Editing Union Jack (section)

===Usage and disposal===
The Union Flag has no official status in the United Kingdom, and there are no national regulations concerning its use or prohibitions against [[flag desecration]]. In Northern Ireland, the [[Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000]] provide for the flying of the flag on government buildings on certain occasions, when it is flown half-mast, and how it is displayed with other flags.<ref>{{cite act |year=2000 |number=347 |title=The Flags Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2000/347/pdfs/nisr_20000347_en.pdf}}</ref>
[[File:Scottish and British.jpg|thumb|A folded Union Flag with a [[tam o' shanter (cap)|tam o' shanter]] on top of it]]
The Flags and Heraldry Committee, an [[all-party parliamentary group]] lobbying for official standards, cooperated with the [[Flag Institute]] in 2010 to publish a set of recommended guidelines for the flag's display and use as a symbol.<ref name=FFitUK>{{cite book |first1=Graham |last1=Bartram |author2=Flags & Heraldry Committee |title=Flying Flags in the United Kingdom |url=http://www.flaginstitute.org/pdfs/Flying_Flags_in_the_United_Kingdom.pdf |type=PDF |publisher=[[Flag Institute|The Flag Institute]] |location=London |date=2010 |isbn=978-0-9513286-1-3 |access-date=13 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611185831/http://www.flaginstitute.org/pdfs/Flying_Flags_in_the_United_Kingdom.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2014 }}</ref>

There is no specific way in which the Union Flag should be folded. It is usually folded rectilinearly, with the hoist on the outside, to be easily reattached to the pole.<ref name=FFitUK/><ref name="fotw-canada">{{FOTW|id=ca_prtcl|title=Canadian Flag Etiquette}}</ref>

Royal Navy Stores Duties Instructions, article 447, dated 26 February 1914, specified that flags condemned from further service use were to be torn up into small pieces and disposed of as rags (ADM 1/8369/56), not to be used for decoration or sold. The exception was flags that had flown in action: these could be framed and kept on board, or transferred to a "suitable place", such as a museum (ADM 1/8567/245).<ref name=Flagsofworld />

==== Position of Honour ====
[[File:Gibraltar GM 2008 (61).JPG|thumb|The Union Jack, with the flags of the European Union and Gibraltar on its sides. The Union Flag is placed in a raised, central position.]]
According to the UK Flag Protocol, the order of precedence of flags in the United Kingdom is: the [[Royal Standard of the United Kingdom|Royal Standards]], the Union Flag, the flag of the host country (England, Scotland and Wales etc.), the flags of other nations (in [[English language|English]] [[alphabetical order]]), the [[Flag of the Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth Flag]], the county flags, the flags of cities or towns, the banners of arms, and the house flags.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags-2/flying-flags-in-the-united-kingdom/british-flag-protocol/#index29 |title=UK Flag Protocol – Position of Honour |access-date=7 July 2020 |archive-date=7 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707074916/https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags-2/flying-flags-in-the-united-kingdom/british-flag-protocol/#index29 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies ====
[[File:Bermuda (UK) image number 145 Fort St. Catherine's with flags flying.jpg|thumb|The Union Jack and the [[flag of Bermuda]] flown from [[Fort St. Catherine]] in Bermuda, 2016]]
The Union Jack is the national flag of the [[British Overseas Territories]], which are parts of the British realm with varying degrees of local autonomy. Most populated administrative regions and territories of the United Kingdom have been granted a unique flag for the locality, usually the [[Blue ensign]] or [[Red ensign]] defaced with the distinguishing arms of the territory. All fly the Union Jack in some form, with the exception of [[Flag of Gibraltar|Gibraltar]] (other than the government ensign).

The [[Crown Dependencies]], unlike the British Overseas Territories, are legally not part of the United Kingdom, and the Union Jack is not an official flag there. Outside the UK, the Union Jack is usually part of a special [[Ensign (flag)|ensign]] in which it is placed in the upper left hand corner of a blue field, with a signifying crest in the bottom right. When the Union Jack and the territorial flag are flown together, the national flag is always arranged to take precedence over the territorial flag.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.naco.uk.com/assets/Uploads/flagprotocol.pdf  |title=A Guide to Flag Protocol in the United Kingdom (An extract from the book "British Flags and Emblems") |last=Bartram |first=Graham |date=2002 |website=www.naco.uk.com |publisher=The National Association of Civic Officers (NACO) |access-date=5 September 2021 |quote=General Precedence: The Royal Standard; The Personal Flag of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; The Personal Flag of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh; The Personal Flag of HRH The Prince of Wales; The Personal Flag of HRH Prince William of Wales; The Personal Flag of HRH The Duke of York; The Personal Flag of HRH The Earl of Wessex; The Personal Flag of HRH The Princess Royal; The Personal Flag of HRH The Duke of Gloucester; The Personal Flag of HRH The Duke of Kent; The Personal Flag of HRH Prince Michael of Kent; The Personal Flag of HRH Princess Alexandra; The Other Members' Standard; The Union Flag; The White Ensign of the Royal Navy; The Ensign of the Royal Air Force; The Blue and Red Ensigns; National Flag of the host constituent nation, crown dependency or over-seas territory; National Flags of England, Scotland, Wales, Crown dependencies and overseas territories; National Flags of other nations (in English alphabetical order); The United Nations Flag; The Commonwealth Flag; The European Union Flag; The British Army Flag; Counties and Metropolitan Cities; Other Cities and Towns; Banners of Arms (both personal and corporate); House Flags}}</ref>