.svg) | |
| King's Colour | |
| Use | Civil andstate flag |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | 1707 (origin 1606) |
| Relinquished | 1801 |
| Design | Four stripes of white, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical on a blue field, with a red cross in the middle. |
| Red Ensign of Great Britain | |
.svg) | |
| Use | Civil andnaval ensign |
| Design | A red field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton |
| Blue Ensign of Great Britain | |
.svg) | |
| Use | Civil andnaval ensign |
| Design | A blue field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton |
| White Ensign of Great Britain | |
.svg) | |
| Use | Naval ensign |
| Design | A cross of St George with the flag of Great Britain in the canton |
Theflag of Great Britain, often referred to as theKing's Colour,Union Flag,[1][2]Union Jack, andBritish flag (retroactively prefixed with "first" in order to distinguish it from the modernflag of the United Kingdom), was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of theKingdom of Great Britain.[3][4] It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801.
The design was ordered by KingJames VI and I to be used on ships on the high seas, and it subsequently came into use as a national flag following theTreaty of Union andActs of Union 1707, gaining the status of "theEnsignarmorial ofGreat Britain", the newly created state. It was later adopted by land forces although the blue of the field used on land-based versions more closely resembled that of the blue of the flag of Scotland.
The flag consists of thered cross ofSaint George,patron saint ofEngland, superimposed on thesaltire ofSaint Andrew, patron saint ofScotland. Its correct proportions are 3:5. The blue field on the flag wassky blue at first, but over time, darker shades of blue were chosen.[5]
The flag's official use came to an end in 1801 with the creation of theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. At that timeSaint Patrick's Flag was added to the flag of Great Britain to create the present-dayUnion Flag.
ByJames I of England,King of Scots,Orders in Council, 1606:
By the King: Whereas, some differences hath arisen between Our subjects of South andNorth Britaine travelling by Seas, about the bearing of their Flagges: For the avoiding of all contentions hereafter. We have, with the advice of our Council, ordered: That from henceforth all our Subjects of this Isle and Kingdome of Great Britaine, and all our members thereof, shall beare in their main-toppe theRed Crosse, commonly calledSt. George's Crosse, and theWhite Crosse, commonly calledSt. Andrew's Crosse, joyned together according to the forme made by ourheralds, and sent by Us to our Admerall to be published to our Subjects: and in their fore-toppe our Subjects of South Britaine shall weare the Red Crosse onely as they were wont, and our Subjects of North Britaine in their fore-toppe the White Crosse onely as they were accustomed.
At thefuneral of King James in 1625 the flag was called the "Banner of the Union of the two Crosses of England and Scotland".[6] James had the habit of referring to a "Kingdom of Great Britain", considering that it had been created by theUnion of the Crowns. However, despite the personal union which he represented, in practice England and Scotland continued as separate kingdoms, each with its own parliament and laws, for another century. The Kingdom of Great Britain finally came into being in 1707.[7] The flag of the new kingdom was formally chosen on 17 April 1707, two weeks before theActs of Union of 1707 were to take effect.Henry St George,Garter Principal King of Arms, had presented several possible designs toQueen Anne and thePrivy Council.[8]
The principal alternative for consideration was a version of the flag with the saltire of Saint Andrew lying on top of that of Saint George, called the "Scots union flag as said to be used by the Scots", but this was rejected.[citation needed]
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In the wake of the personal union between England and Scotland, several designs for a new flag were drawn up, juxtaposing theSt George's Cross and theSt Andrew's Saltire:[9]
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However, none were acceptable to James.[9]
With the 1801 change to the British flag,British ensigns and other official designs incorporating it nearly all changed as well, either immediately or when pre-existing stocks were used up. An exception is the commissioners' flag of theNorthern Lighthouse Board, whose old stock lasted so long that its anachronistic design became fixed by tradition.[10] The old flag has been included in some later designs to mark a pre-1801 British connection, as with the coat of arms of theColony of Sierra Leone adopted in 1914[11] or theflag of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, adopted in 1995.[12] Theflag of Somerset County, Maryland, briefly used from 1694, was revived after being rediscovered in 1958.[13] Theflag of Taunton, Massachusetts, a reconstruction of anAmerican Revolutionary banner, was officially adopted at the bicentennial of its 1774 introduction;[14] similarly,Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, in 1973 adopted the 1775 flag of John Proctor's Independent Battalion of Westmoreland County Provincials.[15] The unofficial flag ofLord Howe Island, Australia, also harks to the pre-1801 Union Jack.[16]
The 1707 Union Flag is also the official flag of theUnited Empire Loyalists Association of Canada. As such, it is often flown by individuals of Loyalist ancestry, and is also included in Loyalists townships, likeNiagara-on-the-Lake andPicton, Ontario.
