When James VI of Scotland inherited as James I of England in 1603, the crowns of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united in him, although each remained independent states.
On 12 April 1606, a new flag to represent the personal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of England (a red cross with a white background, known as St George's Cross) and the flag of Scotland (a white saltire with a blue background, known as the Saltire or Saint Andrew's Cross) would be "joyned together according to the forme made by our heralds, and sent by Us to our Admerall to be published to our Subjects." The original sketches which accompanied this specification are lost. When deciding on the order of the flags, James 1 choose to put the English St George cross over the Scottish saltire flag, making it clear which country had control. This royal flag was at first only for use at sea on civil and military ships of both Scotland and England. In 1634, its use was restricted to the monarch's ships. Land forces continued to use their respective national banners.
The current Union Flag dates from 1 January 1801 with the Act of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The new design added the red saltire cross attributed to St Patrick for Ireland. This saltire is overlaid on the saltire of St Andrew, but still beneath the cross of St George. To make it clear Ireland was not superior to Scotland, the Irish cross was placed off-centre and made thinner. The red cross is thought to have come from the heraldic device of the Fitzgerald family who were sent by Henry II of England to aid Anglo-Norman rule in Ireland and has rarely been used as an emblem of Ireland by the Irish: a harp, a Celtic cross, a shamrock, or (since 1922) an Irish tricolour have been more common. However, the exact origin of the flag is unknown, with evidence of saltires being present on ancient Irish coins and maps. The St Patrick's saltire flag has been used in more recent times for St Patrick's Day in Northern Ireland, by various organisations wishing to avoid the sectarianism that may be implied by the use of either the tricolour or symbols of Unionism.
The current flag is blazoned Azure, the Crosses Saltire of St Andrew and St Patrick, quarterly per saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, the latter fimbriated of the second, surmounted by the Cross of St George of the third, fimbriated as the saltire.
The Union Flag is often flown by unionists and loyalists but is disliked by many nationalists and republicans. We will to maintain the right to fly this flag as our NATIONAL FLAG.
