What colour is the cross on the national flag of Denmark?
TagMe TagMe TagMe Search
Colours,_standards_and_guidons.txt National_flag.txt Flag_of_Denmark.txt Flag_of_Scotland.txt
Colours, standards and guidons National flag Flag of Denmark Flag of Scotland
In military organizations, the practice of carrying colours, standards or guidons, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of the commander, is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt some 5,000 years ago. The Roman Empire also made battle standards a part of their vast armies. It was formalized in the armies of Europe in the High Middle Ages, with standards being emblazoned with the commander's coat of arms.

General use

As armies became trained and adopted set formations, each regiment's ability to keep its formation was potentially critical to its, and therefore its army's, success. In the chaos of battle, not least due to the amount of dust and smoke on a battlefield, soldiers needed to be able to determine where their regiment was.

Regimental flags are generally awarded to a regiment by a head-of-State during a ceremony. They were therefore treated with reverence as they represented the honour and traditions of the regiment. Colours may be inscribed with the names of battles or other symbols representing former achievements (see battle honours).

Regiments tended to adopt "colour guards", composed of experienced or élite soldiers, to protect their colours. As a result, the capture of an enemy's standard was considered as a great feat of arms.

They are never capriciously destroyed – when too old to use they are replaced and then laid-up in museums, religious buildings and other places of significance to their regiment. However, in most modern armies, standing orders now call for the Colours to be intentionally destroyed if they are ever in jeopardy of being captured by the enemy.

Due to the advent of modern weapons, and subsequent changes in tactics, Colours are no longer carried into battle, but continue to be used at events of formal character.

Colours

North, Central and South Americas

Argentina

The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic's military Colours of the Argentine Army, Argentine Navy and Argentine Air Force are the Flag of Argentina as the National War Colour and the Unit Colour. The National War Colour is a variation of the Argentine national flag made for military use, while the Unit Colour differs per service arm and unit. The Army's older regiments tend to have their unit colour based on designs used before while the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers tend to have the Flag of the Army of the Andes as a second National War Colour.

Only the Regiment of Patricians uses company colors.

Brazil

Units of the Brazilian Armed Forces carry a stand of two Colours, differing per service.

The standard of the Army measures 80 × 120 cm, white with the Army coat of arms in the centre, trimmed with gold fringe. The name of the service is inscribed in gold letters on a green scroll beneath the shield. Above the shield is a knight's helmet with red and sky blue mantling. The staff is topped by a nickel-plated lance-head finial, 32 cm high. Below the lance-head, there is a cravat (laço militar) divided lengthwise, sky blue and red, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Southern Cross in white stars, red, and blue. Ten red streamers with campaign honours inscribed in sky blue letters are also attached below the lance-head. The staff is 212 cm long, not including the lance-head, and 3.5 cm in diameter. It is covered in sky blue velvet with a red spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with sky blue velvet with red velvet stripes. The Navy's flag uses dark blue colours, the Air Force flag ultramarine blue.

Brazilian military units also carry the national flag as a National Colour. This is in the dimensions 90 × 128 cm. It is mounted on the same size staff and with the same finial as the Army standard, but the cravat is divided lengthwise yellow and green, with a gold fringe at the end, tied in a bow and fastened with a cockade of blue with the Cruzeiro do Sul in white stars, yellow, and green. The staff is covered in green velvet with a yellow spiral strip. The colour belt is 10 cm in width, covered with green velvet with yellow velvet stripes of width and number varying with the rank of the organization's commander.

Chile

Units of the Chilean Army carry one main Colour, known as the estandarte de combate (combat standard). This is the same as the national flag, but with an embroidered star and with the unit designation, honorific title, founding date and place, and, depending on the unit, other historic information and honours embroidered diagonally across the fly in gold. The flag is also trimmed with gold fringe. It is mounted on a staff with a gilt condor finial; below the finial is a cravat in the national colours with decorations attached. In addition to the military Colour, particularly distinguished units, and long serving units may carry a second Colour known as a bandera coronela (colonel's colour). This is a red field with a large white five-pointed star. In the angles of the star are the names and dates of battle honours surrounded by laurel wreaths, all in gold, while in an arc above the star is the designation of the unit, also in gold. The flag is also surrounded by gold fringe.

The Chilean Air Force, the Chilean Navy, the Carabineros de Chile and the Chilean Gendarmerie all use the estandarte de combate as their main colour, and do not use the bandera coronela at all. The design is the same as in the Army's.

