File:Order in Council, 5th November 1800 – illustrations of the new arms, flag, and standard of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (PC 2-157).jpg

From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Original file(1,598 × 2,306 pixels, file size: 985 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Illustrations of the new arms of George III after the union of Great Britain with Ireland, for the new royal standard, and for the new union flag. National Archives, Privy Council papers (PC 2/157)

Summary[edit]

Description
English: On 1 January 1801, the United Kingdom of Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In preparation for this, on 5 November 1800 at St James's Palace, the Privy Council of George III, King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, approved draught illustrations for the heraldry of the new kingdom prepared by the Garter Principal King of Arms (Isaac Heard) and Richmond Herald (Ralph Bigland). The 5 November 1800 Order in Council prepared a royal proclamation to be issued on 1 January 1801, announcing the new state's "royal style and titles" and "also the ensigns armorial, flags and banners thereof"; the Garter and Richmond heralds supplied "divers drafts" of these for the king's approval. The relevant parts of the Order in Council read:
And with respect to the ensigns armorial of the said united kingdom, the lords of the committee do agree to lay before your Majesty the annexed draft marked (A.) proposed for the bearing of arms for the said united kingdom, in order to receive your Majesty's pleasure thereon, both as to what relates to your Majesty's armorial bearings, and also to the armorial bearings of his royal highness the prince of Wales and the other branches of your Majesty's royal family with the several distinctions already assigned to them …
The committee are further of opinion, that the union flag should be altered according to the draft thereof marked (C.) which is herewith humbly submitted to your Majesty, and in which the cross of St. George is conjoined with the cross of St. Andrew and St. Patrick.
That the standard be the arms of the united kingdom, according to the draft marked (B.)

The royal proclamation of 1 January 1801 blazoned the new union flag as:

Azure, the Crosses Saltires of St. Andrew and St. Patrick quarterly per saltire, counterchanged argent and gules; the latter fimbriated of the second, surmounted by the Cross of St. George of the third, fimbriated as the Saltire.
The design has remained the flag of the United Kingdom and the British national flag ever since. The differing interpretations of the blazon, especially the phrase "fimbriated as the Saltire", have led to various flags with crosses and fimbriations of different proportions. The overall proportions of the flag itself also vary: according to the Garter King of Arms and the Earl Marshal, the official proportions for flying the flag on land are 5:3 (see: File:Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5).svg, while the proper proportions of the flag flown at sea are 2:1 (see: File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg. (Union flags used as military colours also exist in other proportions; generally, British Army regimental colours since 1900 are in proportions 5:4.)
Date
Source

National Archives

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/act-of-union-1801/
Author Royal College of Arms
Other versions

Licensing[edit]

This is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work of art itself is in the public domain for the following reason:
Public domain

This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or fewer.


You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Honduras has a general copyright term of 75 years, but it does implement the rule of the shorter term. Copyright may extend on works created by French who died for France in World War II (more information), Russians who served in the Eastern Front of World War II (known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) and posthumously rehabilitated victims of Soviet repressions (more information).

The official position taken by the Wikimedia Foundation is that "faithful reproductions of two-dimensional public domain works of art are public domain".
This photographic reproduction is therefore also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. In other jurisdictions, re-use of this content may be restricted; see Reuse of PD-Art photographs for details.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current14:16, 4 October 2021Thumbnail for version as of 14:16, 4 October 20211,598 × 2,306 (985 KB)GPinkerton (talk | contribs)Uploaded a work by Royal College of Arms from National Archives <br> https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significant-events/act-of-union-1801/ with UploadWizard

File usage on other wikis

The following other wikis use this file:

Metadata