British flags

The Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has a single national flag, the Union Jack or Union Flag, and many variations for set purposes and several local flags. Below is a list of flags which have either been in use, or are currently used in the United Kingdom.

See also: Flags of the British overseas territories and Flags of the British Empire.

Current national and sub-national flags

National and subnational flags of the United Kingdom.

United Kingdom

Flag	Date	Use	Description	Status
	1801 -	The Union Jack. Used as the flag of the United Kingdom	Created by a conjunction of the flags of England and Scotland with the Saint Patrick's Saltire for Ireland	National flag used by the government

Sub-national flags

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	c.1275	De facto Flag of England, also known as St George's Cross.	A red cross on a white field.
		Official flag of Northern Ireland.	Identical to the Union Jack.
	1923	The Ulster Banner, de facto flag of Northern Ireland, primarily used by the Unionist community and by sporting organisations.	A red cross on a white field with a star, crown and the Red Hand of Ulster in the centre.
	18th Cent.	St Patrick's Saltire, the flag used to represent Northern Ireland in the Union Jack, and sometimes used as an unofficial national flag.	A red saltire on a white field.
	c.1300	Flag of Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Saltire or simply The Saltire.	A white saltire on a blue field.
	standardised 1959	Flag of Wales, also known as the Red Dragon or Y Ddraig Goch.	A red dragon passant on a green and white field.

County flags

Main article: County flags

The following are the county flags registered on the UK Flag Register:

