The Flag Institute

Flying Flags in the United Kingdom

Introduction

The Union Flag is one of the best-known national symbols in the world. This is not surprising as it has been around for over 400 years with only minor changes. The Union Flag signifies the unity of the nations that make up the United Kingdom and dependencies, and demonstrates the bonds of citizenship which we all share. Whatever our differences may be, whatever our faith, culture, political views, ethnicity, first language or traditional customs, we can all stand beneath this flag united together in common purpose.

But for too long our flag has been taken for granted and largely ignored. Few children are taught about it in school, few people know its history or even the correct way to fly it. It is time that this changed and we became familiar with our flag, because all of us have the right to fly the flag and may use it on land wherever and whenever we wish. It is the people’s flag as well as the state flag.

The Flag Institute, in association with the Flags & Heraldry Committee, an all party group of the United Kingdom Parliament, has produced this information to help and guide you when flying the flag in a variety of situations - it provides a few simple rules to ensure that the flag is flown correctly and is treated with dignity and respect.

We would like to pay tribute to Graham Bartram, Chief Vexillologist of the Flag Institute, for his outstanding graphics and detailed knowledge in drafting of this booklet, and also to officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) who so kindly supported this venture.

Above all we hope this information will encourage you to fly your flag with affection and pride.

Malcolm Farrow OBE President of the Flag Institute	Andrew Rosindell MP Chairman of the Flags & Heraldry Committee

Formats

The guide is available as a printed booklet and will be distributed to government departments, local authorities, etc. throughout the United Kingdom. Details of how to obtain a printed booklet will appear here soon.

A PDF of the booklet (5MB) is available to download.

The guide is also available in an HTML version in this section.