Editing Union Jack (section)

== Design ==
<!-- This section is linked from the redirect page Union Flag -->
[[File:UnionJack Construction Per 1801 Blazon.svg|thumb|Diagram showing step-by-step construction of the Union Jack Flag, as described in the blazon as decreed by George III of the United Kingdom on 1 January 1801]]
The current flag's design has been in use since 1801.  Its original [[blazon]], as decreed by [[George III of the United Kingdom]] on 1 January 1801, reads: 
<blockquote>the Union flag shall be azure, the crosses-saltires of St. Andrew and St. Patrick quartered per saltire counter changed argent and gules; the latter fimbriated of the second  [viz., argent]; surmounted by the cross of St. George of the third [viz., gules], fimbriated as the saltire [viz., argent].<ref>{{cite book|title=The European Magazine: And London Review|volume=39|publisher=Philological Society of London|year=1801|page=74 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qV83AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA74}}</ref></blockquote>

===Specification===
The Union Jack is normally twice as long as it is tall, a ratio of 1:2. In the United Kingdom, land flags are normally a ratio of 3:5; the Union Jack can also be made in this shape, but is 1:2 for most purposes. In 2008, MP [[Andrew Rosindell]] proposed a [[Ten Minute Rule]] bill to standardise the design of the flag at 3:5, but the bill did not proceed past the first reading.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2007-08/unionflag.html |access-date=9 April 2014 |title=Union Flag Bill 2007–08 |publisher=UK Parliament}}</ref>

The three-component crosses that make up the Union Jack are sized as follows:<ref name="Flag Institute">{{cite web |title=Union Flag Specification |url=https://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/uk-flags/union-flag-specification/ |website=The Flag Institute |access-date=24 October 2022}}</ref>
* The red [[St George's Cross]] width is {{frac|1|5}} of the flag's height with a {{frac|1|15}} flag height [[fimbriation]]
* The white diagonal [[Flag of Scotland|St Andrew's Cross]] width is {{frac|1|5}} of the flag's height, visible on either side of the St Patrick's Cross in diagonals of  {{frac|1|10}} and {{frac|1|30}} of the flag's height, respectively.
* The red diagonal [[Saint Patrick's Saltire|St Patrick's Cross]] width is {{frac|1|15}} of the flag's height. It is offset by {{frac|1|30}} of the flag's height in an anti-clockwise direction{{clarify|date=May 2020}}. According to the official blazon of 1801, the white diagonal [[Flag of Scotland|St Andrew's Cross]] is in fact [[counterchanged]] with the red diagonal of [[Saint Patrick's Saltire|St Patrick's Cross]]. In this interpretation, the width of both saltires is  {{frac|1|15}} of the flag's height, with fimbriations of  {{frac|1|30}} of the flag's height on either side of the red saltire.

The crosses and fimbriations retain their thickness relative to the flag's ''height'' whether they are shown with a ratio of 3:5 or 1:2. ''Height'' here is the distance from top to bottom which in vexillology is termed [[Glossary of vexillology#width or breadth|width or breadth]].

====Ratios====
{{multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 230
| image1            = Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Union Flag with an aspect ratio of 3:5
| image2            = Flag of the United Kingdom (construction sheet).svg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = Aspect diagram of a 3:5 Union Flag
| image3            = Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2).svg
| image4            = Flag of the United Kingdom (1-2) (construction sheet).svg
| caption4          = Aspect diagram of a 1:2 Union Flag
| caption3          = Union Flag with an aspect ratio of 1:2
}}
The Admiralty in 1864 settled all official flags at proportions of 1:2, but the relative widths of the crosses remained unspecified, with the above conventions becoming standardised in the 20th century.<ref>by the 1970s,<!--this article is unaware  *when* this became standard, could be any time between 1801 and 1973.--> "its current official dimension of l/30th the width of the flag" ''The Flag Bulletin'', Volumes 12–14, Flag Research Center (1973), p. 85.</ref> In the 19th century, the Union flag was defined by the same blazon but could vary in its geometrical proportions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.justcollecting.com/miscellania/the-worlds-most-expensive-union-jack-sells-for-384k |title=The World's Most Expensive Union Jack Sells For £384K |access-date=10 August 2016 |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811185440/https://www.justcollecting.com/miscellania/the-worlds-most-expensive-union-jack-sells-for-384k }}</ref>

