Flag of Spain

The national flag of Spain, known in Spanish as Bandera de España, is made up of three horizontal stripes. The stripes are red, yellow, and red, with the yellow stripe being twice as tall as each red stripe. The yellow stripe in the middle has the coat of arms of Spain. This design comes from a naval flag made in 1785 by Charles III of Spain. At that time, it was used mainly for ships and coastal areas.

During a big war called the Peninsular War, people began using this flag on land too. It became a symbol of hope and bravery for many. Later, in 1843, the flag was used by all of Spain's armed forces. Even though the look of the coat of arms has changed a few times, the red and yellow colors have always stayed the same since the 1700s.

Spanish flag legal framework and specifications

The flag of Spain is made of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow, and red. The yellow stripe is twice as wide as each red stripe. This design is set by the Spanish Constitution of 1978.

There are special rules about how to use the flag, and exact details about the colors are given in a Royal Decree. The flag can show the coat of arms of Spain in the middle stripe, and where it is placed depends on the size of the flag.

Flag protocol

The Spanish flag should always be displayed horizontally. You can see it on public buildings, homes, businesses, ships, and during special events. In Spain and other countries, government offices must display the flag all day and night, making sure it is lit up when it's dark. The flag needs to be clean and in good condition at all times.

When there is a time for mourning, the flag can be shown in two special ways. One way is to raise it to the top of the pole and then lower it to about one-third of the way down. Another way is to attach a black ribbon, about ten centimetres wide, to the bottom of the flag. During funerals for important government or military people, the flag may also be placed on the coffin and later given to their family.

When many flags are shown together, the Spanish flag is always placed first. After that come flags from other countries, the flag of Europe, flags from groups that help people around the world, military and government flags, flags from local areas of Spain, city flags, and any others. When foreign flags are shown with the Spanish flag, they are arranged in alphabetical order using the Spanish language, unless a different language is decided for a special meeting or event in Spain. The flag of Europe has been used since Spain joined that group. The flag of NATO may also be used in Spain because Spain is part of that organization too.

When the Spanish flag is shown with other flags, it should be the largest and placed in the most important spot, following the proper rules.

Other flags currently in use

High Civil Authorities' flag

Yacht ensign

Customs Service ensign

Spanish Navy jack

Civil authorities

Some important leaders in Spain, like the Presidents of the Congress, the Senate, and the Council of Ministers, can use a special flag to show their role.

Yacht ensign

The Yacht ensign is a special flag for Spain with a blue crown in the middle of the yellow part. This flag was first made in 1875 and has been used since, even when Spain was a republic. Today, it still uses the blue crown.

Naval jack

The Spanish naval jack is a square flag used on Navy ships when they are in foreign waters or on special days in Spain. It has four parts showing symbols from different parts of Spain: a tower for Castile, a lion for León, four red stripes for Aragon, and chains for Navarre.

Flags for Armed Forces

The Spanish Armed Forces use the same flag as the country, but their flags are more square and have the name of their unit on them.

Army unit flag

Royal Standards of Spain

See also: Royal Standard of Spain

Royal standard

Princess of Asturias's standard

Royal standard of King Emeritus

The King of Spain uses a special flag called the Royal Standard. It is a red square with the King's coat of arms in the middle. It is used at the King's home or on his car.

The Princess of Asturias, the future queen, also has her own special flag. It is a light blue square with her coat of arms in the middle. Because she is very young, this flag is not used often.

History

While the concept of a national flag did not exist in the Middle Ages, the symbol of Spain was the Royal Shield. It was frequently made up of other different flags, full of images and symbols that represented all the values that the troops or the King defended.

The Cross of Burgundy was introduced to Spain after the marriage of Joanna of Castile to Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy in 1496. The flag was the primary symbol of Philip the Handsome. It introduced into Spanish vexillology a design that, although of foreign origin, would become the primary symbol of Spain. The flag was usually embroidered on white or yellow cloth.

When the House of Habsburg took the Spanish throne by mid-16th century each military company had its own flag in which appeared usually the arms of its commander over the Cross of Burgundy. In order to represent the King, they used to have another one, the "Coronela", during the reign of Charles I (Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor) that was made of yellow silk (the imperial color) with the embroidered imperial shield.

The arms of Bourbon-Anjou were added in 1700 when Philip V became King of Spain. He introduced several changes on the royal arms. Philip V also changed the philosophy and the design of the flags of Spain. He was the first to give Spain a unified symbol of its own when putting on white fabric the Cross of Burgundy and the Royal coat of arms. It still was not a national flag, but a first attempt, in line with similar attempts in other European nations.

King Charles III commissioned Antonio Valdés y Fernández Bazán, the Secretary of State and Universal Department of the Navy (Minister of the Navy), to design a new, easily identifiable flag for the Armada. That is, one that would not be confused with the sails, would stand out against the colors of the sky and sea, would be visible in unfavorable weather, and would not be mistaken for those of other nations. Valdés' cabinet developed a proposal with twelve different versions.

Finally, Charles III, through the Royal Decree of May 28, 1785, established a new national ensign. The design selected by the monarch corresponds to the versions of Valdés' proposal that use red and yellow colors; specifically, the one with three horizontal stripes, red, yellow, and red, respectively. However, it differs regarding the central stripe, which became double the width of the top and bottom stripes, so that the coat of arms could be larger.

Already in the 19th century, the red and yellow flag also began to be used in Army camps and border fortifications, although the Army flags differed from those of the Navy in the representation of the coat of arms.

On 14 April 1931, the monarchy was abolished and replaced by the Second Spanish Republic. The regime change was symbolized by a new tricolor flag, red, yellow and murrey, instead of the previous red and yellow bicolor, and changing the coat of arms to the design that appeared on the reverse of the five pesetas coins minted by the provisional government in 1869 and 1870, moved to the central position on the yellow stripe.

Article 42 section 12 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978, which was promulgated during the transition to democracy, stipulates that the flag "is formed by three horizontal stripes, red, yellow and red, the yellow being double the width of each of the red ones." The present-day coat of arms were adopted on 19 December 1981.

Unofficial flags and uses

The nickname Red-Weld is sometimes used to talk about Spain's flag in a fun way. Over time, people have made some unofficial flags to show support for Spain in different situations.

For example, during the 1990s, some people started putting a special bull symbol on the flag when watching football games. You can often see this flag at sports events with Spanish teams.

The flag from a time called the Second Republic, which has a blue stripe, is used by some groups who do not like the current monarchy.

The colors of Spain's flag also appear in logos, like the one for Shell, because of historic ties between Spain and places like California. Spain's flag is also part of symbols for some cities and states, like Texas and Mobile, Alabama.

There have also been ideas about combining Spain and Portugal into one country, with new flags that mix their colors and symbols.