Flag	Date	Established	Description
	2023	Flag of Aberdeenshire [1]	Per pale Tenne and Purpure, a castle Argent charged with a crown counter-changed of the field. The winning entry in a competition.
	Traditional	Flag of Anglesey [2]	Three golden lions rampant and a gold chevron against a red background.
	2023	Flag of Banffshire [3]	A white bridge over blue water on a gold background with a sun the canton.
	2014	Flag of Bedfordshire [4]	Similar to the old council flag, but with its fess counterchanged per pale, and lighter.
	2017	Flag of Berkshire [5]	Showing the traditional emblem of the county: a stag beneath Herne's Oak (in Windsor).
	2023	Flag of Berwickshire [6]	A white salmon on a blue background above a gold wheatsheaf on a green background, separated by a white chain, representing the Union Chain Bridge.
	Traditional	Flag of Buckinghamshire [7]	A white swan on a field of black and red.
	Traditional	Flag of Caernarfonshire [8]	Three gold eagles on a green field, the banner attributed to Owain Gywnedd
	2016	Flag of Caithness [9]	A Nordic Cross in blue, edged in gold against a black background, with a galley in the canton, adorned with a raven on its main sail
	2015	Flag of Cambridgeshire [10]	The winning entry in a competition which combines the blue field and gold crowns of East Anglia with a depiction of the River Cam in a the colour famously worn by sporting teams of Cambridge University.
	Used locally since 12th century	Flag of Cheshire [11]	A gold sword between three gold wheatsheaves on a blue field.
	poss. 12th century	"St Piran's Flag", the Flag of Cornwall [12]	A white cross on a black field
	2013	Flag of County Durham [13]	The winning entry in a competition which comprises the traditional local blue and yellow colour scheme and long associated local symbol, the Saint Cuthbert's cross.
	1950	Flag of Cumberland [14]	Three white Parnassus flowers against a green field over blue and white wavy stripes.
	2006	Flag of Derbyshire [15]	A green cross with a white border on a sky blue field, with a gold Tudor rose in the centre.
	2003	Flag of Devon [16], "St Petroc's flag"	A white cross with a black border on a green field.
	2008	Flag of Dorset [17], The Dorset Cross alias "St Wite's Cross"	A white cross with a red border on a gold field.
	2018	Flag of East Lothian [18]	A blue field with a gold saltire voided blue; over all a lozenge with a lion rampant.
		Flag of Essex [19]	A red field with three white, gold hilted Saxon knives or Seaxes.
	2015	Flag of Flintshire [20]	Argent a cross engrailed fleury Sable between four Cornish Choughs proper.
	2013	Flag of Glamorgan [21]	A banner of the arms of Iestyn ap Gwrgant. It appears as a flag in arms of Cardiff.
	2008	Flag of Gloucestershire [22] The Severn Cross	The winning entry in a competition to commemorate the county's millennium.
	2019	Flag of Hampshire [23]	A gold Saxon crown on a red field above a Tudor rose on a gold field.
	2019	Flag of Herefordshire [24]	On a dark red background, a white bull's head above three wavy lines, ordered white-blue-white.
	2008	Flag of Hertfordshire [25]	A field of wavy blue and white stripes symbolising the county's many rivers with a shield bearing a depiction of a hart. The shield is taken from the arms of the Borough of Hertford. The shield and stripes together are a heraldic pun on the words "hart" and "ford". The Hart reclines on a yellow field, representing St. Alban, the patron saint of Hertfordshire and first British martyr, whose cross is traditionally yellow on blue.
	2009	Flag of Huntingdonshire [26]	On a green background, a gold, ribboned hunting horn - a flag displayed on the crest of the county arms
	Traditional	Flag of Kent [27]	A red field with the white horse of Kent in the centre.
	2016	Flag of Kirkcudbrightshire [28]	The cross of St Cuthbert (from whom the county is named) counterchanged on a green and white quartered background, associated with the exchequer cloth of the Stewards of Galloway to whom the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright was entrusted.
	2008	Flag of Lancashire [29]	The red rose of Lancashire on a yellow field.
	2005	Flag of Lincolnshire [30]	A red cross with yellow trimming on a blue and green field, and a yellow fleur de lys in the middle of the cross.
	2021	Flag of Leicestershire [31]	A red and white dancetté background, with a Cinquefoil in the top half and a running fox in the bottom.
	2015	Flag of Merioneth [32]	Based on a description of a banner borne by the men of Merioneth at the Battle of Agincourt, in the 17th century poem of the same name by Michael Drayton. Here he wrote of “three goats dancing ‘gainst a rising sun”; the shield was blue, the sun golden and the goats white. Speculation regarding this unusual arrangement suggests a connection with Cader Idris, where goats browsed and behind which the sun rose.
	Traditional	Flag of Middlesex [33]	A red field with three white, gold hilted Saxon seaxes (knives) under a gold Saxon crown.
	2011	Flag of Monmouthshire [34]	A blue and black field with three fleurs de lys: the arms attributed to the old Kingdom of Gwent
	2023	Flag of Morayshire [35]	A wavy blue and gold background with a golden garb on a green hoist.
	2014	Flag of Norfolk [36]	Party per pale or and sable, a bend ermine; the attributed arms of Ralph de Gael or Guader, 1st Earl of Norfolk
	2014	Flag of Northamptonshire [37]	Maroon (the county cricket colour), with a fimbrated gold cross bearing a rose; the county's traditional emblem. Chosen in a competition and designed by Brady Ells.
	1951	Flag of Northumberland [38]	Local authority flag with use permitted to local people. Based on the St Oswald banner (see below), selected by local Council.
	2011	Flag of Nottinghamshire [39]	Green with a St George cross and an inescutcheon showing Robin Hood.
	2007	Flag of Orkney [40]	A blue Nordic cross outlined in yellow on a red field.
	2017	Flag of Oxfordshire [41]	Azure, two Bendlets wavy Argent between in chief a Garb Or and in base an Oak Tree fructed Or, over all a Bull's head Gules.
	2015	Flag of Rutland [42] Based on a banner of the local council's arms	A green field strewn with golden acorns and bearing a golden horseshoe in the centre.
	1988	Flag of Pembrokeshire [43]	A yellow cross on a blue field with a variation of the red and white Tudor rose in the centre
	1969	Flag of Shetland [44]	A white Nordic cross on a light blue field
	2012	Flag of Shropshire [45] Based on a banner of the local council's arms	Erminois, three piles issuant two from chief and one from base each bearing a leopard's head
	Traditional/2013	Flag of Somerset [46]	The traditional emblem of Somerset, winner of a 2013 county flag competition
	2016	Flag of Staffordshire [47]	The traditional Stafford Knot, placed on the Earl of Stafford's shield Or a chevron gules
	Traditional/2017	Flag of Suffolk [48]	St Edmund's arms: Azure two Arrows in saltire points downwards enfiled with an ancient Crown Or:
	Traditional/2014	Flag of Surrey [49]	The De Warrenne arms: Chequy or and azure
	Traditional	Flag of Sussex [50]	The traditional arms of Sussex: Azure six martlets or
	2018	Flag of Sutherland [51]	White with a black saltire and black Scandinavian cross; the intersection in gold. This was chosen by a competition and announced in December 2018. It replaced a previous design (with a swooping eagle counterchanged on a vertical bicoloured red and gold background) which proved unpopular locally.
	2016	the Flag of Warwickshire [52]	A white bear and ragged staff on a red background
	2011	the Flag of Westmorland [53]	A golden heraldic apple tree (for Appleby) on white and red bars (for Kendal)
	2009	Flag of Wiltshire [54]	Alternating downward angled stripes of green and white bearing a green disc within six alternating green and white sections, on which stands an image of a Great Bustard.
	2013	Flag of Worcestershire [55]	Three black pears on a shield charged against a wavy green and blue background.
	Traditional	Flag of Yorkshire [56]	A White Rose on a blue field.

