The Union Jack
The Union Jack
The Design
The Union Jack/Union Flag is the nickname of the national flag of the United Kingdom and symbolizes the union of the Kingdom of England (including Wales), Scotland and Ireland under one Sovereign. Today's deseign combines the three heraldic crosses (leaving out the Welsh dargon since the Principality of Wales had already been part of England before 1606):
The cross of St. Greorge(patron saint of England) is a red cross on white ground ;
The cross of St. Andrews(patron saint of Scotland)is a diagonal white cross on blue ground;
The cross of St. Patricks (patron of Ireland) is a diagonal red cross on white ground (Fig.4).
However the design of the first Union Flag looked quite different as the reconstrucions show [1].
Adopted National Symbol
The Union Jack is probably one of the best known national symbols worldwide and refers to the British as the royal family, the five-o'clock tea and the royal palace guards [2]. The flag is now over four-hundret years old what causes the British to speak of "the world'S oldest national flag"[3]. Although the idea of a national flag is fairly new since the concept of nation did not came up before the 18th/19th century. Beforehand there was no British or English nation but a kingdom. In contrast to other countries there does also not exist any written down act, law or passage as in the German constitution about the design. Far more, the Union Jack derived from long established customs and practise of a flag that was primarily used by the navy [3] Originally it was a royal flag only hoisted upon ships, castles or fords [1].