Symbols of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Name and flag	United Kingdom Flag of the United Kingdom (Union Flag)
National Personification	Britannia
National Animal(s)	Lion Bulldog
Coat of Arms	Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom
Motto	Dieu et mon droit (French) "God and my right" (as used in England, Northern Ireland & Wales) In Defens (Scots) "In Defence" (as used in Scotland)
Anthem	"God Save the Queen"Note: "Queen" is replaced with "King" in the lyrics whenever the monarch is male.

Flag of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the Union Jack or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom.

The current design of the Union Jack dates from the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. It consists of the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England), edged in white, superimposed on the Cross of St Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which are superimposed on the Saltire of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Wales, however, is not represented in the Union Flag by Wales's patron saint, Saint David, as at the time the flag was designed Wales was part of the Kingdom of England.

The flag's correct height-to-length proportions are 1:2. However, the version used by the British Army modifies the proportions to 3:5 and also crops two of the red diagonals.

The earlier flag of Great Britain was established in 1606 by a proclamation of King James VI and I of Scotland and England. The new flag of the United Kingdom was officially created by an Order in Council of 1801, reading as follows:

The Union Flag shall be azure, the Crosses saltire of Saint Andrew and Saint Patrick quarterly per saltire, counter-changed, argent and gules, the latter fimbriatedof the second, surmounted by the Cross of Saint George of the third fimbriated as the saltire.

Evolution of the Union flag.

St Andrew's Cross 16th c. (Scotland)

St George's Cross 16th c. (England)

King's Colours, or Great Union Flag, of 1606 1707 (Great Britain)

St Patrick's Cross Unknown origin (Ireland)

Union Flag of 1801 1801 (United Kingdom)

Flying the flag

The Union Flag can be flown by any individual or organisation in Great Britain on any day of their choice. Legal regulations restrict the use of the Union Flag on Government buildings in Northern Ireland. Long-standing restrictions on Government use of the flag elsewhere were abolished in July 2007.

Upside-down

While the flag appears symmetric, the white lines above and below the diagonal red are different widths. On the side closer to the flagpole (or on the left when depicted on paper), the white lines above the diagonals are wider; on the side farther from the flagpole (or on the right when depicted on paper), the converse is true. Thus, no change will be apparent when rotating the flag 180 degrees, but if mirrored the flag will be upside-down.

Placing the flag upside down is considered lèse majesté. However, it can be flown upside down as a distress signal. While this is rare, it was used by groups under siege during the Boer War and during campaigns in India in the late 18th century.

St Patrick's saltire

The reason that the UK flag is not symmetrical is because of the relative positions of the saltires of St Patrick and St Andrew. The red saltire of St Patrick is offset such that it doesn't relegate the white saltire of St Andrew to a mere border. St Andrew's saltire has the higher position at the hoist side with St Patrick's saltire in the higher position on the opposite side.

Half-mast

The Union Flag is flown from Government buildings at half-mast in the following situations:

· from the announcement of the death of the Sovereign (an exception is made for Proclamation Day – the day the new Sovereign is proclaimed, when the Flag is flown at full mast from 11 am to sunset)

· the day of the funeral of a member of the British Royal Family

· the funeral of a foreign Head of State

· the funeral of a former British Prime Minister

The Sovereign sometimes declares other days when the Union Flag is to fly at half-mast. Half-mast means the flag is flown two-thirds of the way up the flagpole with at least the height of the flag between the top of the flag and the top of the flagpole.

Flying from public buildings

Until July 2007, the Union Flag was only flown on Government buildings on a limited number of special days each year. The choice of days was managed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Government buildings are those used by civil servants, the Crown, or the armed forces.

On 3 July 2007, the Justice Secretary Jack Straw laid a green paper before Parliament entitled The Governance of Britain. Alongside a range of proposed changes to the constitutional arrangements of the UK was a specific announcement that there would be consultation on whether the rules on flag-flying on Government buildings should be relaxed.

Two days later, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that with immediate effect the Union Flag would fly from the flag pole above the front entrance of 10 Downing Street on every day of the year. The intention was to increase feelings of British national identity. Other Government departments were asked to follow this lead, and all Government buildings in Whitehall did so.

Flag days

The flag days directed by the DCMS include birthdays of members of the Royal Family, the wedding anniversary of the Monarch, Commonwealth Day, Accession Day, Coronation Day, The Queen's official birthday, Remembrance Sunday and on the days of the State Opening and prorogation of Parliament.

Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom

Royal coat of arms

The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, or the Royal Arms for short, is the official coat of arms of the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. These arms are used by the Queen in her official capacity as monarch of the United Kingdom. Variants of the Royal Arms are used by other members of the Royal Family; and by the British government in connection with the administration and government of the country. In Scotland, the Queen has a separate version of the Royal Arms, a variant of which is used by the Scotland Office.

The shield is quartered, depicting in the first and fourth quarters the three passant guardant lions of England; in the second, the rampant lion and double tressure flory-counter flory of Scotland; and in the third, a harp for Ireland. The crest is a statant guardant lion wearing the St Edward's Crown, himself on another representation of that crown. The dexter supporter is a likewise crowned English lion; the sinister, a Scottish unicorn. According to legend a free unicorn was considered a very dangerous beast; therefore the heraldic unicorn is chained, as were both supporting unicorns in the Royal coat of arms of Scotland. In the greenery below, a thistle, Tudor Rose and shamrock are present, representing Scotland, England and Ireland respectively. The coat features both the motto of English monarchs, Dieu et mon droit (God and my right), and the motto of the Order of the Garter, Honi soit qui mal y pense (shame upon him who thinks evil of it) on a representation of the Garter behind the shield.

The Royal Arms may only be used by the Queen herself. They also appear in court rooms, since the monarch is the fount of justice in the UK and the law Court is part of the Court of the monarch (hence its name). Judges are officially representatives of the crown, demonstrated by the Queen's Coat of Arms which sits behind the judge on the wall of every court in the land, with the exceptions of the magistrates' court in the City of London, in which a sword stands vertically behind the judge which is flanked by the arms of the City and the Crown. In Northern Ireland, the Royal Arms cannot be displayed in courtrooms or on court-house exteriors. There are a few exceptions, with the Royal Arms allowed to be displayed in the courtrooms of the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast and the courts in Armagh, Banbridge, Downpatrick, Magherafelt, or Omagh. They may be shown on the exterior of court buildings that had them in place prior to the 2002 law.

The British Government also uses the Royal Coat of Arms as a national symbol of the United Kingdom, and, in that capacity, the Coat of Arms can be seen on several government documents and forms, passports, in the entrance to embassies and consulates, etc. However, when used by the government and not by the sovereign herself, the coat of arms is often represented without the helm. This is also the case with the sovereign's Scottish arms, a version of which is used by the Scotland Office.

The Royal Arms have regularly appeared on the coinage produced by the Royal Mint including, for example, from 1663, the Guinea and, from 1983, the British one pound coin. In 2008, a new series of designs for all seven coins of £1 and below was unveiled by the Royal Mint, every one of which is drawn from the Royal Arms. The full Royal Arms appear on the one pound coin, and sections appear on each of the other six, such that they can be put together like a puzzle to make another complete representation of the Royal Arms.

It is traditional (but not mandatory) for churches in the United Kingdom that belong to the Church of England and Church of Scotland to display the Royal Arms inside to represent loyalty to the Crown.

A banner of the arms, the Royal Standard is flown from the Royal Palaces when the Queen is in residence; and from public buildings only when the Queen is present. At royal residences such as Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace, the Queen's main residence, the Royal Standard is flown to indicate when the monarch is in residence.

Anthem

" God Save the Queen " (alternatively " God Save the King " during the reign of a male sovereign) is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The words and title are adapted to the sex of the current monarch, i.e. replacing "Queen" with "King", "she" with "he", and so forth, when a king reigns. The author of the tune is unknown.

The sovereign and his or her consort are saluted with the entire anthem, while other members of the Royal Family who are entitled to royal salute (such as the Prince of Wales) receive just the first six bars. The first six bars also form all or part of the Vice Regal Salute in some Commonwealth realms outside the UK as well as the salute given to governors of British overseas territories.

The anthem usually prefaces The Queen's Christmas Message (although in 2007 it appeared at the end, taken from a recording of the 1957 television broadcast), and important royal announcements, such as of royal deaths, when it is played in a slower, sombre arrangement.

The anthem continues to be played at some traditional events such as Wimbledon, Royal Variety Performance, the Edinburgh Tattoo, Royal Ascot, Henley Royal Regatta and The Proms.

The motto

Dieu et mon droit

Dieu et mon droit (meaning God and my right) is the motto of the Monarch of the United Kingdom outside of Scotland. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the version of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom used outside of Scotland. The motto is said to have first been used by Richard I as a battle cry and presumed to be a reference to the divine right of the Monarch to govern. It was adopted as the royal motto of England by King Henry V with the phrase "and my right" referring to his claim to the French crown.

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