True Brit - Fly the Flag in Lyneham April 2006
There is a royal celebration this month that will give a surge of pride to every Briton. It is an event that should be toasted by the Commonwealth, given a nod by all corners of our former empire and be universally acknowledged as a milestone by anybody with affection for the United Kingdom - the Union flag is 400 years old.

The quatercentenary of our flag should coincide with the Queen's 80th birthday for global attention, for the red, white and blue textile is as iconic as the monarchy itself. It is the proud symbol of both the patriot and the expat and is displayed with equal pride on our government buildings and our citizens' bodies. The tri-coloured diagonal, whether we like it or not, is a design that has long since transcended its brief as a naval flag of convenience. It has become the global badge of the modern Brit.

The Union Flag is unique, the red, white and blue of the three countries fused together brilliantly symbolise British compromise. And yet unlike the French red, white and blue tricolour, it works in black and white.

Four centuries ago, when James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne to become James I of England, there was confusion over what flag the Navy should fly. On land, the red cross of St George and the white cross of St Andrew were still, respectively, the flags of England and Scotland. But at sea there was a need for a single flag.

On April 12, 1606, a proclamation was issued to the Navy that stated that all ships "shall bear in their main top the red cross commonly called St George's Cross and the white cross commonly called St Andrew's Cross, joined together according to a form made by our heralds".

A white border around the red cross was added to this Union flag because the rules of heraldry demanded that the two colours must not be placed on top of each other. It was called "The British Flag" and it was not universally popular. The Scots were upset that the red cross was laid over the white cross and the Welsh weren't allowed to contribute because their principality had already been annexed by the English.

By the end of the 17th century, it was known colloquially as the Union Jack. (The origin of the word "Jack" in the title is uncertain, but probably stems from another royal proclamation, this one by Charles II, that the flag should be flown only by ships of the Royal Navy as a jack, a small flag at the bowsprit.)
Four years after the Act of Union with Ireland in January 1801, when the red diagonal cross of St Patrick was added, Nelson ordered the Union Jack to be flown by the British fleet at Trafalgar as a battle flag. It has been flown on all ships of war and naval bases ever since.

Victoria used the Royal Standard rather than the Union flag as her official flag. The result of that decision was that the Standard became the personal banner of the sovereign, while the red, white and blue colours emerged, by the time of her death, as "the people's flag". It was carried at the Olympic Games' first opening ceremony, in London, in 1908. And it was the flag that covered the bodies of the four unknown soldiers buried in Westminster Abbey in 1920 to symbolise the casualties of war.
By 1926, the flag had been commercialised. The Empire Marketing Board used it in a poster campaign to promote trade with the colonies. The slogan on the posters was "follow the flag in all your purchases". Huntley and Palmers used its image to sell Empire Assorted Biscuits, while Fry's sold chocolate and Hovis advertised bread with its help.

After VE-Day and the coronation of Elizabeth II, it became ubiquitous for every national celebration, while the lowering of it in India, Aden and Hong Kong, among other places, came to symbolise our colonial decline. (It still flies above Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands and Rockall to remind us of our imperial past.)

Since the 1960s, it has been hijacked by modern culture. Carnaby Street loved it and Pete Townshend of the Who wore a Union flag jacket on the cover of the band's first album, My Generation. The Sex Pistols defined their image by bastardising the flag, while Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls wore it to the 1997 Brit Awards as a dress that was recently auctioned for £41,320. Even Prince William had a Union flag prefect's waistcoat at Eton. Nowadays it decorates everything from Smeg fridges to dog tags to Rimmell beauty products advertised by Kate Moss.

And nobody cares any more if it is upside-down. It is so subtly asymmetric that, unless you know your onions, you don't know which way is the right way up, the correct way to fly it is with the thick white band above the red band on both diagonals. Despite its postwar status as a logo, it can still cause upset as a rallying banner. London's Southwark council outlawed it from council buildings during the last World Cup because it feared "a display of Britishness" would alienate ethnic minorities. That same year Billy Bragg sang the anti-Jubilee song Take Down the Union Jack.

Today it is part of the citizenship ceremony, when immigrants take an oath of allegiance to the Queen and sing the national anthem standing by the Union flag. And it is still officially flown above Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Sandringham when the Queen is not in residence and on thousands of public buildings. It is flown on the birthdays of members of the Royal Family and on state days and at half-mast on the death of a royal (and for Diana, Princess of Wales). It was lowered for 9/11, the Bali bombing, the Boxing Day tsunami and 7/7.

The results of a recent survey from a wide range of age groups found that the favourite symbol of the country was the Union flag (16 per cent) followed by the monarchy (15 per cent) and fish and chips (13 per cent). Earlier this year, the Chancellor, Gordon Brown, called on the British people to celebrate their patriotism and embrace the flag. He wanted a flag in every garden. "The Union flag is a flag for tolerance and inclusion," he said. However, there may be a way to appease both men and celebrate the birthday of this extraordinarily evocative piece of design, which 400 years after its creation still represents the best of Britain.