United Kingdom’s Union Flag

The island of Ireland lives under two different national flags. As we approach St. Patrick’s Day, we will see, quite often, the Irish tri-color flag at parades and other events. The tri-color is the flag of the Republic of Ireland – the southern-most 26 counties of Ireland.

But the northern six counties are part of the United Kingdom, and its official flag is the British Union Jack.

National flags can be symbols of division, and this is especially true in Ireland. I won’t get into the politics of all of this here. Rather, I’ll merely recount the historical source of the Union Jack as the British national flag.

All Americans know about the Stars & Stripes – the stripes represent the original 13 states, and one star for each state in the United States.

But where does the stuff on the British Union Jack flag come from?

This is quite elementary to the Brits out there but may be enlightening to Americans. Once you read the article on the pdf link below, you will know.