution itself became part of the meme, illustrating how attribution errors can lend hoaxes undeserved credibility [5] [7]. Those who treat the letter as a serious diplomatic act overlook both the legal impossibility and the documented folkloric origin [3] [2].
6. Bottom line and limits of available reporting
There is no evidence in the reporting compiled here of any formal British governmental action to revoke U.S. independence; the story is a circulated satire and not a state decree, and legal analysis confirms such a revocation is not within the UK’s power [1] [3] [2]. If records exist purporting to be official revocation documents, they are not represented in the sources reviewed and should be treated skeptically pending authoritative archival or governmental confirmation.