Tesco has made a blunder by wrongly labelling Union flags as Union Jacks ahead of the King’s Coronation. The bunting was being promoted ahead of the King’s Coronation on Saturday (6 May), and was displayed as a “Union Jack Flag.” However, this term is historically only used in a naval sense when the flag hangs on the bows of a Royal Navy Ship, and the flags should have been correctly labelled as Union Flags. The products range between £1.50 and £3.50, and it wasn’t just flags that were labelled incorrectly, but also face paint, horns and bunting too.
The flags were spotted by a shopper in a Tesco Extra store in Edmonton, north London. He said, “I can’t believe a store as big as Tesco would make such a simple mistake with its British knowledge. The Union Flag is the national flag of the UK and the term Union Jack is only used when the flag is flown on the bows of a Royal Navy ship. I would have expected more from an iconic British brand.”
Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. Tesco has been contacted for comment.
The coronation of Charles III takes place at Westminster Abbey. Charles acceded to the throne on 8 September last year upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II. However, Tesco has already blundered over their decorations for the King’s Coronation. The supermarket has been mocked after placing signs reading “Let’s celebrate the King’s Coronation” on shelves full of sanitary products and next to a range of Nando’s sauces.
