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British flags

In March 1603 Elizabeth I of England died without an heir, leaving = the=20 succession to the Crown open. Elizabeth's Ministers chose to ignore = Henry VIII's=20 will which would have made his younger sister Princess Mary's = great-grandson,=20 Edward Seymour - Lord Beauchamp, King, and instead invited James VI of = Scotland=20 to accept the Crown of England.

The two countries remained independent under a single Monarch, James = VI and=20 I, who called his new realm the Kingdom of Great Britain (after the name = of the=20 main island of the British Isles on which lie England, Scotland and = Wales).

In 1606, following some altercations over flags between English and = Scottish=20 ships, James VI and I issued the following proclamation:

James VI and I's proclamation

The exact design that accompanied this has been lost. Several designs = are=20 known to have been considered including quartering the flags of England = and=20 Scotland (as the Royal Standard is quartered) and putting the two = side-by-side,=20 but the chosen design was:

The 1606 Union Flag

Some Scots vessels used an unofficial version where the St. Andrews's = cross=20 went over the St. George's cross. The width of the white line (or = fimbration)=20 around the St.George's cross has also been a matter of debate. Actual = flags from=20 the period suggest that the fimbration was quite wide. The shade of blue = started=20 as a sky blue, but gradually became darker over the centuries. The = modern=20 Scottish Saltire retains a lighter blue background than the Union Flag = (Pantone=AE=20 300 for the Saltire versus Pantone 280 for the Union).

In 1634, after some disputes concerning saluting ships in the = Channel,=20 Charles I partially repealed his father's proclamation:

Charles I's proclamation

To this day civilian vessels are not permitted to use the Union Jack. = They=20 have their own Jack (a white bordered Union Jack) and the courtesy flag = is an=20 appropriately coloured ensign (red for civil vessels, blue for = government=20 vessels, and white for naval vessels).

The execution of Charles I on the 30th January 1649, brought an end = to the=20 union of England and Scotland. The Union Flag no longer made sense so = the=20 English Parliament ordered the Admiralty to chose a new design. This was = to be=20 the first of several design used until the restoration of Charles II in = May 1660=20 restored the pre-1649 flags.

In 1707, Queen Anne completed the task that James had started - a = complete=20 union of England and Scotland. The first article of the Treaty of Union = stated=20 that the flag would be the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew = conjoined in=20 such a manner as the Queen saw fit. Queen Anne decided to keep the = existing=20 design.

Up until 1801 Ireland had been a separate kingdom. In 1800 an Act of = Union=20 was passed to create the new United Kingdom of Great Britain and = Ireland, to=20 come into effect on the 1st January 1801. The College of Arms designed a = new=20 flag with the Cross of St. Patrick counter-changed with the Cross of St. = Andrew.=20 The inclusion of St. Patrick's cross is of interest as St. Patrick was = not=20 martyred and therefore did not have a cross. The red saltire on white = was the=20 emblem of the powerful Irish Fitzgerald family and was a convenient = symbol for=20 Ireland:

The 1801 Union Flag

Over the years the shape of the flag has gradually changed to its = current=20 proportions of one to two. This was caused by a steady decrease in the = width of=20 the cloth used to make the flags. The specifications were in the form of = so many=20 widths high by so many yards long. This meant that as the width of cloth = reduced=20 the flag apparently became longer and longer:

The 1:2 Union Flag

The independence in 1921 of the southern part of Ireland as the Irish = Free=20 State (now the Republic of Ireland) did not result in any change to the = Union=20 Flag, although this was discussed at the time.

In 2008 the Flag Institute started a campaign to have the 3:5 version = of the=20 flag used for all official (and unofficial) purposes. This was not a new = idea.=20 It was in 1687 that Samuel Pepys, when Secretary of the Admiralty, = declared that=20 flags (and he was referring to flags at sea) should be in proportion = 11:18. It=20 is no accident that this is very close indeed to the Golden Ratio = (1:1.618034).=20 This was restated in 1938 by Garter King of Arms when he declared that = flags on=20 land should be in proportion 3:5 (3:5 is very close to 11:18). The Flag=20 Institute wished only to re-style the flag in its original proportions. = During=20 the year discussions took place with (inter alia) the College of = Arms,=20 the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Department for Culture Media and Sport = and the=20 All Party Parliamentary Flag Group=86. The reversion of the national = flag to the=20 proportions 3:5 also has the obvious benefit of making the it the same = shape as=20 the flags of the constituent nations and counties of the United Kingdom. = The=20 British Army always retained the 3:5 version. A Union = Flag Bill=20 was sponsored by Andrew Rosindell MP and presented to parliament.

=86 The All Party parliamentary Flag Group (APPFG), = under the=20 chairmanship of Andrew Rosindell MP, was inaugurated on 5 February 2008. = The=20 Group contains MPs and Peers from all parties whose common theme is an = interest=20 in our nation's flags.

The 3:5 Union Flag

Graham Bartram FFI, Chief Vexillologist = of The=20 Flag Institute

The Flag Institute

British flags

Further reading

Church Pamphlet