What Does the Union Flag Look Like?

What does the Union Flag look like?  The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, of the United Kingdom is red, white, and blue and has on it three crosses that meet in the middle.

The Union Flag is easy to differentiate from other flags:

• It has two thick red stripes with one running vertically and the other running horizontally.  That is St. George’s Cross. 
• Underneath this one are two other crosses that look like Xs.  The white one is St. Andrew’s Cross and the red one is St. Patrick’s Cross. 
• St. Andrew’s Cross is the same width as St. George’s Cross.
• St. Patrick’s Cross is one third as wide as the other two.
• The three crosses are displayed against a royal blue background. 

All About the Union Flag

In addition to knowing what the Union Flag looks like, you may also wish to know more about the flag:

• The history of the Union Flag goes back to 1603 when James VI of Scotland inherited the thrones of Ireland, Scotland, and England. 
• In 1606, a new flag was designed which combined the flag of England, which was St. George’s Cross, and the flag of Scotland, which was St. Andrew’s Cross.  
• The second and current Union Flag was designed in 1801 after the kingdom of Ireland and the kingdom of Great Britain merged. 
• It added the red cross of St. Patrick to the crosses that were already there.

The Union Flag is not symmetrical and care must be taken when flying it.  When it is hoisted on the left, the left side arms of St. Andrew’s cross should be above the arms of St. Patrick’s Cross.  In other words, on the left side of the flag, the white bands are above the red bands.