The history and evolution of the British flag (Wikimedia Commons/The Atlantic)Įngland and Scotland remained independent countries with separate parliaments, royal courts, and flags until they fully merged under the Act of Union in 1707. The design placed the traditional English flag, known as the cross of Saint George, over the traditional Scottish flag, known as the cross of Saint Andrew. With Britain united under one king for the first time, James sought to symbolize his joint rule of the two countries with a new flag in 1606. After Elizabeth I died in 1603, her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, ascended to the English throne as James I of England. The Union Jack's history is closely intertwined with the U.K.'s history. 'As this subject has generated the largest post bag of any single subject in our history, however,' Ashburner noted, 'there is clearly such an appetite.' 'We are simply simply here to facilitate and inform the debate if there is an appetite for such a thing.' 'We are not advocating changing the flag. We are not advising changing the flag. We are not encouraging a change to the flag. We are not discouraging a change to the flag,' Charles Ashburner, the Flag Institute's chief executive and trustee, told me. Union flags in London during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.