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About
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). It shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea, while maintaining sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. The capital and largest city of England and the UK is London; Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, respectively.
Read more on Wikipedia →The Flag
History
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the national flag of the United Kingdom. While no law has been enacted making the Union Flag the national flag of the United Kingdom, it has become so through precedent.
Design & symbolism
The current flag's design has been in use since 1801. 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]. 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 width or breadth. The two ratios commonly used to size the Union Jack are 1:2 and 3:5. The Royal Navy's flag code book, BR20 Flags of All Nations, states that both 1:2 and 3:5 versions are official. The Union Jack is normally twice as long as it is tall, a ratio of 1:2. This was the proportion set by the Admiralty around 1837 and remains the proportion used at sea and by the Royal Navy. However, in the United Kingdom, flags used on land are normally a ratio of 3:5 and this is the ratio recommended for use on land by the College of Arms and the Flag Institute. In 2008, MP Andrew Rosindell proposed a Ten Minute Rule bill to…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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