Although the most common ratio is 1:2, other ratios exist. The Royal Navy's flag code book, BR20 ''Flags of All Nations'', states that both 1:2 and 3:5 versions are official.<ref name="35variant">{{FOTW|id=gb_var|anchor=35|title=United Kingdom: 3:5 variant|access-date=22 July 2008}}</ref> In the 3:5 version, the innermost points of the lower left and upper right diagonals of the St Patrick's cross are cut off or truncated. The [[Garter King of Arms]] also suggests a ratio of 3:5 as the suitable proportion for a Union Flag flown on land.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/resources/union-flag-approved-designs|title=Union Flag: approved designs|website=www.college-of-arms.gov.uk|publisher=College of Arms|year=2023|access-date=23 February 2023}}</ref>

The King's Harbour Master's flag, similar to the Pilot Jack, is a 1:2 flag that contains a white-bordered Union Flag that is longer than 1:2. The jacks of ships flying variants of the [[Blue Ensign]] are square and have a square Union Flag in the canton.<ref name="35variant" /> The [[Regulation Colours#British Army|King's Colours of Army regiments]] are {{convert|36|x|43|in}}; on them, the bars of the cross and saltire are of equal width, as are their respective narrow fimbriations.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-regt.html |title=United Kingdom: Regimental Colours |last1=Grieve |first1=Martin |first2=Christopher |last2=Southworth |first3=David |last3=Prothero |website=[[Flags of the World (website)|Flags of the World]] |access-date=9 July 2009}}</ref>

===Colours===
Although the official design of the flag at the College of Arms does not specify colours beyond [[Azure (heraldry)|azure]], [[argent]] and [[gules]] (blue, white and red, respectively), according to [[Graham Bartram]] (chief vexillologist of [[Flag Institute]]) the colours blue, red, and white are:<ref name=Flagsofworld /><ref name="auto"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartram |first=Graham |title=British flags & emblems |date=2004 |publisher=Tuckwell Press |isbn=978-1-86232-297-4 |location=East Linton}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Scheme
! scope="col" style="background:#012169; color:white;" | Blue
! scope="col" style="background:#C8102E; color:white;" | Red
! scope="col" style="background:white; color:black;" | White
|-
!Refs.!!<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/280-C|title=PANTONE 280 C – find a PANTONE Color|last=PANTONE|website=www.pantone.com|access-date=16 November 2017|archive-date=29 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229020409/https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/280-C}}</ref>!!<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/186-C|title=PANTONE 186 C – find a PANTONE Color|last=PANTONE|website=www.pantone.com|access-date=16 November 2017|archive-date=15 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515140142/https://www.pantone.com/color-finder/186-C}}</ref>!!
|-
! scope="row" | [[Pantone]] (paper)
| 280 C
| 186 C
| Safe
|-
! scope="row" | [[Web colors|HEX]]
| #012169
| #C8102E
| #FFFFFF
|-
! scope="row" | [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|MoD]]
| 8711D
| 8711
| 8711J
|-
! scope="row" | [[NATO Stock Number|NSN]]
| 8305.99.130.4580
| 8305.99.130.4584
| 8305.99.130.4585
|-
! scope="row" | [[CMYK color model|CMYK]]
| 100.85.5.22
| 2.100.85.6
| 0.0.0.0
|-
! scope="row" | [[RGB color model|RGB]]
|1, 33, 105
|200, 16, 46
|255, 255, 255
|}
All [[Web colors|HEX]], [[CMYK color model|CMYK]] and [[RGB color model|RGB]] specifications for the [[Pantone]] colours are taken from the official Pantone website on the webpages of the corresponding colours. Although these colour specifications are official, not all of the colours are completely congruent. This is due to different specifications for different types of media (for example, screen and print).