Colombia

The main state colours of the Military Forces of Colombia and the National Police of Colombia is the Flag of Colombia with the Coat of arms of Colombia in the centre inside a circle with a red border, used by all the services. These flags also carry medals and decorations attached to the flag. The MFC and the NPC also uses unit regimental colours and battle colors, that differ accordingly per service. All of them are gold fringed.

Mexico

The Mexican Armed Forces use the Flag of Mexico as the National Color, with the unit inscription below the Coat of arms of Mexico and the official name of the country (Estados Unidos Mexicanos, United Mexican States) above it.

United States

In the United States military, each branch has its own flag, an organizational colour, sometimes also called a ceremonial flag. Each of these is 4 ft 4 in × 5 ft 6 in, some using 2.5 in gold fringe during specific instances. The ceremonial flag is paraded with a National Colour of equal dimensions in a colour guard, with gold fringe as necessary. The National Color is never dipped in salute, but remains vertical at all times, while the organizational colours and any guidons are dipped as necessary. When the National Colour is not cased, all persons salute the Colors. The finial is a nickel or chrome-plated spearhead, though the Navy uses different finials on occasion.

Each service attaches campaign/battle streamers, sometimes known as battle honours, for actions in which the service as a whole has taken part. These can either be war service streamers, which are in the colours of the appropriate campaign medal and have the name of the campaign embroidered; or unit citation streamers, which have the name of the action embroidered and signify that the unit's performance in a specific action has been worthy of special mention. Units are also permitted to wear streamers of overseas awards they may have been presented with. These streamers are in the colours of the appropriate medal ribbon.  The streamers are 3 ft × 2.75 in. The Army, for instance, currently has 178 service streamers,U.S. Army Press Release, [http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/print.php?story_id_key
9003 Army to award campaign participation credit and streamers for global war on terror]. Retrieved 16 August 2006. embroidering the name of each battle on each, as does the Air Force. The Marine Corps and Navy instead embroider award devices onto streamers to consolidate them, having 62 and 34, respectively.

United States Army 

In the Army, most regiments, battalions of regiments, and separate battalions also have a stand of colours. The first is the National Colour, which is a 36 in × 48 in version of the national flag trimmed with a 2.5 in wide gold fringe, and is the equivalent of the Queen's Colour in the British Army. The second is the Organizational Colour, which is the equivalent of the Regimental Colour; this is the same dimensions as the National Color, but is of a single colour representing the branch of the service that the unit is from; each branch also has its own fringe colour, which the Organizational Colour is trimmed with. In the centre of the Colour is the eagle from the Great Seal of the United States, but with the regimental coat of arms in the shield. The eagle has in its beak a scroll bearing the regimental motto, with the crest of the regiment's coat of arms above it and the regiment's name below. Attached to the Organizational Colour will be the campaign and unit citation streamers awarded to the individual unit – these are equivalent to the battle honours embroidered directly onto the colours of British and Commonwealth units. The Organizational Color was carried in lieu of a National Colour until shortly before the Civil War, when the Stars and Stripes became the National Color.. Retrieved 16 August 2006.  Civil War era units sometimes carried alternative Organizational Colours based on their home state flags or of other designs.

United States Marine Corps 

In the Marine Corps, each battalion-sized unit or larger maintains a set of colors.   The organizational color identical to the Marine Corps battle color, excepting that the scroll will have the unit's name instead of "United States Marine Corps". It will also bear the streamers authorized to the unit, or scarlet and gold tassels if none are authorized.

Fringe is generally not seen on the National Colours when carried by Marine Corps unit (the exception being indoor parades). Instead, a red, white, and blue tassel is used to decorate.

United States Navy 

While the Navy uses a number of maritime flags, such as the Ensign and Jack of the United States, the Flag of the United States Navy is normally seen only at ceremonies and parades. The display of streamers and fringe is consistent with that of the Marine Corps.

United States Air Force 

U.S. Air Force (USAF) groups have the same National Colour as the Army; the Organizational Colour is ultramarine blue, with the group's coat of arms beneath the USAF crest, which is an eagle on a cloud background. The fringe is in gold.

Uruguay

Aside from the three state colours (the Flag of Uruguay, the Flag of Artigas and the Flag of the Treinta y Tres), the Uruguayan military also has regimental colours that differ per service and unit. The national colours have armed colour guards while the regimental colour has none at all.

