Proposed versions In the wake of the personal union between England and Scotland resulting from the Union of the Crowns in 1603, King James instructed his
Heralds to draw up designs for a new flag, juxtaposing the
St George's Cross and the
St Andrew's Saltire: By
James VI and I,
Orders in Council, 1606: Flag of England.svg|The
flag of England; ”the Red Crosse, commonly called St. George’s Crosse” Flag of Scotland.svg|The
flag of Scotland; ”the White Crosse, commonly called St. Andrew’s Crosse” File:Flag of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|Form of conjoined flag approved by King James VI and I in 1606 File:Godspeed replica.jpg|Replica of early 17th century English ship
Godspeed, with Union flag in her “main-toppe” and that of England in her “fore-toppe” File:The True Portraicture of His Maties Royall Ship the Soveraigne of the Seas. Built in the Yeare 1637 (detail of the Union flag on the jackstaff).jpg|England's Navy Royal
warship HMS Sovereign of the Seas, with Union Jack on her jackstaff, c. 1637, as per the 1634 proclamation of Charles I
Scottish variant In objecting to the design of Union Flag favoured by James, a number of owners and masters of merchant vessels in the
Kingdom of Scotland raised the issue with
John Erskine, 19th Earl of Mar, and were encouraged by him to send a letter of complaint to James VI, via the
Privy Council of Scotland, which stated: Although documents accompanying this complaint which contained drafts for alternative designs have been lost, evidence exists, at least on paper, of an unofficial Scottish variant, whereby the Scottish cross was uppermost. There is reason to think that cloth flags of this design were employed during the 17th century for unofficial use on Scottish vessels at sea. This flag's design is also described and appears on a colour plate in the 1704 edition of
The Present State of the Universe by
John Beaumont, which contains as an appendix
The Ensigns, Colours or Flags of the Ships at Sea: Belonging to The several Princes and States in the World.
Edinburgh Castle depicting the Scottish Union flag On land, evidence confirming the use of this flag appears in the depiction of
Edinburgh Castle by
John Slezer, in his series of
engravings entitled
Theatrum Scotiae, c. 1693. Appearing in later editions of
Theatrum Scotiae, the
North East View of Edinburgh Castle engraving depicts the
Scotch (to use the appropriate adjective of that period) version of the Union Flag flying from the Palace block of the Castle. On
The North Prospect of the City of Edenburgh engraving, the flag shown is indistinct. A manuscript compiled in 1785 by William Fox and in possession of the
Flag Research Center includes a full plate showing "
the scoth union" flag. This could imply that there was still some use of a Scottish variant before the addition of the cross of St Patrick to the Union Flag in 1801. However, despite the personal union represented by James and subsequent sovereigns, in practice the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland continued as separate States, each with its own parliament, laws, currency, religion, etc. for over a century. James' ambition to rule over a unified Kingdom of Great Britain was finally realised by his great-granddaughter
Anne in 1707, with the flag of the new kingdom formally chosen on 17 April 1707, two weeks before the
Acts of Union of 1707 were to take effect. Sir
Henry St George, the younger, the
Garter Principal King of Arms, having presented several designs of flag to Queen Anne and her
Privy Council for consideration, the flag for the soon to be unified
Kingdom of Great Britain was chosen. At the suggestion of the Scots representatives, the designs for consideration included that version of Union Jack showing the Cross of Saint Andrew uppermost; identified as being the "
Scotts union flagg as said to be used by the Scotts". However, the Queen and her Council approved Sir Henry's original effort, numbered "one". File:Union Jack 1606 Scotland.svg|Cross of Saint Andrew uppermost; "
Scotts union flagg as said to be used by the Scotts" File:Flag of Great Britain (1707-1800).svg|Design Anne and her Privy Council approved; Sir Henry's original effort, numbered "one" ==After 1801==