The

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

is the

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

, also known as the Union Flag. The design of the Union Jack dates back to the Act of Union 1801, which united the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

and the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

(previously in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

) to create the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into one sovereign state, established by the Acts of Union 1800, Acts of Union in 1801. It continued in this form until ...

. The flag consists of the

red cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

(

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, which also represents

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

), edged in white, superimposed on the

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a Heraldry, heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross. The word comes from the Middle French , Medieval Latin ("stirrup"). From its use as field sign, the saltire cam ...

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

(patron saint of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

), also edged in white, which are superimposed on the

Saint Andrew Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...

(patron saint of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales's patron saint,

Saint David David (; ; ) was a Welsh Christian prelate who served as Bishop of Mynyw during the 6th century. He is the patron saint of Wales. David was a native of Wales, and tradition has preserved a relatively large amount of detail about his life. ...

, because the flag was designed while Wales was part of the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the late 9th century, when it was unified from various Heptarchy, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland to f ...

. The flag proportions on land and the

war flag A war ensign, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few co ...

used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

have the proportions 3:5. The flag's height-to-length proportions at sea are 1:2.United Kingdom, flag of the
, for flag ratio see flag caption The Union Flag also features in the canton of the flags of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, and the

British Merchant Navy The British Merchant Navy is the collective name given to British civilian ships and their associated crews, including officers and ratings. In the UK, it is simply referred to as the Merchant Navy or MN. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensi ...

. These flags are known as ensigns. The earlier

flag of Great Britain The flag of Great Britain, often referred to as the King's Colour, first Union Flag, Union Jack, and Flag of the United Kingdom, British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of the Kingdom ...

was established in 1606 by a

proclamation A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

King James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

and

. The new flag of the United Kingdom was officially created by an

Order in Council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

of 1801, with its

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct an accurate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The visual d ...

reading as follows: No official standardised colours were specified, although the Flag Institute defines the red and royal blue colours as Pantone 186 C (RGB 207, 20, 43) and Pantone 280 C (RGB 0, 36, 125), respectively.

Name

According to the Flag Institute: "It is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. From early in its life, the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use". In 1902, an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially. Such use was given Parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag". Notwithstanding Their Lordships' circular of 1902, by 1913, the Admiralty described the "Union Flag" and added in a footnote that 'A Jack is a Flag to be flown only on the "Jack" Staff'. The etymology of "Jack" in the context of flagstaffs reaches back to Middle German. The suffix ''-kin'' was used in Middle Dutch and Middle German as a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

. Examples occur in both

Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer ( ; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He ...

and Langland though the form is unknown in Old English. ''John'' is a common male forename (going back to the Bible), appearing in Dutch as ''Jan''. Both languages use it as a generic form for a man in general. The two were combined in the Middle Dutch ''Janke'', whence Middle French ''Jakke'' and Middle English ''Jack''. Jack came to be used to identify all manner of particularly small objects or small versions of larger ones. The ''

OED The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' has definition 21 "Something insignificant, or smaller than the normal size" and gives examples from 1530 to 2014 of this usage. Further examples in the compounds section at 2b illustrate this. The original maritime flag use of ''jack'' was "A ship's flag of a smaller size than the ensign, used at sea as a signal, or as an identifying device". The Jack was flown in the bows or from the head of the spritsail mast to indicate the vessel's nationality: "You are alsoe for this present service to keepe in yo^r Jack at yo^r Boultspritt end and yo^r Pendant and yo^r Ordinance" The Union Flag when instantiated as a small jack became known as the "Union Jack" and this later term transferred to more general usage of the Union Flag. Also later a short flagpole was placed in the bows of a ship to fly the jack, this became known as the ''jackstaff''.

Flying the flag

The Union Flag can be flown by any individual or organisation in Great Britain on any day of their choice. Legal regulations restrict the use of the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

on government buildings in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. Long-standing restrictions on UK government use of the flag elsewhere were abolished in July 2007.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

:
Flag Flying
''The Governance of Britain
, for flying the Union Flag, see pp. 57–58

Upside-down

While the flag appears symmetric, the white lines above and below the diagonal red are different widths. On the side closer to the flagpole (or on the left when depicted on paper), the white lines above the diagonals are wider; on the side farther from the flagpole (or on the right when depicted on paper), the converse is true. Thus, no change will be apparent when rotating the flag 180 degrees, but if mirrored the flag will be upside-down. Placing the flag upside down is considered lèse majesté and is offensive to some. However, it can be flown upside down as a distress signal. While this is rare, it was used by groups under siege during the

Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

and during campaigns in India in the late 18th century.

