Flag of the Netherlands

The national flag of the Netherlands is a simple design with three equal horizontal stripes: red, white, and blue. It has a long history, starting from the late 16th century. Originally, there was a flag called the Prinsenvlag or "Prince's Flag," which had orange, white, and blue stripes. This later changed to the red, white, and blue we see today, known as the Statenvlag or "States Flag." This flag was used by ships and became a symbol of the Dutch Republic.

Because of its long history and simple design, this flag inspired other countries. The Russian flag and the French tricolour both got ideas from the Dutch flag. Even today, the flag of the Netherlands remains an important symbol of the country. In 1937, the colors red, white, and blue were officially declared the national flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to make sure everyone knew what the flag should look like.

The flag represents the Netherlands and its history, showing how the country changed from a monarchy to a republic. It is one of the oldest tricolour flags still in use today.

Description

The national flag of the Netherlands is a tricolour flag with three equal horizontal bands of red, white, and blue. The flag’s colors are red (a bright vermilion), white (silver), and blue (cobalt blue), with a width-to-length ratio of 2:3.

According to tradition, red stands for bravery and strength, white for peace and honesty, and blue for vigilance and loyalty. Some believe the colors also represent the people (red), the church (white), and the nobility (blue). The flag of the Netherlands looks similar to that of Luxembourg, but with slightly different sizes and shades of red and blue.

History

Middle Ages

At the end of the 15th century, the Duke of Burgundy used a flag with a red saltire on a white field for joint expeditions. This flag stayed in use when the House of Habsburg took over.

Prince's Flag

Main article: Prince's Flag

In 1568, provinces of the Low Countries rose in revolt against King Philip II of Spain, led by Prince William of Orange. The colours orange, white, and blue came from William's own symbols and were first used in 1574. This flag, called the Prinsenvlag ("Prince's flag"), later inspired the flags of New York City and the Flag of Albany, New York.

Statenvlag

Main article: Statenvlag

Over time, red began replacing orange on the flag, showing a shift away from the House of Orange. By 1664, the red-white-blue tricolour was officially called the "States Flag" (Statenvlag). This flag influenced the designs of the Russian flag and the French flag, which later inspired many other flags.

Flag of the Batavian Navy (Batavian flag)

With changes in the Netherlands in the late 18th century, the old red-white-blue flag was kept. A new design for the navy briefly included extra symbols, but these were later removed.

Modern flag

In 1813, the Netherlands became independent again, and the red-white-blue flag was used with orange symbols to show support for the Prince of Orange. In 1937, a royal decree officially set the flag’s colours as red, white, and blue. Exact colour rules were set in 1949. The orange pennant is added on King's Day and other royal celebrations.

Display and use

The flag of the Netherlands is usually shown at government buildings and military bases, both in the Netherlands and around the world, all year long. It is less common for private homes to display it, except on national holidays. On special days like birthdays or weddings of members of the Royal House, an orange pennant is added to the flag.

There are specific days when the flag is flown, known as flag-flying days. These include national holidays and other important occasions. The prime minister of the Netherlands is in charge of updating the rules about when the flag is shown and announcing special days when the flag might be displayed for one-time events.

When a member of the Dutch Royal House is expected to be born, the rules for flying the flag are decided a few weeks beforehand. For example, when Princess Máxima was expecting her children, it was announced that the flag would be shown with an orange pennant right after the birth was announced.

Flags of current countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Flag of Aruba

Main article: Flag of Aruba

The flag of Aruba was officially adopted on 18 March 1976. The blue background stands for the sky, the sea, peace, hope, and Aruba's future. The yellow star has four points, which represent the four main languages spoken there: Papiamento, Spanish, English, and Dutch. The colors also symbolize the sun, gold, and the island's natural beauty.

Flag of Curaçao

Main article: Flag of Curaçao

The flag of Curaçao features a navy blue field with a yellow stripe and two white stars. The blue represents the sea and sky, while the yellow stripe stands for the bright sun. The two stars symbolize Curaçao and Klein Curaçao, as well as love and happiness.

