When did the present Union Flag design appear?
A royal proclamation dated 1 January 1801 declared the present design.
Flag of the United Kingdom
The Union Flag combines the crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick.
Current flag
Flag emoji 🇬🇧
United Kingdom
Flag facts
- Adopted
- 1801
Flag design
Centred cross.
- Layout
- Cross
- Cross type
- Centred cross and Saltire
- Details
- Fimbriated element
- Colours
- Blue, white, and red
Sources
Three crosses brought into one design
The present Union Flag was declared by royal proclamation on 1 January 1801, after the union with Ireland. It brings together crosses associated with England, Scotland and Ireland.
Flag of the United Kingdom
The present design dates from 1801, when the cross of St Patrick was added to the earlier union of England and Scotland. The flag is commonly called the Union Jack, especially at sea, and the Union Flag in other contexts.
The design represents the United Kingdom through the crosses associated with England, Scotland and Ireland. Wales has no separate cross in the Union Flag; that description concerns the design, not Wales’s status within the UK.
Frequently asked questions
Which crosses make up the Union Flag?
The crosses of St George, St Andrew and St Patrick.
When did the current design appear?
The current design dates from 1801.
Does the flag have a Welsh cross?
No separate Welsh cross appears in the Union Flag.
Sources
Country facts
- Type
- Country
- Name
- United Kingdom
- Continent
- Europe
- Capital
- London
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-2
- GB
- ISO 3166-1 alpha-3
- GBR
- ISO 3166-1 numeric
- 826
- Top-level domain
- .uk
- Area
- 244,820 km²
- Population
- 69,487,000 (2025)
- Currency
- GBP
- Calling code
- +44
Flags with a similar layout
These flags come from the same region and share one or more design characteristics.
Historical flags: United Kingdom (1277–)
Images are ordered by the years listed in the collection. A listed year may not be the flag’s official adoption year.
About historical flags
Vexilla's historical flag collection includes former flags associated with present-day countries and territories, as well as flags of states, empires, and other authorities that historically governed them.
A flag's inclusion in a country's historical collection does not necessarily mean that the country was independent at the time or that the flag was its own national flag.
The years shown are based on historical records in the dataset and do not always indicate the date of official adoption. The collection is not exhaustive, and historical usage, territorial coverage, and interpretations may vary.
Neighbouring countries and their flags
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