Posted on 12/05/2013 2:49:25 PM PST by naturalman1975
After nearly 400 years of symbolising four nations united in one flag, what would the Union Flag look like without the blue and white of the Saltire?
The question is being posed by flag experts after a poll found nearly 65 per cent were in favour of changing the flag if Scotland votes Yes to independence.
The vexillologists, as they are known, have come up with designs that could replace the familiar red, white and blue flag.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
It would be harder to get money out of the Germans than out of the English for one thing ...
Yeah I know. I can’t even picture their flag without red white and blue. The first two are the only one’s I find tolerable.
That's probably one thing you can't easily do today. The preference is for more abstract geometric designs, like the existing UK flag. Curiously, the Scots got a variant of the royal standard with two Scots quadrants rather than two English.
What the Referendum is about is full independence - their own Parliament making all decisions for their nation based in Edinburgh. And they have a right to have that, if they want it, but at the moment, it's not quite clear if a majority do, and if it's practical for them. But they have the right to decide.
They might wish to remain under the same royal head of state but with their own national assemblies.
They already have that to some extent. Scotland has had its own Parliament and Wales it's own National Assembly for over a decade now. In both cases, these bodies have power over many issues - similar in a sense to the the state governments in the US - but leave a few issues in the hands of the central government in London (Wales, leaves more in their hands than Scotland). If the Referendum passes, Scotland will take those powers (such as defence) into their own hands. And everybody agrees they have the right to do that if they choose. And so does Wales.
Even if Scotland opts for independence, they will retain the Monarchy, at least for the time being - there's no great movement that wants to change that, and the Union of Crowns predates the United Kingdom. The Queen is the rightful Queen of Scotland under Scottish law, completely separate to her status as Queen of the United Kingdom, or as Queen of England.
If they get large subsidies from the prosperous English South that may not be a wise alternative for them, but it did seem presumptuous to me for the newspaper to assume that England and Wales would still want to fly the same flag if major changes were in the works.
The difference is that there is no significant move for independence in Wales. Polls suggest a majority vote for independence is possible in Scotland. The numbers for Wales are only about 10%. Wales does not want independence from the UK at this point. Scotland might.
Any of those would be fine in my view, except the third one - and that’s only because it violates English rules of Heraldry, which their flag really should follow (and which are why the white is retained around the cross of St George in the Union Flag).
Interesting.
Not to pry, are you British?
Texas was its own sovereign Republic when it joined the union (with certain conditions).
It was not owned by Mexico and sold to the US.
Born in Australia to English parents, I have dual citizenship - Australian and British. I’ve spent most of my life in Australia, but have lived in the UK for years at a time, and visit there at least a month or so most years.
Hence your knowledge. I hadn’t known about St. David’s Cross etc, thanks!
I wonder what % the vote in Texas would be if an election for Independence were held?
My guess, about 65% FOR.
The UK dosent ‘allow’ anything. The UK is a state made up of Scotland, England, NI and Wales.
The UK/Great Britain and England are not the same.
Wales could, but doesn’t have the population and resources we have.
We aren’t all dole scroungers, but I get your point.
Question...does the daffodil symbolize Wales?
It is a Welsh symbol, yes. People in Wales traditionally wear them on St David's Day - the 1st of March.
Whatever the redesign is, it had better be flexible enough to plan for more redesigning, since Northern Ireland or Wales might follow Scotland next. Then there’s the question of how one quarter of Australia or New Zealand’s flags will look.
Simplicity has its virtues. The other flags are a bit, umm, elaborate don’t you think? Esp. the ones with the Royal coat of arms?
Yes, some of them certainly are.
I know what might be cool.
Blue field, white circle, and a ring of smaller images from the coats of arms within the circle - a lion, harp, dragon etc.
Or you could have it for each individual kingdom - their symbol, larger, goes in the center of the circle, with the remaining symbols around it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.