Flag of Sint Maarten

Main article: Flag of Sint Maarten

The flag of Sint Maarten was adopted on 13 June 1985. It is the national flag for the Dutch part of Saint Martin island, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The design is similar to the war flag of the Philippines.

Flags of former countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Suriname

Main article: Flag of Suriname

The old flag of Suriname had five stars of different colors connected by a shape. Each star stood for one of the main groups of people who lived in Suriname. These groups included the original Amerindians, people from Europe, Africans who were brought to work on farms, and people from India, Java, and China.

Netherlands Antilles

The flag of the Netherlands Antilles showed five stars for the five islands that were part of that country. The red, white, and blue colors came from the flag of the Netherlands. A version with six stars was used until 1986. This flag was no longer used after 2010 when the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved. Some islands became separate countries, while others became part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Flags of former colonies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

The Dutch West India Company used a flag with three horizontal stripes—red, white, and blue—like the flag of the Netherlands. In Brazil, this design included a gold monogram and crown. In New Netherland, which is now part of the East Coast of the United States, many places like New York City and Albany were influenced by Dutch flags.

The Dutch East India Company’s flag was used in what is now Indonesia. Later, Indonesian nationalists altered the Dutch flag to create their own by removing the blue stripe. In Netherlands New Guinea, now part of Indonesia, a different flag called the Morning Star was used until the United Nations took over.

The flags of several places in South Africa, like the old flags of South Africa and the Boer Republics, were also based on the Dutch flag.

• Flag of the Dutch East India Company

• Flag of the Dutch West India Company

• Flag used by the Dutch West India Company in Dutch Brazil

Dutch West India Company

New Holland (Brazil)

The flag of Dutch Brazil, or New Holland, was used by the Vereenigde West-Indische Compagnie in Brazil from 1630 until 1654. It had three horizontal stripes—red, white, and blue—with a gold monogram and crown.

New Netherland (United States)

The orange-white-blue Prince's Flag inspired flags in New Netherland, now the East Coast of the United States. New York City, originally New Amsterdam, and places like Albany were designed using this flag.

• Flag of Schenectady County

• Flag of Albany, New York

• Flag of The Bronx

• Flag of Ulster County, New York

• Flag of New York City

• Flag of Manhattan

• Flag of the mayor of New York City

• Flag of Jersey City, New Jersey

• Flag of Westchester County, New York

• Flag of Nassau County, New York

• Flag of Sussex County, Delaware

• Flag of Hofstra University

Flag of [Brooklyn, New York](/wiki/Brooklyn). It uses old Dutch words meaning "[Unity makes strength](/wiki/Unity_makes_strength)".

Dutch East India Company

Netherlands East Indies

The Netherlands East Indies mainly used the flag of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie. After the company closed in 1800, the Dutch government took over and used its own flags.

The Dutch flag is said to have inspired the Indonesian flag. Indonesian nationalists removed the blue stripe from the Dutch flag to show they wanted to remove Dutch control.

Netherlands New Guinea

Main article: Morning Star flag

The Morning Star flag represented Netherlands New Guinea from December 1, 1961, until October 1, 1962. It has a red vertical stripe with a white five-pointed star. It is still used today by some people to show support for self-determination.

South Africa

The flags of the Boer Republics, Transvaal, the Orange Free State, and South Africa from 1928 to 1994 were based on the Dutch flag. These designs also helped create the current South African flag.

• Flag of South Africa

• Flag of the Afrikaners

• Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)

• Flag of the South African Republic (Transvaal)

• Flag of the Orange Free State

• Flag of Nieuwe Republiek

• Flag of Klein Vrystaat

• Flag of Griqualand East

• Flag of the Natalia Republic and the Republic of Klip River

• Flag of Republic of Swellendam, Lydenburg Republic, Republic of Graaff-Reinet, the Utrecht Republic and the Lydenburg Republic

• Flag of Orania

Other related flags

The Dutch flag, with its red, white, and blue colors, has inspired many other flags around the world. The Flag of France was created after the French Revolution and was influenced by the Dutch flag's design. The Flag of Russia was also inspired by the Dutch flag, and in turn, influenced flags of Slavic countries like Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Other flags inspired by the Dutch design include Paraguay, Hesse-Nassau, Schleswig-Holstein, Labuan, Johor Bahru, and Nimba County in Liberia.