Flags of the Yorkshire Ridings

Each of the three Yorkshire ridings has a flag registered on the UK Flag Registry:

Flag	Date	Established	Description
	2013	Flag of the East Riding of Yorkshire [57]	A field of Yorkshire blue and green bearing the White Rose of York.
	2013	Flag of the North Riding of Yorkshire [58]	Green with a gold-fimbrated blue cross, with the White Rose of York in the centre.
	2014	Flag of the West Riding of Yorkshire [59]	The mediæval Yorkist badge, the rose-en-soleil, on a St George cross in a Scandinavian style for Yorkshire's Norse history.

Regions, cities and others

Main article: Town and village flags of the United Kingdom

A number of towns and villages have created their own flags, often showing great ingenuity and artistry, for example that of Finchfield in Staffordshire, with finches and a patterned line cleverly depicting ears of wheat. This is a growing phenomenon and a field of endeavour worthy of encouragement, for while some great cities have been associated with civic designs, the local flags of towns and villages come for the most part from the little battalions of society, not from the bureaucrats, and they shun civic emblems for those of meaning to the villagers or townsfolk themselves.

The following flags of regions and islands are also registered by the Flag Institute:

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1900 -	Flag of East Anglia [60]	The arms ascribed to the Wuffingas dynasty of East Anglia, three crowns on a blue shield, superimposed on a St George's cross.
	2012 -	Flag Of The Black Country	The winning design in a 2012 competition launched by the Black Country Living Museum. The red and black colours refer to a description of the locality as “black by day and red by night”. The central white area represents the glass cone, a symbol of the region's glass-making heritage since 1790. It was created by Gracie Sheppard of Redhill School, Stourbridge.
	2009 -	Flag of the Isle of Wight [61]	A pale blue field with a nicked rhombus (a representation of the island's shape) and at the bottom six alternating bars wavy, navy blue and white.
		Flag of the Isles of Scilly [62]	The Scillonian Cross
	1965	Flag of Wessex	The arms ascribed to the West Saxon kingdom; a gold dragon (or heraldically a wyvern) on red. The gold wyvern appears on the Bayeux Tapestry.
	2014	Flag of Mercia	The arms ascribed to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia; a gold saltire (diagonal cross) against a dark blue field. Appearing on John Speed's 1610 Atlas of Great Britain as the emblem of Mercia during the heptarchy and subsequently also used by the town of Saint Alban's. Most example of its use for Mercia were much darker than those for the town and the Flag Institute formalised this distinction in November 2014 by registering the anciently attested Mercian emblem.

Ensigns

Flag	Date	Use	Description
	1801 -	Red Ensign, used by the Merchant Navy	A red field, with a Union Flag in the canton
	1801 -	Blue Ensign, used by some organisations or territories associated with the UK and also used by Royal Navy Captain of Merchant Navy Ship	A blue field, with a Union Flag in the canton
	1801 -	White Ensign, Royal Navy, usually ships bearing the prefix HMS (but see blue ensign), and the Royal Yacht Squadron	A red cross on a white field with the Union Flag in the canton
		Non Ceremonial Flag of the British Army	A red field defaced with the badge of the British Army.
	1921 -	Royal Air Force Ensign	A RAF light blue field with the Royal Air Force roundel in the fly with a Union Flag in the canton
	1931 -	Civil Air Ensign, used by civilian aircraft and at civil airports	A blue and white cross on a light blue field with the Union Flag in the canton
		Civil Jack	A Union Flag with a white border
		Air Training Corps Ensign	RAF Ensign with RAF roundel replaced by ATC badge
	1956 -	Flag of the Joint Services	A dark blue, red and light blue tricolour defaced with the Joint Service badge.
		Flag of the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom	A fouled anchor on a crimson background
		Ensign of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary	A blue ensign defaced with a yellow anchor
		Ensign of the Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service	A blue ensign defaced with a horizontal yellow anchor with two wavy yellow lines beneath
		Sea Cadet Corps Ensign	RNR Blue Ensign with SCC badge

See also

• Flags of the British overseas territories
• Flags of the British Empire

Outside links

• The Flag Institute
• World Flag Database
• Royal.gov.uk- The Union Flag
• UK Department of Culture - Ceremonial and Flag Flying