Venezuela

In the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, aside from the Flag of Venezuela as the National Colour, there are also Organizational Colours for each of the 6 service branches and the Ministerial Colour of the Ministry of Defence and Unit Colours, which differ per service branch and arm. Every military unit from the Ministry of Defense down to all individual units have a stand of colours like in the United Kingdom, but differ from the battalion to the service and the national level. The national flag, until the 1940s, served also as the unit state colour in the same manner as the National Colour of the United States Army and the State/Sovereign's Colour in the Commonwealth of Nations, and was based on the national flag but with the unit inscription replacing the stars in the centre in white lettering. The Venezuelan National Militia is the only service branch that uses a battle colour, similar to the flag of the Cuban July 26 Movement: the colour is red and black with the service name on it in white, and a separate colour is used for the service headquarters at the Montana Barracks in Caracas. Starting from July 2013 onward it was granted permission to use a 4th colour for its battalions: red with the eyes of the late President Hugo Chávez and the inscription Chavez Vive (Chavez Lives On) below, topped with a scarlet star.

Since 2014 The National Armed Forces uses a 3rd colour (the National Militia its 5th): that of the Supreme Commander's Colour, which is red bearing the portrait of the late President Chávez surrounded by a wreath, with the dates of February 4, 1992 (the date of the 1st coup attempt against Carlos Andrés Pérez) and December 6, 1998 (the date of the 1998 presidential election) and the Armed Forces Motto (Independence and Socialist Fatherland, we will live on and triumph!) below and the inscription Supreme Commander of the Bolivarian Revolution (Comandante Supremo de la Revolucion Bolivariana) and the eight golden stars from the National Flag above it.

The colors used on the Unit Colours are as follows:

* Red: Ministry of Defence (formerly gray), Service units, Marine Corps, National Militia, Military Technical Academy, Presidential Honour Guard, Caracas HQ Battalion of the Ministry of Defence 
* Dark Blue and Red: Venezuelan Army HQ and units directing to Army HQ, Division and Brigade Colours
* Yellow: Infantry, Jungle Infantry, Airborne Units
* Orange: Rangers
* Green: Army Engineers
* Dark Blue: Venezuelan Army Special Forces
* Black: Armor
* Burgundy Red: Artillery and Air Defence Artillery
* Gray: Logistics, National Armed Forces Communications and Electronics School
* Navy Blue: Navy
* Ultramarine Blue: Air Force
* Maroon: National Guard
* Dark Blue and White: Bolivarian Military University of Venezuela, Military Academy of the Bolivarian Army and Armed Forces Health Sciences Academy
* Light Blue and White: Venezuelan Naval Academy
* White : Venezuelan Army schools

Asia

China

This details the two Chinas (People's Republic of China and Republic of China)

People's Republic of China

The People's Liberation Army is the overall body for the entire armed forces of the People's Republic of China, and is represented by a single flag, which serves as a ceremonial colour for all regiments and larger formations. This is based on the national flag, but has instead of the four smaller gold stars the Chinese characters for the numerals '8' and '1', which stands for the 1 August, which was the date in 1927 that the PLA was founded. When paraded, the flag is fringed with gold, and is mounted on a red and gold pole. However, each branch of the PLA has its own flag, based on the Army Flag:
*Ground forces: This is the Army Flag with the lower 40% coloured green.
*Navy: This is the Army flag except that the lower 40% has three blue and two white horizontal stripes of equal width.
*Air Force: This is the Army Flag with the lower 40% coloured air force blue.
*[http://english.pladaily.com.cn/special/cpla/2/index.htm Banners of the PLA]

Republic of China

The army of the Republic of China (Taiwan) also has a single flag that it uses, which is red, with a blue rectangle in the centre and the white sun from the national flag. It has a red flagpole with silver spearhead finial and red tassels immediately underneath. Individual units use a variation of the Army Flag as their own identifying Colour; this features a white strip next to the hoist, which has the unit's name in black characters, as well as a golden fringe (as is the case since 1961 for all units of the Republic of China Armed Forces, but since 1947 were limited only to Army units above the regimental level). The Army Honor Guard color is in gold with the unit coat of arms in the center.

The Republic of China Navy's colors were red but with the seal of the Navy in a dark blue canton in the center until the 1980s, the honor guard company's colours only use both dark blue and the Navy seal, which are the same colours used today in other ROCN units.

