Flag of Great Britain

Great Britain

King's Colours
Use	Civil and state flag
Proportion	3:5
Adopted	1707 (origin 1606)
Relinquished	1801
Design	Four stripes of white, horizontal, diagonal, and vertical on a blue field, with a red cross in the middle.
Red Ensign of Great Britain
Use	Civil and naval ensign
Design	A red field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton
Blue Ensign of Great Britain
Use	Civil and naval ensign
Design	A blue field with the flag of Great Britain in the canton
White Ensign of Great Britain
Use	Naval ensign
Design	A cross of St George with the flag of Great Britain in the canton

The flag of Great Britain, commonly known as King's Colours, the first Union Flag,^[1][2] the Union Jack, or the British flag, was used at sea from 1606 and more generally from 1707 to 1801. It was the first flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain.^[3][4] It is the precursor to the Union Jack of 1801.

The design was ordered by King James VI and I to be used on ships on the high seas, and it subsequently came into use as a national flag following the Treaty of Union and Acts of Union 1707, gaining the status of "the Ensign armorial of Great Britain", the newly-created state. It was later adopted by land forces although the blue of the field used on land-based versions more closely resembled that of the blue of the flag of Scotland.

The flag consists of the red cross of Saint George, patron saint of England, superimposed on the saltire of Saint Andrew, patron saint of Scotland. Its correct proportions are 3:5. The blue field on the flag was sky blue at first, but over time, the blue began to darken.^[5]

The flag's official use came to an end in 1801 with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. At that time Saint Patrick's Flag was added to the flag of Great Britain to create the present-day Union Flag.