St Patrick's saltire

Because of the relative positions of the saltires of St Patrick and St Andrew, the UK flag is not symmetrical. The red saltire of St Patrick is offset such that it does not relegate the white saltire of St Andrew to a mere border. St Andrew's saltire has the higher position at the hoist side with St Patrick's saltire in the higher position on the opposite side.

Half-mast

The Union Flag is flown from UK government buildings at

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a sal ...

in the following situations: *from the announcement of the death of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

(an exception is made for

Proclamation Day Proclamation Day commonly refers to the anniversary of the proclamation of government of the province of South Australia, which continues to be celebrated in South Australia on 28 December, although no longer a public holiday. The anniversary of ...

– the day the new Sovereign is proclaimed, when the Flag is flown at full mast from 11 am to sunset) *the day of the funeral of a member of the

British royal family The British royal family comprises Charles III and other members of his family. There is no strict legal or formal definition of who is or is not a member, although the Royal Household has issued different lists outlining who is considere ...

*the funeral of a foreign Head of State *the funeral of a former

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...

The Sovereign sometimes declares other days when the Union Flag is to fly at

. Half-mast means the flag is flown two-thirds of the way up the flagpole with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the flagpole.

Flying from public buildings

Until July 2007, the Union Flag was only flown on UK government buildings on a limited number of special days each year. The choice of days was managed by the

(DCMS). Government buildings are those used by civil servants,

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, or the armed forces. They were not applicable to private citizens, corporations, or local authorities. On 3 July 2007, the Justice Secretary

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...

laid a

green paper In the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth countries, Hong Kong, the United States and the European Union, a green paper is a tentative government report and consultation document of policy proposals for debate and discussion. A green paper represen ...

before Parliament entitled ''The Governance of Britain''. Alongside a range of proposed changes to the constitutional arrangements of the UK was a specific announcement that there would be consultation on whether the rules on flag-flying on UK government buildings should be relaxed. Two days later, Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

announced that with immediate effect the Union Flag would fly from the flagpole above the front entrance of

10 Downing Street 10 Downing Street in London is the official residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom. Colloquially known as Number 10, the building is located in Downing Street, off Whitehall in th ...

on every day of the year. The intention was to increase feelings of

British national identity British national identity is a term referring to the sense of national identity, as embodied in the shared and characteristic culture, languages and traditions, of the British people. It comprises the claimed qualities that bind and distingui ...

. Other UK government departments were asked to follow this lead, and all government buildings in Whitehall did so.

James Purnell James Mark Dakin Purnell (born 2 March 1970) is a British former broadcasting executive and Labour Party politician who served as a Cabinet minister in the Brown Government from 2007 to 2009. In October 2016, he became the BBC's Director of ...

Culture Secretary The secretary of state for culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strategy and policy across the Department for Cultu ...

from June 2007 to January 2008 in Brown's administration, subsequently concurred with the abolition of the restrictions – pending consultation on longer term arrangements.

Flag days

The flag days directed by the DCMS include birthdays of members of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

, the wedding anniversary of the Monarch,

Commonwealth Day Commonwealth Day is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, held on the second Monday in March. While the date holds some official status in select member states of the Commonwealth, observances of the date are not uniform, an ...

Accession Day An accession day is usually the anniversary of the date on which a monarch or executive takes office. The earliest records of accession celebrations date from the reign of Emperor Kanmu of Japan (), and the custom is now observed in many nations ...

Coronation Day Coronation Day is the day of the formal coronation, crowning of a monarch or its anniversary as observed as an annual commemoration or festival. The name is also frequently used for accession days, the dates or anniversaries of the formal assumpti ...

, The King's Official Birthday,

Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in Nov ...

and (in the Greater London area) on the days of the

State Opening The State Opening of Parliament is a ceremonial event which formally marks the beginning of each session of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. At its core is His or Her Majesty's " gracious speech from the throne" (also known as the King's ...

and

prorogation Prorogation in the Westminster system of government is the action of proroguing, or interrupting, a parliament, or the discontinuance of meetings for a given period of time, without a dissolution of parliament. The term is also used for the period ...

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. Since 2024, the relevant days have been: * Second Monday in March (

) * 9 April (anniversary of the wedding of The King and The Queen) * 6 May (anniversary of the coronation of The King and The Queen) * Second Saturday in June ( official birthday of The King) * 21 June (birthday of

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

) * 17 July (birthday of The Queen) * 8 September (anniversary of the accession of The King) * Second Sunday in November (

) * 14 November (actual birthday of The King) In addition, the flag should be flown in the following areas on the specified days: *

, 1 March:

Saint David's Day Saint David's Day ( or ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, ...

