| Vexillology of the United Kingdom |
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| Royal Coat-of-Arms This charge is used by the Queen in her capacity as Head of State of the realm. As such, the charge is used as an emblem of the State as a royal dominion of HM Queen Elizabeth II. This version is used only in England and Wales (and it is assumed in Northern Ireland as well). A similar charge is used in an official capacity for Scotland. In addition, another similar charge is used to represent the British Government but not the State. (In the British system, there is a distinct difference between the two.) |
| Proportion: 1:2 Adopted: 15 November 1800 First Flown: 1 January 1801 Use: The Union Flag Image Source: SouthBear |
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| The United Kingdom |
| Long Form of Country Name: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Short Form of Country Name: The United Kingdom (unofficially: Great Britain) Form of State: Constitutional monarchy consisting of 2 kingdoms (England/Wales and Scotland) united under a single monarch and one Irish province and numerous overseas territories across the globe Form of Government: Parliamentary Democracy vested in a parliament consisting of the popularly elected House of Commons and the hereditary and appointed House of Lords. Executive authority is vested in a cabinet led by the Prime Minister (the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons). The cabinet forms the government. (See Westminster Model of Parliamentary Democracy at right.) Independence: Act of Union of England & Scotland: 1 May 1707 Capital: London Major National Groups: English, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, African, Indian, Pakistani (As the center of the former British Empire, many national groups migrated to the UK after colonies & possessions gained independence. Most of these have assimilated into British culture. Many, however retain their national cultural identies within the UK, most notably Indians and Pakistanis.) |
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| Ireland |
| Provincial Flags of the U.K. |
| The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is one of the most recognized flags in the world. The former British Empire is the most extensive political organization to have ever been created. As such, the Union Flag was used as an archivellium in the creation of many of the flags of the independent states that emerged from the empire. The Union Flag represents the political integration of three nations into a single political state. It uses three different crosses that each represented Christian saints that were considered to be patrons of these nations. The Cross of St. George represented England, while the Cross of St. Andrew represented Scotland and the Cross of St. Patrick represented Ireland. (Wales, from the 13th century until the 20th century, was politically integrated into the English state.) The first Union Flag was created following the accession to the English throne of Scotland's King James VI as King James I of England. The reality of the unification of these two nations under one monarch led naturally to the political unification of their governments into a single entity known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain. (Great Britain is the larger of the two islands that make up the British Isles and is home to the nations of England, Scotland, and Wales.) While at home on land, the flags of the two countries continued to be flown within their respective borders as before the unification. In addition, the Royal Standard was used extensively as a national flag in both realms. However, it was soon realized that a single flag was needed for use aboard ships at sea. It was for this reason that the first Union Flag was designed in 1606. As such, the Union Flag was originally an ensign rather than a true flag, giving rise to the popular name for the flag that is still used today: the "Union Jack" - the term "jack" was used during this time to refer to any flag used at sea.. Later, as the political assimilation of Scotland into the English-dominated political system of the United Kingdom become more complete, a single flag for the single political state was also desired and the ensign originally used only on the seas began to be used on land as well. In 1801, after the annexation of Ireland, the Cross of St. Patrick was added to create the flag used today. (Though Ireland separated from the United Kingdom in 1921, six counties in Ulster - Northern Ireland - remained unified with England and Scotland as a province of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. For this reason, the Cross of St. Patrick remains a part of the design of the Union Flag as representative of these Ulster counties.) Ironically, though the Union Flag was originally designed to serve as an ensign, it is no longer used in this capacity. The Union Flag is a land-based flag for use by the government, military, and private citizens. Three ensigns, equally recognizable throughout the world because of their use during the days of the Empire, are used at sea. The Red Ensign is used by private citizens and shipping,, the Blue Ensign is used by private citizens, and the White Ensign is used by Royal Navy. |
| The History of the Union Flag |
| The Union Flag: The Physical Representation of the Political Unification of the United Kingdom |
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| England & Wales represented by the Cross of St. George (1707) |
| Scotland represented by the Cross of St. Andrew (1707) |
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| Ireland (Northern Ireland) represented by the Cross of St. Patrick (1801) |
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| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1921) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1921-Present) |
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| United Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1807) |
