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the union flag

nations united

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The Union Flag or 'the Union Jack' as it is known is a combination (or union) of three flags:

The flag of St George

The flag of St Andrew

The flag of St Patrick.

The red cross of St George.	The white cross on a blue background of St. Andrew	The red diagonal cross of St. Patrick
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Union Jack is a strange name for the flag, because a 'jack' is a flag that is flown on a 'jackstaff' or a small flag pole on the back of a naval ship. The flag should be called the Union Flag. The name Union Jack may come from a royal proclamation issued by Charles II (1660-85) that the Union Flag should be flown by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, (the small flag at the back of the ship).

The flag of St George is the flag of England, the flag of St Andrew is the flag of Scotland and the flag of St Patrick is the flag of Ireland. Which flag is missing? The flag of .......Click here to find out.

1603 King James VI of Scotland became King James I of England and united England and Scotland under a new flag combining the Cross of St Andrew with the Cross of St George. In 1801 King George III updated the design when he added the Cross of St Patrick.

On 12 April 1606 a proclamation (a law) was issued:

"All our subjects in this our isle and kingdom of Great Britain and the members thereof, shall bear in their main top the red cross commonly called St George's Cross and the white cross commonly called St. Andrew's Cross joined together according to a form made by our heralds and sent to our Admiral to be published to our said subjects."

Which flag is missing?

The Welsh dragon does not appear on the Union Flag. This is because when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales was already united with England and so it was not necessary to unite Wales with England.　

Some Facts about the Union Jack.

The Union Jack is flown above Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Sandringham when The Queen is not in residence. When she is in residence she has her own flag.

When there is news of a Royal death, the Union Flag will be flown at half-mast. The Union Flag is flown on government buildings on days marking the birthdays of members of the Royal family,Commonwealth Day, Coronation Day, The Queen's official birthday, Remembrance Day and on the days of the State Opening and prorogation of Parliament;

It is also flown on St David's Day (Wales), St George's Day (England), St Andrew's Day (Scotland), and St Patrick's Day (Northern Ireland).

Although the Union Flag started as a royal flag, it is now also flown by many people and organisations in the United Kingdom. It is often shown on other objects, anything from biscuits to clothes

If a flag has a small Union Jack in its corner, then that country is probably a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (former colonies); some examples: New Zealand, Australia, and the Canadian flags of Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

　

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