United Kingdom

Flag of United Kingdom Size: The national flag of the United Kingdom is a tricolor flag with white, red, and blue colors in it. The flag is also known as Union Jack or the union flag as it unites three nations that are under one sovereign. The flag has a red cross with a white border and above that cross, there is a red plus with the white border. The base color of the flag is blue. The current flag of the United Kingdom was adopted in 1801, and it is there for almost 221 years now. The height to length proportion of the flag is 1:2 while the war flag has the proportion of 3:5. Meaning: The flag of the United Kingdom consists of three heraldic crosses. The national flag of the country is also called as Union flag or the Jack flag because it represents the three nations under it. The flag has the cross of St George a patron saint of England. The second cross is of St Andrew a patron saint of Scotland and the third cross is of St Patrick a patron saint of Ireland. The flag of the UK is a mixture of the three different flags, and it represents three countries. History: The first flag of Britain was developed in 1606 and used during the leadership of James 1. At first, the flag only showed the red cross of England and the white cross of Scotland with the same base color as it is today. In heraldry red color on blue is not permissible. So the red is with white borders. Later on, with the passage of time and after a few modifications and the new alliances the design was changed and one more cross was added to the flag and in 1801 the flag was finalized, almost 221 years ago and the flag is unchanged since. Interesting facts: The official national flag is made up of three other flags. The flag is a mixture of Ireland, England, and Scotland’s flag. As of now, Wales are under the United Kingdom but at the time the flag was designed the Wales were not under it and that is the reason why it is not present in the flag. The flag was designed by King James. The first flag which the King designed was only flown in the sea and not on the lands but later on, with the passage of time people started flying it on the lands too. 93,628 242,495