British Union Flag, 3' x 5'
4200-035-006
Product Details
History of the British Union Flag
In 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones (as James I), thereby uniting the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland in a personal union (which 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 Great Britain and first union flag.
In 1801, the diagonal red cross of Ireland's St. Patrick was added to the flag, and it has remained the flag of Great Britain to this day, the Union Jack.
History of the 13 Star Betsy Ross Flag continued below.
This royal flag was at first for use only at sea on civil and military ships of both England and Scotland, whereas land forces continued to use their respective national banners. In 1634, King Charles I restricted its use to the royal ships. After the Acts of Union 1707, the flag gained a regularised status as "the ensign armorial of the Kingdom of Great Britain", the newly created state. It was then adopted by land forces as well, although the blue field used on land–based versions more closely resembled that of the blue of the flag of Scotland.
Various shades of blue have been used in the Saltire over the years. The ground of the current Union Flag is a deep "navy" blue (Pantone 280), which can be traced to the color used for the Blue Ensign of the Royal Navy's historic "Blue Squadron". (Dark shades of color were used on maritime flags on the basis of durability.) In 2003 a committee of the Scottish Parliament recommended that the flag of Scotland use a lighter "royal" blue, (Pantone 300). (The Office of the Lord Lyon does not detail specific shades of color for use in heraldry.)
A thin white stripe, or fimbriation, separates the red cross from the blue field, in accordance with heraldry's rule of tincture where colors (like red and blue) must be separated from each other by metals (like white, i.e. argent or silver). The blazon for the old union flag, to be compared with the current flag, is Azure, the Cross Saltire of St Andrew Argent surmounted by the Cross of St George Gules, fimbriated of the second.