This standard was used during the reigns of Richard I (1189-1199), John (1199-1216), Henry III (1216-1272), and Edward I (1272-1307). Prior to Richard the Lionhearted it is suggested that there was a Norman royal standard introduced by William the Conqueror (1066-1087) which had "two lions, passant gardant" for Normany and England. Richard added a third lion for Aquitane.

The idea of using a flag was first brought back to England by the returning Crusaders who saw red pennants with white crosses being used in Genoa. The legend that Richard the Lionhearted was the first to use the red cross of St. George is probably untrue. In fact, in Richard's time the English Crusaders wore white crosses, the French red, and the Flemings green. However, the Cross of St. George became one of the national emblems of England as early as 1277. In 1497, the St. George's Cross flag was flown by John and Sebastian Cabot on their voyages from England to explore New Foundland and the North American continent, as well as by other English explorers including Sir Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and Sir Walter Raleigh. This flag was used by English ships for over 400 years.

Royal Standards had the place now taken by national flags. This particular standard was used during the reigns of Edward II (1307-1327), Edward III (1327-1377), Richard II (1377-1399) and the first part of the reign of Henry IV (1399-1413). The first quarter of a flag, top left if the hoist is at the left, is the position of greatest importance. The French fleur-de-lis in the first quarter show that the Plantagenet Kings still thought that their claim to the throne of France was more significant than their occupation of the throne of England. In 1365, the fleur-de-lis on the French Royal Standard were changed from a "scatter" across the whole field, to a symmetrical arrangement of just three flowers. In 1405, Henry IV had the English Coat of Arms redesigned to reflect the change.

These four ensigns are typical examples of the ensigns that were used during the Tudor Period. The House of Tudor was a English royal dynasty that lasted 118 years and ruled between 1485 to 1603. The Tudors emerged from the Wars of the Roses as England's new rulers. The first Tudor to rule England was Henry VII (1485-1509). Born Henry Tudor, he married Elizabeth of York of the House of Plantagenet thus uniting the two families. He was followed on the throne by his son, the powerful Henry VIII (1509-1547), then Edward VI (1547-1553), Mary I (1553-1558), and finally the legendary Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The Tudors transformed the English navy into the most powerful naval force of its day.

A Tudor Ensign
using the Tudor livery colors

English naval ensigns did not begin to be standardized until shortly before the Civil War. Therefore, Tudor ensigns varied from ship to ship. Each was hand made and thus tended to be made in different materials and styles with no two exactly alike. They usually had horizontal stripes, in various colors, some with a canton and some without a canton, some with an overall Saint George's Cross and some with the Saint George's Cross in the canton.

The flag of Scotland features a white X-shaped cross representing the Cross of Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, on a blue field. The flag of Scotland is one of the oldest flags in the world, traditionally dating back to the 9th Century, and is the oldest national flag still in modern use. The Scottish flag sometimes has different shades of blue.

James VI, King of Scotland, inherited the English and Scottish thrones in 1603. This was an early version of the Union Jack in the years 1603 to 1606 just after James I became King of both England and Scotland. It probably saw little use before being replaced by the new British Union Flag in 1606.

It was the first known English flag to combine the Cross of Saint Andrew of Scotland with the Cross of Saint George of England.

This version of the Royal Standard is sometimes called The "Union of the Crowns" Royal Standard because it united both the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland under one royal family. James VI, King of Scotland, inherited the English and Irish thrones in 1603, and became James I. In honor of this they quartered the Royal Arms of England with those of Scotland on the Royal Coat of Arms, and for the first time, the Royal Coat of Arms of Ireland is added to represent the Kingdom of Ireland.

