The Union
Jack
The Union
Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. The
flag also has an official or semi-official status in some other Commonwealth realms; for example, it is, by
law, an official flag in Canada and known there as the Royal Union Flag. Further,
it is used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union
Jack also appears in the canton (upper
left-hand quarter) of the flags of several nations and territories that are
former British possessions or dominions.
The claim that
the term Union Jack properly
refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical
investigations by the Flag
Institute in 2013.
The origins of
the earlier flag of Great Britain date back to
1606.James VI of Scotland had inherited the English
and Irish thrones in 1603 as James I, thereby uniting the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland in a personal
union, although the three kingdoms remained separate states. On 12 April 1606,
a new flag to represent this regal union between England and Scotland was
specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of
England (a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross), and the flag of
Scotland (a white saltire on
a blue background, known as the Saltire or
St Andrew's Cross), would be
joined together, forming the flag of England and Scotland for maritime
purposes. King James also began to refer to a "Kingdom of Great Britain",
although the union remained a personal one.
The present
design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. The flag combines
aspects of three older national flags: the red cross of St George of
the Kingdom of England, the white saltire of St Andrew for
Scotland (which
two were united in the first Union Flag), and the red saltire of St Patrick to
represent Ireland.
Notably, the home country of Wales is not
represented separately in the Union Jack, being only indirectly
represented through the flag of England representing the former Kingdom of
England (which included Wales).
The terms Union Jack and
Union Flag are both
historically correct for describing the de facto national flag
of the United Kingdom. Whether the term Union Jack applies
only when used as a jack flag
on a ship is a modern matter of debate.
According to the Parliament of
the United Kingdom: "Until the early 17th
century England and Scotland were two entirely independent kingdoms. This
changed dramatically in 1603 on the death of Elizabeth I
of England. Because the Queen died
unmarried and childless, the English crown passed to the next available heir,
her cousin James VI, King of Scotland. England and Scotland now shared the same
monarch under what was known as a union of the crowns.
In 1606, James VI gave orders for a British flag to be created which bore
the combined crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew. The result was the Union
Jack, Jack being a shortening of Jacobus, the Latin version of James".
In 1908, a government minister stated, in response to a parliamentary
question, that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National
flag".
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