- Capital
- London
- Continent
- Europe
- Flag adopted
- 1801
- Designer
- Not individually credited
United Kingdom
Colors and meaning
Blue #00247D
St. Andrew's cross of Scotland, the flag's base field
White #FFFFFF
The saltire fimbriations separating the overlaid crosses
Red #CF142B
St. George's cross of England and St. Patrick's cross of Ireland
Symbolism and history
The Union Flag layers England's St. George's cross, Scotland's St. Andrew's saltire and Ireland's St. Patrick's saltire into a single composite design, finalized in 1801 when the Kingdom of Ireland joined Great Britain, and later used as the design basis for numerous former colonies' own flags.
Closest-looking flags
Australia
Its layered-cross canton appears in miniature on both Australia's and New Zealand's flags, a direct legacy of British colonial-era flag design.
New Zealand
Its layered-cross canton appears in miniature on both Australia's and New Zealand's flags, a direct legacy of British colonial-era flag design.
Further reading: Flag of United Kingdom on Wikipedia
