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Royal flags (The Netherlands)

Koninklijke vlaggen (Nederland)

Last modified: 2006-12-09 by jarig bakker
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[Royal flag of the Netherlands] from Shipmate's Flagchart
Adopted 27 august 1908

Other royal flags: See also:

Royal flag since 1908

The royal standard (or royal flag as it's called officially) consists of a square orange field with a Nassau-blue cross (1/5th of the width) all over. In each quarter a bugle of blue, garnished with silver and hanging on a red cord. In the center of the cross the shield of the national/royal arms (including the royal crown), surrounded by the ribbon and badge of the Military Order of William. Adopted 27 august 1908.
Mark Sensen, 3 May 1997 and 17 March 1999

"The Royal Standard of the Netherlands was established on 27 August 1908. The field is square and orange, charged with a cross over all of 'Nassau' blue. In each quarter is a 'Nassau' blue bugle, garnished with silver and hung on red cords. In the centre is the royal shield, which is blue with a rampant lion holding a sword in one paw and a bundle of arrows in the other, and strewn with billets, all in gold, surrounded by the ribbon and badge of the Order of William and ensigned with the Royal Crown."
Santiago Dotor, 16 February 2000

"In addition to the Royal Standard there is also a Coronation Standard, only used at Coronation ceremonies, consisting of a white banner charged with the Royal Arms."
Santiago Dotor, 16 February 2000

At the site of the Netherlands royal house I read that the Netherlands royal standard is flown above the royal palaces whenever the Queen is in the country, not only when she is physically in the palace concerned.
Joseph McMillan, 20 May 2002

The palaces where the royal standard is flown are Paleis Huis ten Bosch where Queen Beatrix and Price Claus live, and Paleis Noordeinde where they work. Both are in The Hague. The third palace, Koninlijk Paleis ("Royal Palace") in Amsterdam, which mainly has a representative function, isn't mentioned, so probably the royal standard isn't flown there.
Mark Sensen, 20 May 2002

Royal flag until 1908

[Former royal flag of the Netherlands] by Mark Sensen, 13 Nov 2001

Before the present design the national tricolour with the royal arms (including crown and 2 supporting lions) was used.
Mark Sensen, 3 May 1997

Netherlands Standard: Royal flag until 1908, except with an older version of the CoA, with the shield black, and with a darker colour of blue. The shield should be blue, I think, but otherwise this image is probably better; the flag we have looks too modern for its age. (Source: Norie/Hobbs - Maritime Flags of All Nations, 1848).
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 12 Nov 2001

The image [nl-kon18.gif] at nl-royal.html indeed shows the arms as modernized in 1907. Technically it's possible the flag as shown was used until one year later when the system of royal flags was completely revised, but I don't have evidence it was.
The image in Norie/Hobbs has a lot of errors, in fact the arms shown look more like the Belgian/Brabantian arms than the Dutch arms!
For some time now I'm preparing (corrected) images and text of the Dutch royal flags through history. I already finished the image of the royal flag in use from 1816 till 1908 (adopted/confirmed in an Order in Council in 1898).
Mark Sensen, 13 Nov 2001

Royal banner

[Royal banner] by Mark Sensen, 25 Mar 2004

King Willem I / King Willem II / King Willem III / Queen Wilhelmina / Queen-Widow Regentes

Emma

[Flag of Five Rulers]
[Flag of Five Rulers] by Mark Sensen, 30 Mar 2004
Adopted 16 March 1816, 7 September 1898

Princesses' Standard

[Princesses flag] by Mark Sensen, 25 Mar 2004
Adopted 10 November 1955 (Princess Beatrix)
Adopted 5 September 1960 (Princesses Irene, Margriet and Marijke [Christina])

"The Standard of Princess Beatrix [nowadays Queen Beatrix], established on 10 November 1956, is the same shape as the others [sic -- 'the others' are different in shape!] but has a triangle cut out of the fly. The field is likewise orange with a blue cross and has the crowned shield on an orange disc in the centre. In the first quarter is a Nassau bugle as in the Royal Standard, and in the lower hoist a red rose of Lippe [standing for Queen Beatrix' parents Arms]." (Also illustrated). The flag formerly used by Princess Beatrix is still in use by her royal sisters. A flag for the heir-presumptive, Prince Willem-Alexander, is being designed. Source: Barraclough, Flags of the World, 1981, page 246.
Santiago Dotor, 16 February 2000

Even though Princess Juliana was an only child, Princess Beatrix wasn't. And her sisters had children as well. Princess Margriet married Pieter van Vollenhoven, who did not receive a title of Prins (Prince) at that wedding, though considering the currently laws he now has that title, and probably is not represented by a standard because of that.
Their sons, Prins Maurits and his brothers, are represented by yet another standard, orange with cross pierced disk-shaped Nassau blue, crowned shield inside the gap, horns of Oranje, and ... a white star (six-pointed) for Van Vollenhoven.
That's as far as my knowledge goes. Recently Prins Maurits married, but whether this has caused a new standard I don't know.
Franc van Diest, 20 Feb 2000

Flag of Princess Laurentien

[Flag of Princess Laurentien] by Mark Sensen, 30 Mar 2004
Adopted 15 January 2003

By Order in Council of 15 January 2003 a flag is adopted for Princess Laurentien, wife of the third son of Queen Beatrix, Prince Constantijn. (According to the official text this came effective on the day of mariage. This was 17 May 2001, 20 months earlier!)
The flag is "Nassau" blue in proportions 5:6, with a triangle 1/3rd  of the length cut out of the fly. At 5/12th of the flag length an orange cross, 1/5th of the flag height wide. At the center of the cross the shield of the royal arms, covered with the royal crown. In the canton a yellow bugle-horn (Oranje/Orange). In hoist bottom a yellow diamond (Brinkhorst, she's a daughter of Cabinet Minister Brinkhorst)..
Mark Sensen, 8 Feb 2003

Princesses of the Royal House

[Princesses of the Royal House]
[Princesses of the Royal House] by Mark Sensen, 30 Mar 2004
Adopted 7 September 1898 

Princes of the Royal House

[Princes of the Royal House]
[Princes of the Royal House] by Mark Sensen, 30 Mar 2004
Adopted 7 September 1898 

Standard of Prince Maurits (and his brothers)

Prince Mauritz by Mark Sensen, 25 Mar 2004
Adopted 25 January 1988

But, even though Princess Juliana was an only child, Princess Beatrix wasn't. And her sisters had children as well. Princess Margriet married Pieter van Vollenhoven, who did not receive a title of Prins at that wedding, though considering the currently laws he now has that title, and probably is not represented by a standard because of that.
Their sons, Prins Maurits and his brothers, Bernhard, Pieter-Christiaan and Floris, are represented by yet another standard, orange with cross pierced disk-shaped Nassau blue, crowned shield inside the gap, horns of Oranje, and ... a white star (six-pointed) for Van Vollenhoven.
Santiago Dotor, 16 February 2000