The Union Jack Flag

The Union Jack Flag as we know it now has been around since the nineteenth century and has changed since its original design in the early seventeenth century. The flag we have today is the amalgamation of the St. Andrew's Cross, the St George's Cross and the St Patrick's Cross.

Moving With The Times

The first official union flag was made in 1606 after King James I united the crowns of England, Ireland and Scotland, the flag was the St Andrew's Cross with the St George's Cross (or at least the red cross and a small border of white around it) over it. This design did not sit well with many Scottish nationalists, as they did not like the English flag sat on top of the Scottish flag, they came up with many different designs and even sent a letter of complaint to King James asking for it to be changed.

The St. Patrick's Cross was not included in the first union flag and it was only in 1707 just weeks before the Scottish Parliament and English Parliament united to become the Parliament of Great Britain, that the flag we know today was approved by Queen Anne and her Privy Council.

Names And Aliases

There have been many names used for the Union Jack Flag; 'the King's Jack', 'Jack Flag', 'Union Flag' and even the term 'the Jack'. It's widely thought that the term 'Jack' comes from its maritime past, the flags were used on British ships and they were displayed on a flagpole at the front of the ship know as the 'jackstaff'.

The Correct Way Up Please

As you are probably aware there is a right way and a wrong way to fly the Union Jack flag, although many of you may not know which the right way is up. Well here is a little tip on how to remember. The flag end (the end opposite the hoist) working from the top right hand corner down should go white, blue and then red, rather than what you would probably expect red, white and blue. So if it is red, white and blue it is wrong (that does seem odd).

I could go on and on about our national flag and go into details about all the different nations that have our flag in the canton of theirs, but by the time you read this they may have changed.

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