White Ensign

White Ensign
UseNaval ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Proportion1:2
AdoptedRoyal Navy
DesignWhite field defaced with the Saint George's Cross and the Union placed in the canton.
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White Ensign flying from HMS Foxhound, 1943.

The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.

The White Ensign is also worn by yachts of members of the Royal Yacht Squadron and by ships of Trinity House escorting the reigning monarch.

In addition to the United Kingdom, several other nations have variants of the White Ensign with their own national flags in the canton, with the St George's Cross sometimes being replaced by a naval badge omitting the cross altogether. Yachts of the Royal Irish Yacht Club wear a white ensign with an Irish tricolour in the first quadrant and defaced by the crowned harp from the Heraldic Badge of Ireland. The Flag of the British Antarctic Territory and the Commissioners' flag of the Northern Lighthouse Board place the Union emblem in the first quarter of a white field, omitting the overall red St George's Cross, but they are not ensigns for use at sea.


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