Union Flag
also known as the
Union Jack
First, this flag is NOT the flag of Britain, neither is it the flag of England. It is the British monarch's emblem, used as the national flag the United Kingdom (UK).
So what is the UK, and why is England sometimes called Britain?
For most of the world, 'England', 'Britain' and the 'United Kingdom' are synonymous. But within those countries, the distinction is important. And the distinction is quite simple: The country of England is part of a large island called Great Britain (or Britain). There are two other countries in Britain: Scotland in the north and Wales in the west. England covers the south and east - about 3/5 of the island.
Britain is part of the UK along with Northern Ireland. The official name of the UK is the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' and its subjects can carry a British passport.
And this complicated naming helps to explain why the flag design is so complicated.
A bit of history
The Union Flag, or Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom and is so called because it embodies the emblems of the three countries united under one Sovereign - the kingdoms of England and Wales, of Scotland and of Ireland (although since 1921, only Northern Ireland has been part of the UK).
The flag consists of three heraldic crosses:
In 1194, England's King Richard I decided on a red St. George's Cross as the flag for England. Later, in the 1270's, St. George became the patron saint of England.
(This is also the basis of the flag of Georgia; the Channel Islands of Alderney, Guernsey and Herm; the 'square mile' City of London; Sitges near Barcelona; Montreal; and Sardinia. See other flags)
Scotland is represented by the white saltire on a blue background, a symbol for Scotland since King Angus in the ninth century. It is called the St. Andrew's Cross.
(This is also the flag of the Saint Andrew and Providence Islands - San Andrés y Providencia - northwest of Colombia, once the settlement of English Puritans, and the flag of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, albeit a slightly darker shade of blue. See other flags)
Union Flag, 1606
In 1606, when King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England, an additional flag was made combining the white cross of St. Andrew, with the red cross of St. George. The blue ground was darkened to match the shade of red and this united flag was called the Union Flag. A white border was added to the red cross to show the red and white colours of the English flag. The St. George's flag was retained for England and the St. Andrew's flag was retained for Scotland.
Scottish version
The Scots were upset to see the English red cross laid over their white cross, so they proposed a design where the white cross overlaid the red cross. Nice try, but the official version prevailed.
1 January 1801 was the start of the 'Act of Union of Ireland with England (and Wales) and Scotland'. Following this, King George III added the Irish flag to the Union flag. Ireland is represented by the flag of St. Patrick, a diagonal red cross on a white ground.
(A similar flag is used by Alabama, USA, and the Chilean city of Valdivia. In the 19th century the Valdivian governor was an Irishman - and one of the main industries of Valdivia is beer - but these are about the only links Valdivia has with Ireland. The Valdivian Cross is believed to be copied from the Spanish Cross of Burgundy. The flag of Jersey, Channel Islands, also has a red saltire and this flag may have been in use before St. Patrick's Cross became the flag for Ireland. See other flags)
However, there was a slight technical problem. If St. Patrick's Cross is centred on the St. Andrew's Cross, it obscures the white Scottish cross. To avoid this, the St. Patrick's cross was made thinner. It was also offset slightly, so that when we 'read' the flag clockwise, the white Scottish St. Andrew's Cross, the older member of the Union, is ahead of the red Irish St. Patrick's Cross.
The formation of the Union Flag came about as the result of the progressive merging of the inhabitants of the British Isles under one king.
Welsh flag
Union Flag, 1606
Red Hand Flag
Name of the flag
The term Union Jack possibly dates from Queen Anne's reign (1702-14) but its origin is uncertain. It may come from:
- the 'jacket' of the English or Scottish soldiers
- or from the name of James I who originated the first union in 1603, in either its Latin or French form Jacobus or Jacques
- or, because jack once meant 'small', a royal proclamation issued by Charles II said the Union Flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack - a small flag at the bowsprit.
In 1902 the British government decided that either of the names Union Flag or Union Jack could be used officially.
Use the flag
Correct orientation
Incorrect orientation
As explained above, the broader diagonal white stripe should be at the top left hand side of the flag nearest the flagpole. To fly the flag with the anti-clockwise reading is a signal indicating 'distress'. It is also lese Majeste (an offence against the 'dignity of the sovereign'), and is theoretically still a crime in the UK.
...or so we are led to believe. Since an underlying axiom of democracy is that nothing is sacred, prosecution for just flying a reversed flag is unlikely to succeed. Having said that, there have been some pretty queer cases in the British courts through the years.
As for the distress signal; in the early naval days a reversed flag was hoisted as a secret danger signal known only to the British. Battle ships would use it to warn of danger while foreign fleets wouldn't realise that a tip-off was being made.
Help! Distress! I'm driving a Mini!
But now that the information is all over the Internet for enemy navies to read, the signal is no longer used. And don't bother remembering this if your car gets stuck in a snowdrift - the emergency services probably wouldn't recognise anything so subtle.
Nevertheless, it's all useful stuff for cub scouts to learn.
As explained, the flag is theoretically the property of the monarch. For this reason, the laws governing its use are a bit unusual and tend to be 'Commands by the Sovereign', rather than laws passed by the government. It is generally taken for granted that His/Her Majesty's subjects may fly the flag in the UK without any special permission.
So no real problem flying the flag on land, but at sea there are severe restrictions, since the flag has been reserved by the government for military purposes.
Where to see the Union Flag
The Union Flag also forms part of the flags of many other countries, including: Anguilla, Australia, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Montserrat, New Zealand, St Helena, Turks & Caicos, and Tuvalu. It is also prominent on the Hawai'i State Flag, along with eight alternating white, red and blue stripes which represent the eight islands of Hawaii.