For the Republic of China Marine Corps, its unit battle color mirrors that of the USMC but since the 1980s the unit name is on the white stripe near the hoist (just as the rest of the armed forces, formerly it was on a scroll similar to the USMC's).

The colors used by the Republic of China Air Force are in sky blue with the air force seal in the center (formerly it was red with the sky blue canton featuring the coat of arms, the old design only used today by the honor guard).

Units of the Republic of China Military Police, formerly using a blue color, now use a brown color with the ROCMP arms.

Units reporting to the Ministry of National Defense sport an orange colour with the coast arms of the Ministry in the center. Garrison colors are in blue with the Kuomintang emblem, a wheat wreath and 3 interlocked circles in yellow, red and blue respectively. Reserve units carry a red color whil the Taiwan Reserve uses a green one.

Only the following military academies sport their colors as the ROCAF color is used by the Republic of China Air Force Academy:

* Republic of China Military Academy
* Republic of China Naval Academy

In all events whenever the ROCAF is involved, the ROC flag is used as the National Color.

Philippines

Philippine military colours are the Flag of the Philippines as the National Colour, the Organizational Colours, and the Unit Regimental Colour. The Flag of the Philippines is the National Colour of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, but unlike the US colour has no markings on the flag. The Organizational Colours are the flags of the AFP's four Major Service Commands while the Unit Regimental Colour differs per service arm and unit. Like the US, it also has 2nd order guidons for companies and troops, but these are also based on the Spanish military guidons and banners, not on the American ones, reflecting the long history of the military establishment here. These guidons are therefore not swallow tailed save for the PMA, the Philippine Army's Escort and Security Btn and some other units under the Philippine Army.

Thailand

Each unit of the Royal Thai Armed Forces is given a colour called the "Thong Chai Chalermphol" () or Victory Colours. These are presented to each unit personally by the King of Thailand. The flags are divided into four different designs, for: Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy, Royal Thai Air Force and King's Guard units.

Before their presentation the colours are ceremonially blessed in a religious ceremony attended by Buddhist monks and other high ranking dignitaries inside the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok. During the ceremony amidst the chanting of the monks, the King will personally hammer the brass nails into the staff of each colour using a silver hammer. Each colour contains about 32-35 nails, in which the cloth is attached to the wooden staff. Within the same ceremony, the King will also take a strand of his own hair and conceal it within a compartment at the top of the staff, which is closed by a round silver screw top. The King will also attach each colour with its own ceremonial Buddha image, and bless each colour with holy water. The ceremony is steeped in Buddhist and Brahmic heritage, it symbolizes and cements the King's role as Chief Kshatriya (กษัตริย์) or Warrior ruler of his realm. It also emphasizes his constitutional role as Head and Chief of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย: Chomthap Thai).

These colours are similar to the Flag of Thailand and therefore are treated like the State Colours of the Commonwealth, but are not lowered to the ground but above it to the tune of Sansoen Phra Barami (the Royal Anthem) when salutes are rendered by these Colours to the Thai Royal Family (most especially the King and Queen) in all military events that they attend.

File:ธงชัยเฉลิมพลหน่วยทหารบก (มีคันธง).svg|Royal Thai Army Unit Colour
File:Royal Thai Navy Unit Colour (with staff).svg|Royal Thai Navy Unit Colour
File:ธงชัยเฉลิมพลหน่วยทหารอากาศ (มีคันธง).svg|Royal Thai Air Force Unit Colour
File:Colour of the 1st Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, King's Own Bodyguards (with staff).svg|Colours of the Royal Guard units

Commonwealth realms

The Colours of the Infantry are a set of large flags, unique to each regiment, that the ordinary soldier would be able to identify straight away.

United Kingdom

Line infantry and foot guards

In regiments of infantry of the British Army and the armies of other Commonwealth countries, each battalion carries two colours, which collectively are called a stand. These are large flags, usually 36 in × 45 in, and mounted on a pike which is 8 ft 7½ in long; the King's/Queen's Colour is usually a version of the country's national flag, often trimmed with gold fabric, and with the regiment's insignia placed in the centre. The Regimental Colour is a flag of a single colour, usually the colour of the uniform facings (collar/lapels and cuffs) of the regiment, again often trimmed and with the insignia in the centre. Most regiments that are designated as 'royal' regiments (that is either have the word 'Royal' or the sponsorship of a royal personage in their name) have a navy blue Regimental Colour. Irish regiments, today the Royal Irish Regiment, have a dark green Regimental Colour.

