What is the story behind the British flag?
The Union Flag, or Union Jack, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. It is so called because it combines the crosses of the three countries united under one Sovereign – the kingdoms of England and Wales, of Scotland and of Ireland (although since 1921 only Northern Ireland has been part of the United Kingdom).
What was the UK flag before 1801?
the Union Jack
The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King’s Colours, 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 Great Britain. It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801….Flag of Great Britain.
| Name | King’s Colours |
| Use | Civil and state flag |
| Adopted | 1707 |
What was England’s flag in the 1500s?
The English version of the First Union Flag, 1606, used mostly in England and, from 1707, the flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Scottish version of the First Union Flag saw limited use in Scotland from 1606 to 1707, following the Union of the Crowns.
How old is the British flag?
The earliest form of the flag of Great Britain, developed in 1606 and used during the reigns of James I (1603–25) and Charles I (1625–49), displayed the red cross of England superimposed on the white cross of Scotland, with the blue field of the latter.
Did Anglo Saxons have flags?
The White Dragon Flag is reputedly an Anglo-Saxon flag with historic associations for pre-Norman England.
What flag did the British use during the Revolutionary War?
The British Red Ensign was the banner of the British troops who opposed Washington’s continentals all through the harrowing days of the American Revolution, and it was under its folds that Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on that historic October 19, 1781.