Union Jack Flag

The Union Jack Flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack Flag represents emblems of three countries under a single Sovereign. The three countries are England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. However, since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of United Kingdom.

Description of the Flag

The Union Jack Flag presents a combination of three different national symbols. St. Andrew�s cross represents the Scotland flag, St. Patrick's cross represents the Ireland flag, and St. George's cross represents the England flag. St. Patrick, St. George, and St. Andrew are the patron saints of their respective countries.

The cross of St George is a red cross on a white ground. The cross of St Andrew is a diagonal white cross on a blue ground. The cross of St Patrick is a diagonal red cross on a white ground. After the Act of Union of Ireland with England, Wales, and Scotland on 1 January 1801, the cross of St Patrick combined with that of the previous Union Flag.

Location of the Flag

The Union Jack Flag flies over the Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, and Sandringham when The Queen is not at the palace. The decision to fly the Flag atop public buildings is by the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport although only at The Queen's command.

On special days like Commonwealth Day, The Queen's official birthday, birthdays of members of the Royal family, State Opening and prorogation of Parliament, Remembrance Day, Coronation Day, St George's Day, St David's Day, St Patrick's Day, St Andrew's Day, the Flag is atop government buildings too. In the event of a Royal death, the Union Jack Flag is at half-mast.

Unity in Diversity

The Union Jack Flag represents a union of unity in diversity. This transnational flag has huge historical significance and extensive influence too. Presently, the national flag of Australia also contains the flag of England within it.

The Union Jack Flag is a clear depiction of the union of the countries represented on it. In other words, this union represents importance of individuality within a closely formed group.

2. British Flag

The Union Flag, first introduced in 1606, was popular as the British Flag. At that time, the British Flag was also popular as the flag of Britain. This name remained for around a century. Around 1707, The Royal Navy changed the name of this flag to �The Union�. At this time, another country also came within the fold of Britain.

The British Flag is atop government buildings only on special days like Commonwealth Day, The Queen's official birthday, Coronation Day, Remembrance Day, birthdays of members of the Royal family, and days of State Opening and prorogation of Parliament.

Dimensions of the British Flag

The British Flag has a width equal to twice its height. It has the crosses of St. Patrick, St. George, and St. Andrew. This flag is unsymmetrical as St. Patrick�s flag is not at the center. While hoisting the flag, the broad diagonal white strip of the flag should be at the left-hand side top, nearest to the flagpole. The thick white band should be next to the flagpole on the hoist side.

This thick white band is a part of the cross of St Andrew. This is above the red band on both diagonals. This red band is part of the cross of St Patrick. As the cross of St. Andrew was already present on the British Flag at the time of including the cross of St. Patrick, it receives a higher position on the flag. On the fly side or the fluttering and free side, the Irish Flag is above the Scottish Flag. At half-mast, the height of the flag is halfway from the top of the pole.

Representation of Wales

The Welsh dragon is not present on the British Flag. This is because Wales was already with England at the time of creation of the Union Jack or the Flag of Britain. Wales has been with England since the thirteenth century. Hence, it was a part of the kingdom and not a separate kingdom. Henry VIII officially unified England and Wales in 1536.

History of the Union Jack Flag

The history of the Union Jack Flag dates from 1194 A.D. It is also popular as the British flag, Union Jack, and Union Jack Flag. You can understand the crosses and colours on the British Flag by peeping into the history of the Union Jack Flag

The Beginning

Richard I of England included the cross of St. George on the national flag of England in 1194 A.D. This was a red cross on a white ground. According to the history of the Union Jack Flag, England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales were separate countries with individual identity. Henry VIII passed an Act of Union in 1536 making Wales a province of England.

King James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, becoming King James 1 of England. This was just a Union of the Crowns and not a union of nations. Each country had their separate Parliaments.

As per the history of the Union Jack Flag, the flag of Great Britain came into existence on 12 April 1606. It was a symbolical representation of the union of two countries under a single king. The flag consisted of the red cross of England on top of the white cross of Scotland in the blue background of the Scottish flag. This now became the Union Jack.

According to the history of the Union Jack Flag, both English and Scottish did not like this version of their unified flag. The use of this flag was only at sea until unification of the two kingdoms, England and Scotland, in 1707. Oliver Cromwell tried modifying the flag by placing a harp at the center to represent Ireland. However, with reinstatement of monarchy in 1660, original design of the flag came into existence.

Union of Ireland and Great Britain

The same flag continued until Jan. 1, 1801. According to the history of the Union Jack Flag, annexation of Ireland into Great Britain brought a change in the Union Jack. It became imperative to include cross of St. Patrick in the flag. However, after the independence of southern Ireland in 1921, there was no change in the flag. Parliament approved the name, Union Jack, for the British Flag in 1908. It is since then regarded as the National flag.

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Gordon Brown has called on people in the UK to embrace their nationality and has suggested setting aside a day for celebrating all things British.

Speaking to the left-of-centre Fabian Society think tank in London, the Chancellor called for Labour supporters to "embrace the Union flag

Mr Brown said Britain did not have the patriotic symbols of America, such as the Fourth of July, and suggested Remembrance celebrations could become something similar.

"Perhaps Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday are the nearest we have come to a British Day - unifying, commemorative, dignified and an expression of British ideas of standing firm for the world in the name of liberty," he said.

Michael Wills, the Labour MP for North Swindon who advised the Chancellor on today's speech, suggested that Mr Brown would like to see the creation of a Britishness Day along the lines of Independence Day in America.

"The French have it with Bastille Day. The Americans have it. Most countries have a national day and I think it is probably time that we did too," he told the BBC.

The idea was welcomed by religious and cultural groups. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said it would demonstrate the inclusive nature of British life.