The flag
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is referred to as
the "Union Jack” or “Union
Flag.”
The Union Jack as we know it was born from the union of
Ireland and Great Britain in
1801. However, before 1603, the British flag was very different than
today’s flag. England, Ireland, and Scotland were different countries, each
having their own individual flags. England’s flag honored the patron saint of
England, St. George with his emblem of a red cross on a white field and had
been the official flag of England since the Medieval times.
 |
| Flag of England |
That changed when Queen Elizabeth I of England, who was
unmarried, named, on her deathbed, expressed her desire that her cousin, King
James VI of Scotland, succeed her. So King James ruled both nations. In
Scotland, he was King James VI. In England, he was King James I. At that time, King
James called his two countries the "Kingdom of Great Britaine." To
further show his desire that the countries be considered one, King James made a proclamation in
1606 that his countries’ flags, the red cross of Saint George,
who was the patron saint of England,
and the Saltire of Saint Andrew,
patron saint of Scotland,
be combined to represent the joining of these two countries. (Wales was not represented in the Union Flag
by Wales's patron saint, Saint David,
because at that time, Wales was part of the Kingdom of England.
 |
| Flag of Scotland |
King James’ flag did not become official until the reign of
Queen Anne, when England and Scotland united their parliaments to give birth to
the new nation of Great Britain. In 1707, Queen Anne officially adopted King
James I’s flag as the national flag. This new combined flag was used for 101
years.
However, changes did not stop there. In 1800, Ireland became part of Great
Britain in the Act of Union with Ireland, passed by both the
Irish and British parliaments despite much opposition. It was signed by George
III in August 1800 to become effective on 1 January 1801.
 |
| Flag of Ireland |
In 1801, the Union Flag was redesigned to include the Cross
of St. Patrick (which has a red, diagonal crosss), the patron saint of Ireland. It is in this form
that the British flag exists today.
There is some disagreement as to the origin of
the the term 'Union Jack.' One source cites it evolving from the 'jack-et'
of the English or Scottish soldiers. Another alternative is that it’s a shortening of
Jacobus, the Latin version of “James." It may also have been derived
from the term 'Jack' which once meant "small" as evidence by the nickname “Jack” which once meant “little John” or “John Jr.” A proclamation by Charles II required that the Union Flag be flown only by ships of
the Royal Navy as a “jack,” which is a small flag at flown at the bowsprit.
If you are a Brit, you probably learned this in school. But as an American, I found this history fascinating, and I hope you do, too.
BTW, I found a great figure of the four flags superimposed upon one another on Enchanted Learning:
Sources:
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