{"id":1130,"date":"2013-05-01T23:27:06","date_gmt":"2013-05-01T22:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/?page_id=1130"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:54:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T06:54:15","slug":"union-flag-specification","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/uk-flags\/union-flag-specification\/","title":{"rendered":"Union Flag Specification"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"captioned\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1133 captioned alignnone\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-colour.png\" alt=\"The Union Flag\" width=\"464\" height=\"278\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Flag Institute recommends the following specification for the Union Flag.<\/p>\n<p>For guidance on the rules to follow when flying this flag, see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/british-flags-2\/british-flag-protocol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UK Flag Protocol<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Description<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>1. The Union Flag comprises three crosses on a royal blue background:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>a red St George\u2019s cross<\/li>\n<li>a white St Andrew\u2019s saltire<\/li>\n<li>a red St Patrick\u2019s saltire<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2. The proportions of the flag are <span class=\"change\">30<\/span> units wide by <span class=\"change\">50<\/span> units long<\/p>\n<p>3. Each diagonal is in total six units wide, comprising white (three units), red (two units), one white (unit):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"change\">the broader white diagonal is uppermost on the side of the flag nearest the flagpole (i.e. the hoist)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"change\">the narrower white diagonal is uppermost on the side of the flag furthest from the flagpole (i.e. the fly) <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4. The two six-unit-wide diagonals run from corner to corner:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the centre line of each six-unit-wide diagonal intersects opposite corners of the flag<\/li>\n<li>the centre line of each six-unit-wide diagonal intersects the centre line of the other six-unit-wide diagonal in the centre of the flag<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>5. A red cross six units wide runs from edge to edge, centred on the flag<\/p>\n<p>6. This red cross has a white fimbriation (or border) two units wide.<\/p>\n<p>7. The flag should fly with the broader white diagonal on the side nearest the flagpole uppermost.<\/p>\n<p>8. The recommended colours are: <span class=\"change\">Pantone 280 C (royal blue); Pantone 186 C (red); no specification (white).<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Diagram<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>the normal proportions for use on land are 3:5<\/li>\n<li>the customary proportions of ensigns for use at sea are 1:2<\/li>\n<li>the specification for the 1:2 version replaces the length of 50 with 60<\/li>\n<li>the specification for the 1:2 version replaces the angle of 30.96\u00ba degrees with 26.57\u00ba.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"bill3\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1134\" title=\"3x5 Union Flag Diagram\" src=\"http:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-diagram.png\" alt=\"3x5 Union Flag Diagram\" width=\"587\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-diagram.png 587w, https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-diagram-500x409.png 500w, https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-diagram-150x122.png 150w, https:\/\/www.flaginstitute.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/3x5-union-diagram-300x245.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 587px) 100vw, 587px\" \/><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Union Flag Bill (2008)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The UK remains the only country in the world whose national flag has no basis in law.<\/p>\n<p>In recent years the\u00a0Flag Institute has tried without success to rectify this anomaly, most recently in the <a href=\"http:\/\/services.parliament.uk\/bills\/2007-08\/unionflag.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Union Flag Bill (2008)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The bill was introduced under the Ten-Minute Rule on 5 February 2008 but failed to progress beyond its <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.parliament.uk\/pa\/cm200708\/cmhansrd\/cm080205\/debtext\/80205-0004.htm#08020538000003\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">first reading<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Flag Institute recommends the following specification for the Union Flag. For guidance on the rules to follow when flying this flag, see UK Flag Protocol. Description 1. The Union Flag comprises three crosses on a royal blue background: a red St George\u2019s cross a white St Andrew\u2019s saltire a red St Patrick\u2019s saltire 2. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14888,"parent":270,"menu_order":47,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-1130","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Union Flag Specification | Image | Description | Diagram | The Flag Institute<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find a full Union Flag specification. 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