===Flying===
{{multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| image1            = Union Flag on staff (hoist left).svg
| image2            = Union Flag on staff (hoist right).svg
| caption1          = Hoist on the left
| caption2          = Hoist on the right
| footer            = The ''correct'' way to fly the flag. If no staff is used and the flag is only seen from one direction, the view shown at left is used.
| footer_align      = center
| total_width       = 230
}}

{{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| image1        = Union Flag on staff (vertical, hoist left).svg
| image2        = Union Flag on staff (vertical, hoist right).svg
| caption1      = Staff from the left 
| caption2      = Staff from the right
| footer        = Correct vertical displays of the Union Flag. The left view is also the vertical display used if there is no staff or a bi-supported staff is used, and flag is only seen from one direction.
| footer_align  = center
| total_width   = 230 
}}
The flag does not have reflection symmetry due to the slight pinwheeling of the St Patrick's and St Andrew's crosses, technically the ''[[Counterchanged|counterchange]] of saltires''. Thus, there is a correct side up. It is one of two national flags with [[Rotational symmetry#Discrete rotational symmetry|two-fold rotational symmetry]], [[Cyclic group|symmetry group]] C<sub>2</sub>, the other being the [[flag of Trinidad and Tobago]]. The original specification of the Union Flag in the royal proclamation of 1 January 1801 did not contain a drawn pattern or express which way the saltires should lie; they were simply "counterchanged" and the red saltire fimbriated. Nevertheless, a convention was soon established which accords most closely with the description.  The flag was deliberately designed with the Irish saltire slightly depressed at the hoist end to reflect the earlier union with Scotland, giving as it were seniority to the Saint Andrew's cross.

When statically displayed, the hoist is on the observer's left. To fly the flag correctly, the white of St Andrew is ''above'' the red of St Patrick in the upper hoist canton (the quarter at the top nearest to the flag-pole). This is expressed by the phrases ''wide white top'' and ''broadside up''. An upside-down flag must be ''turned over'' to be flown correctly; ''rotating it'' 180 degrees will still result in an upside-down flag.

The first drawn pattern for the flag was in a parallel proclamation on 1 January 1801, concerning civil naval ensigns, which drawing shows the [[red ensign]] (also to be used as a red jack by [[privateer]]s).  As it appears in the ''[[London Gazette]]'', the broad stripe is where expected for three of the four quarters, but the upper left quarter shows the broad stripe below.<ref name="London Gazette 1801-01-03" />
{{multiple image
| caption_align = center
| image1        = Upside down Union Flag on staff (hoist left).svg
| image2        = Upside down Union Flag on staff (hoist right).svg
| caption1      = Wrong way, hoist on the left
| caption2      = Wrong way, hoist on the right
| footer        = The Union Flag viewed upside down. The Union Flag is sometimes mistakenly flown upside down.
| footer_align  = center
| total_width   = 230
}}
It is often stated that a flag upside down is a form of distress signal or even a deliberate insult. In the case of the Union Flag, the difference is subtle and is easily missed by the uninformed. It is often displayed upside down inadvertently—even on commercially-made hand waving flags.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Union Jack: Do You Know The Correct Way Up?|url=https://www.forces.net/heritage/history/union-jack-do-you-know-correct-way|first=Julian|last=Perreira|date=18 February 2020|website=Forces Network|access-date=28 May 2020}}</ref>

On 3 February 2009, the [[BBC]] reported that the flag had been inadvertently flown upside-down by the UK government at the signing of a trade agreement with Chinese premier [[Wen Jiabao]]. The error had been spotted by readers of the BBC News website who had contacted the BBC after seeing a photograph of the event.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7866938.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |title=Flag mistake at UK-China ceremony |date=3 February 2009}}</ref>