As I said in my last post, I don't know what the actual legal status is.
Part of the problem is the 'country' isn't really the right word. It's about states and statehood, as opposed to nations. The trouble with the word country is that people use it interchangeably with both and it muddies the waters.
The UK is a state subdivided into 4 constituent nations rather than being a singular nation-state like France.