27/2/2016 0 Comments The Union Flag - or what I learnt while making some notes for a Cub Scout meetingI was volunteered to prepare an activity about the flag of the United Kingdom at an upcoming Cub Scout meeting. I was surprised at a few elements of it's history. As a clever reader, you are probably aware the Union Flag (or surprisingly the Union Jack as it can be known, even if not being flown at sea), comprises stylised representations of the flags or satires (diagonal crosses) of the countries in the Union. Since Richard I declared in 1194 that England's flag would be the red St Georges Cross on a white background. By 1606, although still different countries, England and Scotland did share the same monarch - James I of England, James VI of Scotland - so the decision was made to design a flag to be used on shipping which was a combined effort at the time. They took the Scottish flag (the St Andrew's Saltire - the diagonal cross) and the English Flag (the St George's Cross) to produce the first Union Flag. The white border around the red cross is there for heraldic reasons to separate the colours. With the 1707 Act of Union, Queen Anne declared that the Union Flag be used both at sea and on land - as by this act England and Scotland were united under the monarch and one parliament. In 1801 Great Britain enlarged to include Ireland so a new flag reflecting this was required. The St Patrick Satire was therefore incorporated to represent Ireland. This was done with an offset which in heraldic terms is known as "counterchanging". This means that the Union Flag is not actually symmetrical. The flag was not changed when Ireland split to form the Republic and Northern Ireland in 1921. Only Northern Ireland remains in the United Kingdom So, Dear Reader here is the question.
Why does no Welsh elements appear on the Union Flag? The United Kingdom does comprise England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Well, when the first Union Flag was created in 1606, Wales had been united with England since the 13th century. This meant that it's status was actually a Principality and not Kingdom. As such, it could not be included.
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