The UK’s flag was originally made for the Royal Navy, but later just became the national flag through popular use. It’s the same with the National Anthem of the UK, it’s just been adopted from tradition and treated as such.
I find this interesting as a lot of people in regards to Northern Ireland push a narrative that the flag is unofficial. It was designed and officially adopted for the Northern Ireland Parliament by the Ulster King of Arms, Sir Nevile Wilkinson, from the Coat of Arms, for the then Parliament of Northern Ireland which was formed in 1921 and dissolved in 1972. In this capacity, it was the official flag purely of the government.
HOWEVER, the Minister of Home Affairs permitted anyone to use it as a symbol just representing Northern Ireland itself. It became used in sport and is still used today.
In my opinion, this gives the Northern Ireland Ulster Banners as much legitimacy as the Union flag. The only people who object to the Ulster Banner being used generally object to Northern Ireland having a distinctive flag at all because they object to the existence of Northern Ireland.
Anyway thank you for reading my tangent.
God save The King.
Citation needed.
There is no citation - because there is no law or act of Parliament legalising the UK flag and anthem
As for the Minister for Home Affairs: McCartney, Clem & Bryon, Lucy. Clashing Symbols? A report on using flags, anthems and other national symbols in Northern Ireland. The Institute for Irish Studies, Queen’s University of Belfast, 1994, p. 42 ISBN 085-389-538-4
No law has been passed making the Union Jack the national flag of the United Kingdom: it has become one through precedent. Its first recorded recognition as a national flag came in 1908, when it was stated in Parliament that “the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag”.[3] A more categorical statement was made by Home Secretary Sir John Gilmour, in 1933 when he stated that “the Union Flag is the national flag and may properly be flown by any British subject on land.”[82]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack
Just because it’s not official by your niche criteria doesn’t mean it isn’t official.
official
adjective
agreed to or arranged by people in positions of authorityhttps://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/official
That’s still as official as the Ulster Banner tbf
