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3mo ago

UK Blocks Export of Trafalgar Union Jack for Three Months

The delay gives UK museums a short window to match the £450,000 sale price to keep the battle-scarred relic in public hands.

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The flag flown on HMS Royal Sovereign is said to be worth £450,000
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The Union Flag made by sailors of the Royal Sovereign, which led the British charge at Trafalgar, is on the market for £450,000

Overview

  • Culture Minister Baroness Twycross ordered the temporary export deferral following the Reviewing Committee’s advice that the flag has outstanding national importance.
  • The Union Jack flew from HMS Royal Sovereign at the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar and still shows gunpowder burns and splinter tears, with sailors believed to have stitched it aboard.
  • Only three Union Jacks from Trafalgar are known to survive, and committee member Pippa Shirley warned its departure would be a significant loss to the nation’s heritage.
  • The flag is offered at about £450,000 plus £90,000 VAT, which eligible public institutions could reclaim, setting a clear fundraising target during the deferral period.
  • If no eligible UK buyer secures it in time, an export licence may be granted, spurring public appeals from figures including historian Dan Snow to keep it in a national collection.