Last modified: 2005-07-16 by rob raeside
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![[James I standard]](../images/g/gb-royun.gif)
by Vincent Morley, Rick Wyatt, and Jonathan Dixon
When James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well, he adopted a banner representing all his Kingdoms. Quartered the previous Royal Banner of England, the Arms of Scotland, and the arms of Ireland. (ratio 5:7)
[Obviously, quartering France, Scotland, England and Ireland would have been too simple a solution.]
Evans (1970) , www.fleurdelis.com/royal.htm
It's not clear whether Mary II, who reigned together with her husband, used her arms as a separate Royal Banner [Evans (1970) ]
[As we've had complaints about the number of fleurs-de-lys in the image of the Royal standard of Scotland, I'll note the number of fleurs-de-lys in
the images available to me. [Evans (1970) ,
von Volborth (1985)].
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 24 April 2002
This flag with a baton added is the banner of arms for the Duke of Grafton
and the city of Grafton, NSW, Australia.
Jonathan Dixon, 16 April 2005
As the Jacobite Charles Edward Stuart was not of the house Hannover, and was only crowned as King of Scotland, his Royal arms apparently were the Stewart arms, and they should only have been the Scottish version of those. Mention has been made of flags of Charles Edward captured at Culloden: A white flag with the Stewart's arms and the motto "God save the King", a white Standard, a red flag with a white square. These may however have been regimental colours, as one would expect the actual Royal standard to have left the battlefield with its King.
See United Kingdom Flags in the Interregnum
In 1660, at the restoration, Charles II used a Union Flag with in the centre on a white field his cypher in gold, CR with a crown above them, as no Royal Standard was available at that time. (4:5) Evans (1970)
Do all UK Kings have such cyphers or was this just for the occasion? At least Elizabeth II has one, and currently uses it on a flag. What about the Prince of Wales?
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 24 April 2002
There have been Royal Cyphers for some time but rarely applied to flags. The flag for military officers afloat was the Union Jack defaced with the Royal Cypher on a blue disc surrounded by the usual garland, and the Royal Cypher also appears on the Colours of some military units.
David Prothero, 27 April 2002
The standard of William III added to the Royal Standard a heart-shield of Nassau: On blue semé de billets a lion rampant or. (2:3) [Siegel (1912), von Volborth (1985)]. Siegel (1912) has, continuing from the description above:
'This standard also occurs in a form which bears the Arms as a shield on a white background, encircled of a ribbon of the Order of the Garter, on which stands the motto "honny soit qui mal y pense". The shield holders are lion and unicorn.'
According to Siegel (1912), S. de Vries - De doorluchtige Weereld ..." has a different version of these flags:
A white flag with the arms, quartered the three golden lions of England on a red field, the red lion of Scotland on a golden field, the three golden fleur-de-lys of France on a blue field and the golden harp of Ireland on blue, with a heart-shield for the lion of Nassau. The English arms are crowned with a royal crown and encircled with a ribbon with the motto of the Garter. The shield holders are the crowned lion and the unicorn.' (2:3)
It's likely these two refer to the same standard, though.
The arms of William III and Mary II as King and Queen of England and Scotland, which they ruled jointly, impaled their separate arms, but no standard may have existed of this. (7:9) [Evans (1970), von Volborth (1985)]. What apparently did exist is William of Orange's expeditionary flag (2:3), which impales their personal arms. Judging from the larger image in Visser (1995) the caption should read:
'(Texts: "FOR THE PROTESTANT RELIG: AND THE LIBERTY OF ENGLAND", "JE MAINTIENDRAY")'.
Personally, I have my doubts about the use of an abbreviation on a flag, as did Siegel (1912), possibly following S. de Vries, writing the word "religion" in full, but the tressure is depicted as a single tressure flory, so maybe this doesn't count. Curious point: Who made the "mistake" - the flagmaker or the flagpainter?)
Peter Hans van der Muijzenberg, 23 April 2002
As the realm became a united kingdom, the English and Scottish arms impaled were placed in the first quarter, quartered with France and Ireland. For the Scottish arms a demi-double-tressure flory-counter-flory is used. (3:4)
1714 Royal Standard; 1st. England/Scotland. 2nd France. 3rd Ireland. 4th Hanover. 1810 Royal Standard: 1st and 4th England. 2nd Scotland. 3rd Ireland. Hanover inescutcheon. [Mead (1971)]
David Prothero, 25 September 2002
Navy Office, 27 October 1761, Alterations upon the Royal Standard of England (as described for George I), denote the Flag for the Royal persons under-mentioned: