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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 represented 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.