Editing Flag of England (section)

===Union Flag===
{{further|Flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain}}
The flag of England is one of the key components of the [[Union Flag]]. The Union Flag has been used in a variety of forms since the proclamation by Orders in Council 1606,<ref>{{cite book|last=Fox-Davies|first=Arthur Charles|author-link=Arthur Charles Fox-Davies|title=The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopædia of Armory|title-link=The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopædia of Armory|publisher=Bloomsbury Books|location=London|year=1904 |orig-year=1986|page=399|isbn=0-906223-34-2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/UnionJack.aspx Royal Website] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130630062430/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchUK/Symbols/UnionJack.aspx |date=30 June 2013 }}</ref> when the flags [[flag of Scotland|of Scotland]] and England were first merged to symbolise the [[Union of the Crowns]].<ref>[http://www.flaginstitute.org/index.php?location=7 Flag Institute]</ref> (The Union of the Crowns having occurred in 1603). In Scotland, and in particular on Scottish vessels at sea, historical evidence suggests that a separate design of Union Flag was flown to that used in England.<ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-hist.html#scot Flags of the World] Scotland</ref> 
In the [[Acts of Union 1707|Acts of Union of 1707]], which united the [[Kingdom of Scotland]] and the [[Kingdom of England]] to become the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], it was declared that "the Crosses of St. George and St. Andrew be conjoined, in such Manner as her Majesty shall think fit, and used in all Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns, both at Sea and Land."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rahbarnes.demon.co.uk/Union/UnionWithScotlandAct.htm |title=Act of Union (Article 1) |access-date=7 June 2008 |archive-date=2 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602172749/http://www.rahbarnes.demon.co.uk/Union/UnionWithScotlandAct.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

From 1801, to symbolise the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the [[Kingdom of Ireland]], a new design which included [[St Patrick's Cross]] was adopted for the flag of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]].<ref>[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/gb-hist.html Flags of the World] GB history</ref> The [[Flag of the United Kingdom]], having remained unchanged following the [[partition of Ireland]] in 1921 and creation of the [[Irish Free State]] and Northern Ireland, continues to be used as the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

<gallery class="center">
File:Flag of England.svg | Saint George's Cross. In the [[Union Flag]] this represents the entire [[England and Wales|Kingdom of England]], including [[Wales]].
File:Union flag 1606 (Kings Colors).svg | The English version of the First Union Flag, 1606, used mostly in [[Kingdom of England|England]] and, from 1707, the flag of the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].
File:Union Jack 1606 Scotland.svg | The Scottish version of the First Union Flag saw limited use in [[Kingdom of Scotland|Scotland]] from 1606 to 1707, following the [[Union of the Crowns]].
File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg | The Second Union Flag, 1801, incorporating [[Saint Patrick's Flag|Cross of Saint Patrick]], following [[Act of Union 1800|Union]] of [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] and [[Kingdom of Ireland]].
</gallery>