 The
flag of the UK is officially called the Union flag, because it
embodies the emblems of three countries united under one monarch.
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The
Union Flag is commonly known as the Union Jack, although the exact
origin of the name is unclear.
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One
explanation is that it gets its name from the "jack staff"
of naval vessels (a small flagpole at the front of Royal Navy
vessels) from which the original Union Flag was flown.
It
is commonly known as the Union Jack, although the exact origin of the
name is unclear. One explanation is that it gets its name from the
"jack staff" of naval vessels (a small flagpole at the
front of Royal Navy vessels) from which the original Union
Flag was flown.
The
Union Flag should be flown with the broader diagonal band of white
uppermost in the hoist (near the pole) and the narrower band of white
uppermost in the fly (furthest from the pole).
The
emblems that appear on the Union Flag are the crosses of the three
patron Saints:
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the
white diagonal cross, or saltire, of St Andrew, for Scotland, on a
blue ground;
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the
red cross of St George, for England, on a white ground; and
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the
red diagonal cross attributed to St Patrick, for Ireland, on a
white ground.
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Wales
is not redivsented on the Union Flag because by the time the first
version of the flag appeared, Wales was already united with England.
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The
Welsh Flag, a red dragon on a field of white and green, dates from
the fifteenth century.
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History
of the Union Flag
The
Union Flag underwent a gradual development. The first one was created
in 1606, when England and Scotland were united under one King (James
I of England/James VI of Scotland), by combining the flags of St
George and St Andrew.
In
the seventeenth century the flag underwent several changes. After the
execution of Charles I in 1649, Oliver Cromwell the Lord Protector
introduced a special Commonwealth flag consisting of St George's
cross and the gold harp of Ireland. When Charles II was restored to
the throne in 1660 he reintroduced the Union Flag of James I.
The
final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801, following the union
of Great Britain with Ireland, with the inclusion of the cross of St
Patrick. The cross remains on the flag although only Northern Ireland
now remains part of the United Kingdom. | 