The orange-white-blue Prince's Flag also inspired flags in former Dutch colonies such as New York City and South Africa (1928–1994).

The flag of the Shanghai Municipal Council in the Shanghai International Settlement included the Dutch flag along with other national symbols.

Dutch flag-inspired

The modern red-white-blue Dutch flag is the oldest tricolour flag in use, and directly inspired these historical and modern day flags:

Flag of the Netherlands, as reference

[Flag of France](/wiki/Flag_of_France)

[Flag of Paraguay](/wiki/Flag_of_Paraguay)

 Flag of [Hesse-Nassau](/wiki/Hesse-Nassau)

[Flag of Schleswig-Holstein](/wiki/Flag_of_Schleswig-Holstein)

Flag of [Labuan](/wiki/Labuan)

Flag of [Johor Bahru](/wiki/Johor_Bahru)

Flag of [Nimba County](/wiki/Nimba_County)

• The design of the French flag was adopted after the French Revolution, where the revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands.
• The flag of Hesse-Nassau is identical to that of the Netherlands. The Dutch royal house originates from the Duchy of Nassau.
• The flag of Nimba County, Liberia similar to the Dutch flag, superimposed with Liberian flag in the canton.
• The flags of Labuan and Johor Bahru in Malaysia are similar to the Dutch flag, each with a crescent and star in the centre.

Pan-Slavic colours

See also: Pan-Slavic colours

The Russian flag in turn is believed to have influenced many flags of other Slavic countries, resulting in many red-white-blue styled tribands in other parts of Europe, and also the red-white-green flag of Bulgaria. Peter the Great of Russia was building a new Russian Navy mostly on Dutch standards; therefore the merchant flag of Russia at sea would be the inverted colours of the Dutch flag.

[Flag of Russia](/wiki/Flag_of_Russia), as reference

[Flag of Bulgaria](/wiki/Flag_of_Bulgaria)

[Flag of Croatia](/wiki/Flag_of_Croatia)

[Flag of the Czech Republic](/wiki/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic)

[Flag of Slovakia](/wiki/Flag_of_Slovakia)

[Flag of Slovenia](/wiki/Flag_of_Slovenia)

[Flag of Serbia](/wiki/Flag_of_Serbia)

• .svg)

  Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941)

• .svg)

  Flag of SFR Yugoslavia (1946–1992)

 [Flag of Serbia and Montenegro](/wiki/Flag_of_Serbia_and_Montenegro) (1992–2006)

Prince's Flag-inspired

See also: Prince's Flag

The orange-white-blue Prince's Flag directly inspired many historical and modern day flags. Especially flags in the former colonies of New Netherland and South Africa are designed after this flag. See the flags in the former colonies section above for more examples.

Prince's Flag, as reference

Variant on the Prince's Flag

 [Flag of the Orange Free State](/wiki/Flag_of_the_Orange_Free_State)

Naval jack Brielse Geus

 [Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)](/wiki/Flag_of_South_Africa_\(1928–1994\))

[Flag of New York City](/wiki/Flag_of_New_York_City)

[Flag of Orania](/wiki/Flag_of_Orania)

Cross of Burgundy-inspired

Cross of Burgundy, as reference

 Flag of Shanghai Municipal Council, [Shanghai International Settlement](/wiki/Shanghai_International_Settlement) (c. 1917 – 1943)

• The flag of Shanghai Municipal Council in Shanghai International Settlement included multiple flags to symbolize the countries that had participated in the creation and management of this enclave in the Chinese city of Shanghai. The Dutch flag was put along with old Swedish civil ensign (spread vertically), the Austrian flag and old Spanish merchant ensign around the lower shield; all of them were upside down.