The flag: United Kingdom emoji plants the Union Jack in your chat with instant red-white-and-blue authority. It’s the mash-up of England’s St George cross, Scotland’s St Andrew saltire, and Ireland’s St Patrick saltire on a deep blue field. Translation: classic Britain vibes—tea, rain, dry humor, and a line for literally everything. Drop it to rep UK nationality, announce you’re in London time, or add “British accent activated” energy.
Online, it pairs perfectly with football chants (“It’s coming home”), Eurovision hot takes, and Premier League victory laps. It also does heavy lifting for sarcasm—cue “peak British” moments about weather, queuing, or a tabloid meltdown. People use it ironically after spelling colour with a u, or when sending a “fancy a cuppa?” text at ungodly hours. Pop-culture cameo: the emoji pops up with Love Island recaps, Drag Race UK’s “UK hun?” catchphrase, and royal family plot twists. For travel posts, it’s the go-to tag for Big Ben selfies, West End nights, and the obligatory fish-and-chips shot.
On Apple/iOS, the flag appears as a glossy, slightly waving rectangle on a silver flagpole at the left, shown from a gentle 3/4 angle. The navy field is rich, the crimson cross has crisp white borders (fimbriation), and the diagonals are offset correctly—top at the hoist, bottom at the fly. It reads instantly at tiny sizes thanks to bold contrast and the unmistakable Union Jack geometry.
Culturally, it stands for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Wales isn’t separately represented on the Union Flag. Expect it in debates about “Great Britain vs UK” naming, Brexit-era jokes, and “Keep Calm and Carry On” throwbacks. Use it straight, ironic, or dramatic—this emoji has range, mate.
Definition
A flag made of three component crosses from three saints. Official flag of Great Britain.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
Emoji General Information
Twitter Emoji Popularity (Rank)
579 of 2393
Apple/iOS Picture
Google Android Picture
Image not available
Google Hangouts Picture
Twitter.com Picture
LG Emoji Picture
Samsung Emoji Picture
Phantom Open Emoji Picture
Not created yet
ASCII Conversion
"Short Code" Name
:gb:
Keywords
Previous Names:
Regional Indicator Symbol Letters GB United Kingdom
Union Flag, Union Jack!
Unicode Category Information
Unicode Category
Enclosed Alphanumeric Supplement
Unicode Range
1F173–1F1FF
Unicode Subcategory
Regional Indicator Symbols
Proposed Unicode Information & Notes
Unicode Category
Artifacts
Unicode Subcategory
Regional Indicator Symbols
Names & Annotations
REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTERS GB Temporary Notes: U.K.
