National flag of England:
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Photo above: Union
Flag |
The
flag of the UK is officially called the Union
flag, because it embodies the emblems of three
countries united under one monarch.
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The
Union Flag 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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The Welsh Flag, a red dragon on a field of white
and green, dates from the fifteenth century.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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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.
The final version of the Union Flag appeared in 1801,
following the union of Great Britain with Ireland, with
the inclusion of the cross of St Patrick. The cross
remains on the flag although only Northern Ireland now
remains part of the United Kingdom.
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