Between 1689-1702 William II and Mary II added a golden lion rampant on a blue shield to the center of this standard representing the royal house to which William belonged, but in 1702, Queen Anne returned it to the 1603 version. (see above)

The Royal Navy was organized into three squadrons, which flew either red, white or blue ensigns with a Saint George's cross canton. The oldest was the Red Ensign that had been a general flag from about 1620, even before the squadron system was introduced in 1630. In 1674, the Red Ensign was also approved as the merchant ensign. In 1701, an overall St George's cross was added to the white ensign to distinguish it from the French flag, which was mainly white. The "1606 Union Flag" replaced the "Saint George's Cross" in the canton in 1707, only to be replaced by the "Union Jack" in 1801. Nelson used the White Ensign for both the White and Blue Squadrons at Trafalgar in 1805, and in 1864 an Admiralty Order in Council ordered the Royal Navy to discontinue using the Red and Blue Ensigns completely, and made the White Ensign the only official Royal Navy ensign. ( Click here to see text of the Admiralty Order in Council )

Phases of transition of the Royal Navy Squadron Ensign after 1701

White Squadron Ensign 1702-1707		White Squadron Ensign 1707-1801

White Squadron Ensign 1801-1864
The only Royal Navy Ensign after 1864

With King James I inheritance of the English throne in 1603, the Cross of Saint George was placed over the Scottish Cross of Saint Andrew to form the British Union Flag. Although the traditional St. George's Cross flag continued as the national flag for some years, all seagoing ships began using the Union flag (better known today as the Union Jack). In 1634, use of the Union Jack was restricted to the King's Ships, ie. the Navy, and its use by merchant ships was forbidden. After 1707, the Union flag also became a British national flag. In 1801, the St. Patrick’s Cross of Ireland was added to the Union Jack.

This flag with the harp of Ireland and the red cross of England replaced the British Union Flag during during the Interregnum (1649 to 1660) when the royal coat of arms, along with monarchy, was removed from the English flag. After the English Civil War the Parliament had declared England to be a Commonwealth on May 19, 1649. The Union Jack was abolished in 1649 after the execution of Charles I, but would be revived as a flag solely for the King's ships in 1660 when the monarchy was restored. The Commonwealth of England had a republican government which ruled first England and Wales (1649-1653), then Ireland and Scotland (1653-1659). The government during 1653 to 1659 is properly called "The Protectorate," and was ruled by the Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell, with dictatorial powers until his death.

This flag was used by Oliver Cromwell as his personal standard as Lord Protector. The top two quarters had a red cross on white background to represent England and a white saltire on a blue background to represent Scotland. The first quarter of the bottom two quarters was blue with a gold harp with silver strings to represent Ireland and in the final quarter another red cross on a white background representing Wales. A small shield in the middle of these quarters was black with a silver lion on it – the arms of Oliver Cromwell. After Cromwell's death in 1658, it became officially known as the "Standard for the General of His Highnesse fleet." His son Richard became the new Lord Protector, but only ruled about a year until 1659. Richard Cromwell failed to win the support of the New Model Army and was replaced by Parliament.

The use of the Union Jack was abolished in 1649 after the execution of Charles I. This flag replaced it until 1660 and acted as the Union flag and Naval Jack. On April 4, 1660, Charles II accepted of the crown of England, the Commonwealth ceased to be, and the traditional "King's Colours" British Union Flag (see above) was once again used by the King's ships.

In 1707 the Acts of Union created the Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1800). Queen Anne had the Royal Arms of England and Scotland "impaled" together and moved to the first and fourth quarters, France moved to the second quarter and Ireland to the third quarter.

The British Red Ensign, also called the "Colonial Red Ensign" and the "Meteor" Flag, was adopted by Queen Anne (1702-1714) as the new flag for England and her colonies in 1707. The term "meteor" seems to imply the color red and originally comes from a poem by the Scottish poet Thomas Campbell ("Ye Mariners of England") where he first mentions the "The meteor flag of England."

George, the Elector of Hanover, inherited the throne following the death of Queen Anne under the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701, becoming King George I. The fourth quarter of the arms was changed to reflect the new King's domains in Hanover (Brunswick-Lüneburg-Westphalia, surmounted by Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire for the Holy Roman office of Archbannerbearer/Archtreasurer).

The earliest known use of the "Red Saltire" flag was at the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, fought against the English who carried the Cross of Saint George. It is interesting to note that the two "warring crosses" were destined to be united on the Union Jack 200 years later in 1801.

In 1801, the Cross of St. Patrick was added to the flag when Ireland joined the Union. This cross was placed with the Cross of St. Andrew. While Ireland's south broke away from the Union in 1921, the flag remains the same. The 1801 Union Flag, popularly known as the Union Jack, was introduced by Royal Proclamation, as a royal banner to be "displayed on all His Majesty's Forts and Castles, and also on board all His Majesty's Ships of War."

In 1801, the Act of Union united the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland and King George III dropped the ancient claim to the French throne. The new royal standard was quartered with the English Royal Crest (crowned Lion Passant Guardant on a Royal Crown) in the 1st and 4th quarter, the Royal Standard of Scotland in the 2nd quarter and the Irish harp in the 3rd quarter. For the Electorate of Hanover, there was an shield with a Elector's hat above it added in the center.

The accession of Queen Victoria ended the personal union between the United Kingdom and Hanover and the center shield and crown were removed. The flag was quartered with the English Royal Crest (crowned Lion Passant Guardant on a Royal Crown) in the 1st and 4th quarter, the Royal Standard of Scotland in the 2nd quarter and the Irish harp in the 3rd quarter. The Harp of the Kingdom of Ireland remained the same despite Ireland splitting into the Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland in 1921. Wales doesn't get the 4th quarter because Wales is considered a principality, not a kingdom (much to the frustration of some Welsh patriots). This coat-of-arms has remained unchanged since 1837.

The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company (MDHC), formerly the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board (MDHB), now owns and administers the dock facilities of the Port of Liverpool, on the River Mersey, England. The Liverpool Town Council was the original port authority. As the port expanded and its management became more complex its affairs were delegated to a harbor board whose chairperson was usually a Royal Navy Officer.

The Royal Navy had, since the late 1620s/early 1630s, been organized into three squadrons, which flew either red, white or blue ensigns with a Saint George's cross canton. In 1707, a Union canton replaced the Saint George's canton on the ensigns, and the Red Ensign remained not only the ensign of the senior and most numerous squadron in the Royal Navy, but also the ensign which all merchant ships were ordered to fly. The British still use three basic maritime ensigns today. However, the practice of adding shields to the flies for overseas territories and Commonwealth member nations to the red or blue versions increases the possible versions to over a hundred.

The Royal Air Force Ensign is the official flag of the Royal Air Force. The Ensign has a field of air force blue with the Union Flag in the canton and the Royal Air Force roundel in the middle of the fly.

This little known member of the family of British-style ensigns was adopted in 1931 for use at United Kingdom airports and by aircraft registered in the United Kingdom.

The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. In contrast to the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force, the British Army does not include Royal in its title. The British Army flag is mainly used in recruiting and military events and exhibitions.

Queen Elizabeth's Personal Flag which she flies when visiting Commonwealth countries of which she is not Head of State. The "E" motif is incorporated into the Arms of Australia and Canada to produce the respective Royal Banners (see below).

Two examples of Royal Standards of current British Commonwealth nations are shown to the left. These flags are flown for Queen Elizabeth when she visits these British Commonwealth nations, of which she is still considered the Head of State.

The Commonwealth of Nations is actually a voluntary association of 53 independent sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies. Although no single government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, some still consider the British King or Queen of England their traditional Head of State.

Commonweath of Nations Flag

The dragon symbol itself dates back to Roman times when it was the standard of the Roman cohort stationed in Wales (Part of the Tenth Legion). It was a prominent symbol across England and Wales in the years after the departure of the Romans, and during the era of the invasions of the Angles and Saxons.