The King's Colors
For centuries the national flag of England was the red cross of St. George on a white field. Likewise, for centuries the flag of Scotland was the white cross of St. Andrew on a blue field. In 1603 England and Scotland, united under King James I when it became necessary to devise a flag which would typify that union. This was done in 1606 by blending the two crosses together. The Scottish flag was retained as the background and the cross of St. George superimposed on it. To retain a semblance of the white field of the English National flag, the red cross of St. George was bordered with white which extends out and beyond the borders of the cross and this makes it prominent and distinct. This flag flew over Florida from 1763 until 1784.
The new flag was variously called the King's Colors or the British Grand Union flag. It is the flag under which the English colonization of America and remained the flag of the colonists for more than 100 years.
