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.

The Cinque Ports in East Sussex and Kent, bordering the narrowest part of the English Channel, were granted rights and privileges, and in return provided the king with ships for a limited period each year. The system began before the Norman Conquest, when individual ports were given various entitlements to compensate for annual ship-service, but it was not until the 13th century that the Cinque Ports became a corporate body, which also advised the king on maritime matters. The ports of Winchelsea and Rye, were included with the five original ports of Hastings, Romney, Hythe, Dover and Sandwich, at the end of the 12th century in 1191.

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 Normandy and England. Richard added a third lion for Aquitaine.

The first King of Scots known to have used this standard was Alexander III (1249-1286), who added the border, described in heraldry as the "double tressure flory counter-flory", to the standard of his father Alexander II (1214-1249). The introduction of lion as the royal emblem is usually attributed to William I (1143-1214), known as William the Lion, although there is no solid evidence for that. The standard in its final form was used by all the successive Kings until James VI inherited England and Ireland in 1603, when a new standard was introduced, combining the heraldic devices of all British kingdoms.

The title of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, originally called simply the "Keeper of the Coast", originated after the Cinque Ports sided with the Earl of Leicester against King Henry III in the Second Barons' War (1264-1267). The acknowledged leader of the barons' cause was Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester. The Royalist forces were led by Prince Edward (later Edward I of England), in the name of Henry III.

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 Newfoundland 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 five 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 Tudor's transformed the English navy into the most powerful naval force of its day.

A Tudor Ensign number of stripes varied between 5-13		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, some without a canton, some with an overall Saint George's Cross, some with the Saint George's Cross in the canton, and some with no cross at all, just the stripes.

This flag of the Muscovy Trading Company, sometimes called the "Russian Company" or simply "Muscovy Company," is one of the oldest and most unusual British Trading Company houseflags. Queen Elizabeth I granted the Muscovy Company a charter in 1555 to trade with Russia, especially for furs and whaling, and allowed the English Company to use the St. George's Cross and the English arms on their flag. The Muscovy Company had this monopoly on trade between England and Muscovy until 1698, and it survived as a trading company until the Russian Revolution of 1917. Several well-known English explorers were associated with the company including Henry Hudson and William Baffin. Since 1917, a Russian offshoot of the company has operated as a charity within Russia.

The English East India Company (EEIC) was originally chartered in London for trading in the East Indies. It was also referred to as either the Honorable East India Company or the British East India Company. It was first granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth in 1600. Shares of the company were owned by wealthy merchants and British noblemen. The Company ruled large areas of India with its own private armies between 1757-1858. The company traded mainly in cotton from the West Indies, and from the East - silk, indigo dye, salt, saltpeter, tea and opium. The company was dissolved in 1874 and its military and governmental functions taken over by the British Crown. The companies failure to control India and need for funding may have led in part to the American Revolution. (See British East India Company Flags c1678-1800 on the "Flags of the American Revolution Era" page to learn more of this.)

EEIC Jack - Type #2 mid-1860s		EEIC Jack - Type #3 mid-1860s

The flag of the EEIC began very much in the traditional Tudor Naval Ensign format with a red Saint George's Cross on white in the canton, and with red and white alternating strips in the field. These flags came with nine, ten, eleven and even thirteen stripes; with various cantons of varying size, since each was hand-made by the crews of the EEIC ships, and no clear instructions given by the company. (See examples of the earlier Tutor influenced EEIC flags on the "Early North American Colonies" page.)

When the House of Stuart gained the throne in 1603 the Cross of Saint George was replaced with the Union of the King's Colours and the EEIC flags reflected this change. In 1801, the cantons where once again changed to reflect the new Union design (Type #1 and #2), with the Union Jack in the ensign's canton updated with the Cross of St Patrick. Other interesting flags reported in limited use in India and China in the 1860s were the two EEIC Jacks (Types #2 and #3) used prior to 1874 by armed EEIC vessels.

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.

