Union flag
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| Names | Union Flag, Union Jack, Royal Union Flag |
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| Use | National flag |
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | 1801 |
| Design | Cross of Saint Andrew counterchanged with the Cross of Saint Patrick, over all the Cross of Saint George. |
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| Name | The King's Colours or Great Union Flag |
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| Use | National flag |
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | 1606–1707 (ships at sea) 1707–1801 (England and Scotland) |
| Design | The Cross of St George over the Cross of St Andrew |
 The Cross of Saint Andrew. 26 September 2009. By cthonus Accessed 2009-12-30. |
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The Cross of Saint George. 11 June 2006. By Two Thumbs. Accessed 2009-12-30. |
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Scottish Union Flag. 2 June 2009. By boongiepam. Accessed 2009-12-16. |
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"English/British Union Flag". 29 March 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-02-18. By dr.nic. Accessed 2009-12-31. |
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The Cross of Saint Patrick. 17 March 2007. By tim ellis. Accessed 2009-12-30. |
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United Kingdom Union Flag. 15 July 2009. By leegibb13. Accessed 2009-12-16. |
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The flag also has an official or semi-official status in some other Commonwealth realms; for example, it is, by parliamentary resolution, an official flag in Canada and known there as the Royal Union Flag. Further, it is used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Jack also appears in the canton (upper left-hand quarter) of the flags of several nations and territories that are former British possessions or dominions.
The claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical investigations by the Flag Institute in 2013.
The origins of the earlier flag of Great Britain date back to 1606. James VI of Scotland had inherited the English and Irish thrones in 1603 as James I, thereby uniting the crowns of England, Scotland, and Ireland in a personal union, although the three kingdoms remained separate states. On 12 April 1606, a new flag to represent this regal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of England (a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland (a white saltire on a blue background, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross), would be joined together, forming the flag of England and Scotland for maritime purposes. King James also began to refer to a "Kingdom of Great Britaine", although the union remained a personal one.
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