Flag of Northern Ireland

Also during her visit, on 1 July 1953, the Minister for Home Affairs announced that, while the Union Flag was the only standard officially recognized, those who wished to have a distinctive Ulster symbol might use the banner.

[22] In May 2016 the Ulster Banner was flown from horseback during the Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry at the Queen's 90th birthday celebration at Windsor, alongside the flags of England, Scotland and Wales.

In Northern Ireland, some members from each of the unionist and nationalist communities use flags to declare their political allegiances and to mark territory.

Sinn Féin ministers in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive instructed that the Union Flag was not to fly from buildings operated by their respective departments.

All signatories to the Good Friday Agreement also declare their acceptance of the "principle of consent" (i.e. that there will be no change to the constitutional position of Northern Ireland unless a majority votes for it), and Unionists argued that this provision amounts to recognising that the Union Flag is the only legitimate official flag in Northern Ireland.

[31] In 2013, US diplomat Richard N. Haass chaired talks between the political parties in Northern Ireland dealing with, among other things, the issue of flags.

The commissions suggested that the design for the new flag should incorporate expressions of Britishness and Irishness and should also represent the diversity of the community in Northern Ireland.

[34][35][15] The working group on flags, identity, culture and tradition last met in January 2022, prior to the collapse of the power sharing executive the following month.

[41] The NICGC was subsequently forced to close its offices for security reasons after receiving threats from Loyalist paramilitary groups.