The colours of the five regiments of Foot Guards have the pattern of the line infantry reversed, with the Queen's Colour being crimson with the regimental insignia and honours and the Regimental Colour a variation of the Union Flag with the battle honours embroidered.

Additional Colours

*The Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards each have at least one State Colour; this is usually crimson with various regimental devices and honours, and the Royal Cypher at the corners of it. They are only used by Guards of Honour from any unit from these regiments, not found by the Queen's Guard, mounted on State occasions when The Queen is present. They are only lowered to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and on State occasions only when the Queen is present, even if the Guard of Honour is mounted in honour of some other personage. The colour design is larger than the normal colours of the Guards Division used in ceremonies.
*The 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, as the linear descendant, bears the Third Colour initially born by the 2nd Regiment of Foot, later renamed the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) which, for one reason or another, was never taken away from the regiment in the 18th century when new regulations on colours were implemented.
*The 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers bears the Drummer's Colour awarded after the Battle of Wilhelmsthal to the 5th Regiment of Foot, (later The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers) of which it is the direct descendant.
*The 3rd Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's), as the linear descendent, carries the honorary Queen's and Regimental Colours that were given to the 76th Regiment of Foot by the Honourable East India Company following their actions at Delhi and Allyghur.
*The Royal Highland Fusiliers 2nd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland carries the Assaye Colour awarded as an honorary colour to the 74th Regiment of Foot following the Battle of Assaye, which is paraded every year on Assaye Day.
* The Honourable Artillery Company has both a stand of Colours (Queen's and Regimental) and Guns. The latter are also regarded as colours and accorded the same compliments just as the Royal Artillery regard their guns as their Colours.

Rifle regiments

By tradition, rifle regiments do not carry colours; this goes back to their formation, when they were used as skirmishers and sharpshooters. While individual units may have had banners or pennants to distinguish themselves from other units, regiments as a whole never needed a full stand of Colours. Today, the two rifle regiments in the British Army, The Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles carry their battle honours on their drums, while the Royal Green Jackets also had theirs inscribed on their cap badge; this tradition is maintained by The Rifles, who wear the Maltese Cross badge of the Royal Green Jackets, inscribed with the regimental honours, as the belt badge. In place of a Regimental Colour, the Gurkhas carry the Queen's Truncheon.

Colours in the cavalry regiments

In the British Army's cavalry units, the Queen's Cavalry Standard and the Regimental Standard (for the heavy cavalry) and the Queen's Cavalry Standard and Regimental Guidons (for the light cavalry) are the equivalents to the line infantry colours. The Queen's Standard is crimson with the Royal coat of arms and cypher, plus the regimental honours, while the Regimental (Squadron/Union) Standard has an adaptable background colour per unit (the colour is sometimes scarlet) and includes sometimes the Union Badge below the crown and the Royal Cypher at the sides of the badge, with the unit honours below. The light cavalry Guidon is swallow-tailed and includes the regimental coat of arms and honours. Before the 1950s, however, Timpani in the drumhorses (and later snare, bass and tenor drums in the dismounted bands) carried the regimental honours and insignia of the light cavalry regiments.

Embellishments

Woven onto the colours are battle honours; the Queen's Colour has honours from the First World War and Second World War, while the Regimental Colour has honours from other campaigns. The Regimental Colour will also have other distinctions, including antecedent emblems and unique honours; one significant example is the Sphinx emblem carried by regiments who took part in the Egypt campaign of 1801. If the regiment has more than a single battalion, then there will be identifying marks on the colours to show which battalion they belong to.
There are various other embellishments that can be added to the colours on various occasions:
*On anniversaries of various battle honours, and certain other events, a laurel wreath is added to the top of the pike.
*Battle honour equivalents awarded by foreign countries may be added to the colours, subject to permission being given by the head of state. In the Commonwealth, three infantry battalions are permitted to display the four-foot-long blue streamer that signifies the Presidential Unit Citation/Distinguished Unit Citation, which is the highest collective award given by the United States of America:
**2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
**3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
**6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment

In the UK, 41 Commando, Royal Marines and the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment were also awarded the PUC and permitted to display the streamer of their regimental colours.

Because of their importance to the regiment, prior to a new stand of colours being presented, they are consecrated.