| British Ensigns |
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| The Red Ensign |
| The Blue Ensign |
| The White Ensign |
| Legally, the ensigns are used as follows: - The undefaced Red Ensign is used on all private ships registered in a British port (including ports within the Commonwealth) and by foreign ships as a courtesy flag while in British waters. - The undefaced Blue Ensign is used on all unarmed ships that are under the command of an active or reserve officer of the Royal Navy Reserve with the rank of lieutenant or above, or is an officer of the maritime naval reserve of any state of the Commonwealth with the same rank or above, and by smaller vessels (including fishing vessels) with at least four such officers on board. In addition, some yacht clubs are given the priviledge of flying the Blue Ensign defaced with their club badges. Finally, ministries of the British Government may fly the Blue Ensign defaced with their ministry badges. - The White Ensign (also called the St. George Ensign) is used on all armed ships and onshore posts and offices of the Royal Navy. In addition, the Royal Yacht Squadron has been given permission to fly the White Ensign. - The Red Ensign defaced with colonial badges were used to create flags for the territorial possessions of the British Empire. Today, many provincial subdivsions of now-independent states of the Commonwealth, particularly in Canada, use defaced versions of the Red Ensign to create provincial flags. - Defaced Blue Ensigns were used to create state flags for Australia and New Zealand, both members of the Commonwealth. In addition, the states of Tuvalu and Fiji use defaced Blue Ensigns that use a lighter shade of blue than is customary. |
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| British Military Flags |
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| Ensign of the Royal Air Force |
| Civil Air Ensign |
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| Return to the European Vexillogram Directory © 2007 SouthBear This page was created on 19 February 2007 in Birmingham, Alabama Date of Last Revision: 21 February 2007 in Birmingham, Alabama Animated Flagpole: www.fg-a.com |
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| Flags of the Monarchy |
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| The Queen's Standard in England, Wales & Northern Ireland |
| The Queen's Standard in Scotland |
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| Standard of Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh |
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| Standard of Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales in England and Northern Ireland |
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| Standard of the Prince of Wales in Wales |
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| Standard of The Prince William of Wales |
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| Standard of The Prince Henry of Wales And of all other Grandchildren of the Queen: HRH The Princess Beatrice of York (5th), HRH The Princess Eugenie of York (6th), Lady Louise Windsor (8th), Peter Phillips (10th), and Zara Phillips (11th) |
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| Standard of The Prince Andrew, Duke of York |
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| Standard of The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex |
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| Standard of The Princess Anne, Princess Royal |
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| Standard of The Prince Edward, Duke of Kent |
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| Standard of The Prince Michael of Kent |
| Standards of the Queen |
| Standard of the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh & The Queen's Consort |
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| HM Queen Elizabeth II |
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| HRH The Duke of Edinburgh |
| Standards of the Queen's Children |
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| HRH The Prince Charles Heir Apparent |
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| HRH The Princess Anne 9th in Line of Succession |
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| HRH The Prince Andrew 4th in Line of Succession |
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| HRH The Prince Edward 7th in Line of Succession |
| Standards of the Queen's Grandchildren |
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| HRH The Prince William 2nd in Line of Succession |
| HRH The Prince Henry "Prince Harry" 3rd in Line of Succession |
| Standards of the Queen's Cousins |
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| HRH The Prince Edward 22nd in Line of Succession |
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| HRH The Prince Michael of Kent (Excluded from the Succession) |
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| HRH Prince Richard 18th in Line of Succession |
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| HRH Princess Alexandra 31st in Line of Succession |
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| Standard of The Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester |
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| Standard of The Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy |
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| The Westminister Model of Parliamentary Democracy |
| The Westminster Model of Parliamentary Democracy is the model that has developed over many centuries in the United Kingdom. It has been adopted as the model of government by many of Britain's former colonies as well as by some countries that were never part of the British Empire. It is also adaptable as a model by either a monarchy or a republic (a President performing the duties of a monarch instead). The Westminster model consolidates legislative and executive authority in the parliament. |