400 Not out
Flags waived - Newspaper Edition - Times Online
The Union Jack is 400 years old tomorrow, but 17th-century documents have revealed that Britain could have been saluting a different flag. A manuscript in the National Library of Scotland, drawn up by the commander of Queen Elizabeth's fleet who defeated the Spanish Armada, shows that at least six designs were considered. The Earl of Nottingham, trying to represent the union of England and Scotland, created the designs, above, in 1604. He chose the Union Jack, noting: "This is like man and wife without blemish one to the other."
It seems that the man and wife are heading for a divorce - I doubt the union flag will be flying so much for its 500th birthday.
