If Scotland leaves the Union, will the saltire of St Andrew (the diagonal white cross and blue background) be removed from the Union Jack?

Absolutely not. The Union Jack is not a simplistic statement about the territories that form the United Kingdom—not least because it appears to overlook Wales. Rather it is a complex symbol that describes the history and compromises over centuries of international relations. In 1606, James VI ordered the design of the first “Union Flag” (pedants call it this still, but since the 17th century it has been commonly known as the “Union Jack,” the name endorsed by Parliament).

The Union Jack is already anomalous as the red diagonal cross of St Patrick is in the design. Northern Ireland, though a Union province, is not a separate kingdom and so should not have this separate status on the flag. This is partly because Éire did not adopt