What Does the British Flag Look Like?

What does the British flag look like?  The most prominent feature of the British flag is the red cross that is called the Cross of St. George.  The two arms of it are perpendicular to each other and one is vertical and the other is horizontal. 

While the Cross of St. George is the most prominent feature, there is more to knowing what the British flag looks like than just knowing about the cross:

• The British flag is also called the Union Flag and the Union Jack.

• Around the Cross of St. George is a thin white border. 
• Two other crosses are on the flag: the Cross of St. Patrick (red) and the Cross of St. Andrew (white). 
• These two are behind the Cross of St. George and are counter-changed.  This means that the red arm of one follows the white arm of the other as you move clockwise. 
• Together, they are also bordered in white.
• All three crosses are shown on a blue background.
• The crosses represent the following countries: Cross of St. George - England, Cross of St. Andrew - Scotland, and the Cross of St. Patrick - Ireland.  

Design of the British Flag

The design of the British flag is a combination of designs from multiple flags:

• The first design came from 1603 when Ireland, England, and Scotland were merged under James VI of Scotland. 
• That flag included the Cross of St. George for England and the Cross of St. Andrew for Scotland and was made official in 1606. 
• A new design was created in 1801 when Great Britain and Ireland were united. 
• The red Cross of St. Patrick was added and the design is still used today. 
• Because the two crosses from Ireland and Scotland are counter-changed, the flag is not symmetrical, and one has to be careful not to fly it upside down.  If the flag is hoisted on the left, then on the left side of the flag, the white arms will be above the red arms.       

So, now you know what the British Flag looks like and a little bit about its history.