James VI, became King of Scots in 1567, then in 1603 inherited the English and Irish thrones as James I of England, which he ruled until his death in 1625. 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. However, there are reports it was temporarily used again in 1623, and also in 1659-1660, probably in short intervals between the fall of the Protectorate and the Restoration.

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 Scots, 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.

These flags have appeared in a number of continental publications during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but only in foreign publications, and never in any British publications. Therefore, it has been suggested that these flags were only decorative banners or "processional" parade route flags, perhaps put-up for such national events as the coronation of William and Mary in 1689.

English People Type #4 (only tri-color version reported)		English People Type #5 (used on ship White Bear c1564)

Whatever the original source of the information used for these various "Flags of the English People," they have been copied from one publication to the next, modified, and re-interpreted by various authors and publishers, based on previous claims.

The Dictionary of Vexillology, found on the "Flags of the World" website explains that a flag which is accepted as factual because of repeated usage, but has no real evidence of actual use or existence, is called Suppositious Flag. It could certainly be argued that such is the case of these so-called Flags of the English People.

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. To avoid confusion, 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 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 to be used as an English flag for some years, all seagoing ships began using the new Union flag (better known today as the Union Jack). It is also important to note here that the St. George's Cross flag might have been, in effect, the English national flag, but was not called a national flag. As noted flag scholar, W. G. Perrin, said in his British Flags (1922) "By the end of the sixteenth century...the flag of St George had taken the lead as the distinguishing characteristic of English ships, both men-of-war and merchantmen." This would change, however, with the introduction of the King's Colours.

Shortly after the Union flag was adopted, objections to its design appeared in Scotland and complaints were submitted to the King, requesting a new design, which would not place the English cross over that of Scotland.

In 1604, several proposals for the future Union Flag were submitted, combining English and Scottish charges in different ways. One of these displayed the crosses of England and Scotland "impaled" - side by side. It was recommended by Earl of Nottingham, who wrote that two flags were combined "like husband and wife" - that is, like the arms of a married couple after the wedding. Although the proposal did follow the rules of heraldry, it was rejected in favor of the flag of 1606, which applied the rules in a different way.

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.

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.

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.

The Royal Regiment of the Foot Guards of Ireland, consisting of twelve companies, was formed in 1662 as one of the regiments of foot guards raised by King Charles II, shortly after the 1660 Restoration. Each company of the Foot Guards regiments had its own colors. When the system of company colors was abolished for the Army as a whole by the Royal Warrant of 1751, the Guards regiments were exempted. Uniquely, the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards also had a Royal Standard: described as crimson, charged with the crowned Royal Cypher, and with crowned royal badges in the corners. How this standard was used or looked is uncertain, but probably it was paraded only in the presence of the sovereign and never taken into battle. Since 1815, Regiments of Foot Guards have been known by such names as Grenadier Guards and Coldstreams.

Between 1689-1702 William III 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)

This obscure short-lived Naval ensign was the brain-child of the Earl of Pembroke (the Lord High Admiral in 1702) who sent the Navy Board instructions for its use with the fleet then being fitted out at Chatham and Portsmouth to operate against the French. His instructions were that the ships of the Admiral of the White were to wear "Ensignes with the usual Cross in the Canton, with this distinction: that a third part of the said Ensignes for himself and the Flaggs and private Ships of his Squadron are to be White in the middle of the Flye...and this to be in the whole length of the Ensigne."

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."

On the nights of June 16-17, 1775, the American rebels fortified Breeds and Bunker Hills which overlooked Boston Harbor. Although they had not officially declared their independence, a fight for control of the hills became necessary. When British Marines advanced up the slope the next day, according to American legend they carried a red ensign into battle. John Trumbull, whose paintings of Revolutionary War scenes were produced during the period, talked to eye-witnesses and his subsequent painting included a variant of the Red Ensign.

George, the Elector of Hanover, inherited the throne following the death of Queen Anne under the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701, thus becoming King George I of England.