Flag of Great Britain

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This article is about the British flag from 1707 to 1800. For the British flag since 1801, see Flag of the United Kingdom.
Great Britain
King's Colours
UseCivil and state flag
Proportion3:5
Adopted1707 (origin 1606)
Relinquished1801
DesignFour stripes of white, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical on a blue field, with a red cross in the middle.
Red Ensign of Great Britain
UseCivil and naval ensign
DesignA red field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton
Blue Ensign of Great Britain
UseCivil and naval ensign
DesignA blue field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton
White Ensign of Great Britain
UseNaval ensign
DesignA cross of St George with the flag of Great Britain in the canton

The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King's Colours, the first Union Flag,[1][2] the Union Jack, or the British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain.[3][4] It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801.

The design was ordered by King

armorial of Great 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 the

Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. Its correct proportions are 3:5. The blue field on the flag was sky blue at first, but over time, the blue began to darken.[5]

The flag's official use came to an end in 1801 with the creation of the

Union Flag
.

Creation

By

Orders in Council
, 1606:

By the King: Whereas, some differences hath arisen between Our subjects of South and

St. George's Crosse, and the White Crosse, commonly called St. Andrew's Crosse, joyned together according to the forme made by our heralds
, 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 the funeral 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 the Union 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 the Acts of Union of 1707 were to take effect. Henry St George, Garter Principal King of Arms, had presented several possible designs to Queen Anne and the Privy Council.[8]

Scottish variant

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]

  • "Scots union flag as said to be used by the Scots."
    "Scots union flag as said to be used by the Scots." Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
  • Another early proposal for the Union Jack, consisting of a white St Andrew's saltire with blue fimbriation superimposed over a red St George's cross on a field of white.
    Another early proposal for the Union Jack, consisting of a white St Andrew's saltire with blue fimbriation superimposed over a red St George's cross on a field of white. Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
  • A reconstruction of an alternative version of the Union Jack that appears on a painted wooden ceiling boss from Linlithgow Palace (c. 1617).
    A reconstruction of an alternative version of the Union Jack that appears on a painted wooden ceiling boss from Linlithgow Palace (c. 1617). Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag

Proposed versions

In the wake of the personal union between England and Scotland, several designs for a new flag were drawn up, juxtaposing the St George's Cross and the St Andrew's Saltire:[9]

Early (c. 1604) design proposals for the Union Jack (manuscript in the National Library of Scotland)[9]

However, none were acceptable to James.[9]

After 1801

With the 1801 change to the British flag,

Colony of Sierra Leone adopted in 1914[11] or the flag of Baton Rouge, Louisiana adopted in 1995.[12] The Flag of Somerset County, Maryland, briefly used from 1694, was revived after being rediscovered in 1958.[13] The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts officially adopted a reconstruction of an American Revolutionary banner 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]

Post-1801 flags incorporating pre-1801 British flag

See also

References

  1. ^ Ciara.Berry (2016-01-15). "Union Jack". The Royal Family. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  2. ^ "Part 1: The Australian National Flag". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 2022-06-26. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  3. ^ "British Flags". Flaginstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  4. ^ "The Union Jack or The Union Flag?". Flaginstitute.org. Archived from the original on 2013-06-13. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  5. ^ "History of the Union Flag | UK Flags". The Flag Institute. Archived from the original on 2023-01-07. Retrieved 2023-01-07.
  6. ^ John Nichols, Progresses of James the First, vol. 4 (London, 1828), pp. 1043-4.
  7. ^ Michael Lynch, The Oxford Companion to Scottish History (2001), p. 356
  8. ^ Linda Colley, Taking Stock of Taking Liberties: A Personal View (British Library, 2009), p. 46
  9. ^ a b c Duffy, Jonathan (10 April 2006). "Union recognition". BBC. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
    · Graphic (archive of Graphic)
  10. ^
  11. ^ "Sierra Leone". Flags, badges & arms of His Majesty's dominions beyond the seas and of territories under His Majesty's protection. Vol. 2: Arms. London: HMSO. 1932. p. 31. Archived from the original on 2022-01-06. Retrieved 2022-01-06.
  12. OCLC 1011001515. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  13. ^ "Somerset County Flag" (PDF). visitsomerset.com. Princess Anne, Maryland: Somerset County Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Taunton, Massachusetts (U.S.)". Flags of the World. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  15. ^
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