, 17 March:

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

, 23 April:

Saint George's Day Saint George's Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, England, Ethiopia, Greece, Georgia, Port ...

, 30 November:

Saint Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November, during Scotland's Winter Festival. Saint Andrew is the disciple in the New Testament who introduc ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

: the opening and proroguing of Parliament Some non-central government bodies still continue to follow the flag days. In Scotland, the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

has decreed that the

Flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland (; , also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire Defacement (flag), defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, i ...

("the Saltire") will fly on all its buildings every day from 8 am until sunset, but there is no specific policy on flying the Union Flag and as such it is sometimes flown alongside the Saltire and sometimes omitted. An exception is made for "national days". On these days, the Saltire shall be lowered and replaced with the Union Flag. These are the same as the flag days noted above with the exception of: * 3 September: Merchant Navy Day On

, the Union Flag can only be flown if the building has more than one flagpole—the Saltire will not be lowered to make way for the Union Flag if there is only one flagpole.

Welsh representation

In November 2007 the then culture minister

Margaret Hodge Margaret Eve Hodge, Baroness Hodge of Barking (, formerly Watson; born 8 September 1944), is a British politician and life peer, who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Barking from 1994 to 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she was p ...

said she would consider a redesign of the Union Flag to incorporate the

Welsh dragon The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynf ...

, during a debate in the House of Commons on the frequency with which the flag flies above public buildings. The issue was initially raised by

Ian Lucas Ian Colin Lucas (born 18 September 1960) is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wrexham, Wales from 2001 to 2019. He was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Regulatory Reform in ...

, another Labour MP, who complained that the flag introduced in 1606 following the accession of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

to the English throne as James I assumed the Welsh population as English under the bracket of

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. Th ...

(represented by the cross of St George) which he then combined with the saltire of St Andrew which represented the union of England and Scotland. This principle continued in 1801 when the St Patrick cross was incorporated following the

Union with Ireland Act 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

. Lucas claimed the identity of

had been suppressed ever since the

Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 () or the Acts of Union (), were acts of the Parliament of England under King Henry VIII of England, causing Wales to be incorporated into the realm of the Kingdom of England. The legal system of England ...

. In the debate,

Albert Owen Albert Owen (born 10 August 1959) is a Welsh Labour Party politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Ynys Môn from 2001 to 2019. He took the seat in the 2001 election from Plaid Cymru with a margin of exactly eight hundred vot ...

MP said that "we in Wales do not feel part of the union flag because the dragon or the cross of St David is not on it."Wintour, Patrick (28 November 2007)
"Minister proposes a redesign for the union flag"
''The Guardian''. .

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Stewart Jackson Stewart James Jackson, Baron Jackson of Peterborough (born 31 January 1965) is a British politician and adviser. Jackson served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Peterborough from 2005 to 2017. After being ousted by Labour's Fio ...

described the comments as "eccentric".Cleland, Gary (27 November 2007)
"Union Jack should include Welsh flag, says MP"
''Daily Telegraph''. .

Northern Ireland

, the Union Flag is flown from buildings of the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

as decreed by Regulations published in 2000. The Regulations were amended in 2002 to remove the requirement to fly the flag on the birthdays of

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of K ...

and

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. She was the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Ma ...

who both died that year. The current flag days are now the same as the United Kingdom government days noted above with the exception of the Queen Camilla's birthday, which was only added to the UK flag days after her wedding to King Charles in 2005, and has not yet been extended to Northern Ireland. The

Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it ...

is the only body in the United Kingdom that is not permitted to fly the Union Flag and is only permitted to fly its service flag or the

Royal Standard In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coat of arms, coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, ...

in the event of a visit by the Sovereign.

Scottish independence

As of 2013, numerous proposals were made about how the Union Flag might be altered to create a flag for the union of England, Wales and Northern Ireland after possible

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

. The

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional Officer of Arms, officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the ...

stated that there would be no need to change the flag in those circumstances, and the existing flag could continue to be used if desired. Regarding the removal of Scottish heraldic features from the Union Flag, the

Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon, or Lyon Court, is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...

stated in 2012 that "

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

would be speculation at this stage, and we could only cross that bridge if we came to it."

Name

Flying the flag

Upside-down

St Patrick's saltire

Half-mast

Flying from public buildings

Flag days

Welsh representation

Northern Ireland

Scottish independence

Construction sheets

See also

Notes

References

External links