Royal Hospital, Chelsea

The Royal Hospital, Chelsea had neither colours nor other distinctive device during its entire history, until 2002 when The Queen presented the Hospital with the Sovereign's Mace. This is now paraded by a party of In-Pensioners at all of the Royal Hospital's ceremonial events

Royal Marines

The Corps of Royal Marines has a single pattern Queen's Colour, which is the Union Flag with the foul anchor and the reigning sovereign's cypher interlaced in the centre. Above is a scroll with the single battle honour Gibraltar surmounted by St Edward's Crown. Below is the globe (which represents the many Battle Honours the Royal Marines had earned) surrounded by a laurel wreath (which represents the Battle of Belle Isle) and below this is a scroll with the Corps' motto. Each of the four commandos (the battalion-sized formations that make up the bulk of the corps) has a Queen's Colour, with the only difference being the colour of the cords and tassels. Each commando also has its own Regimental Colour. The Regimental Colour is a dark blue flag (because the Corps is classed as a 'royal regiment') with a small Union Flag at the pike head. The Colour carries similar central embellishments as the Queen's Colour, with the exception that the cypher of George IV replaces that of the reigning monarch and the unit numeral is below. The Royal Cypher is at the other corners. The Regimental Colours also have the coloured cords and tassels, which are gold combined with the following colours:
*40 Commando: Light Blue
*42 Commando: White
*43 Commando: Old Gold and Scarlet
*45 Commando: Red

The former 41 Commando was awarded the Distinguished Unit Citation for its service in the Korean War, and was thus permitted to carry the streamer on its Regimental Colour.
*[http://www.rmascarborough.co.uk/id11.html Colours of the Royal Marines]

The Royal Navy

The Colours of Her Majesty's ships in the Royal Navy consist of:

* a White Ensign (worn at the stern, or from the gaff or main yardarm when at sea);
* a Union Jack (worn at the ship's jackstaff at the bow when not underway or when the ship is dressed);
* a Masthead pennant (worn at the masthead, except when displaced by an admiral's flag or commodore's broad pennant).

In addition, each principal command in the Royal Navy also has its own Queen's Colour which is a variation of the White Ensign, with its dimensions altered to mirror those of the Colours of infantry regiments. In the centre is the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch within the Garter, surmounted by the crown.

Unlike the Colours of regiments in the Army, every Queen's Colour of the Royal Navy is identical. The following units hold a Queen's Colour of the Royal Navy:

* Naval Aviation Command (ACOS(AV), HMS Heron)
* Submarine Command (CAPTFASFLOT, HMS Neptune)
* Fleet (CINCFLEET HQ)
* Britannia Royal Naval College
* Surface Flotilla (MWS, )
* Royal Naval Reserve (COMMARRES, )

The Royal Air Force

RAF Colours are made of sky blue silk and measure approximately 36" x 36". The following colours have been awarded:

*RAF College, Cranwell, approved 27 December 1947, presented 6 July 1948.
*The RAF in the UK, approved 27 December 1947, presented, 16 May 1951.
*No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF, approved 27 December 1947, presented 25 July 1952.
*RAF Regiment, presented 17 March 1953.
*Near East Air Force, presented 14 October 1960, laid up 31 May 1976.
*Far East Air Force, presented 13 July 1961, laid up 30 January 1972.
*Central Flying School, presented 26 June 1969.
*RAF Germany, presented 16 September 1970, laid up 27 June 1993.
*Royal Auxiliary Air Force, presented 12 June 1989.
*RAF Halton, presented 31 October 1997.

The Queen's Colour for the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom is a variation of the RAF Ensign with its dimensions altered. The RAF Roundel is moved to the lower fly, with its place in the centre again taken by the Royal Cypher surmounted by the crown. Other colours feature the unit's badge in the centre with the Royal Cypher and crown in the first quarter.

The RAF's Squadron Standards are its counterpart to the Regimental Colours. They are in air force blue with a gold fringe surrounding it, with the Squadron insignia and honours.

Australia, Canada and New Zealand

The naval and air forces of all three of these countries also have similar Colours based on their own ensigns. Rules stipulated by the Canadian Department of Defence state that the First, or Senior Colours symbolizes the unit's loyalty to the Crown; authorization to possess a Queen's Colour may only be granted, and the Colour presented, by the Queen or her vice-regal representative. The design based on the flag of Canada reflects the custom established for infantry line regiments in the mid-18th century, when the Sovereign's Colour was based on the national flag, as was the practice in British and French units in Canada. 

Navy

*Royal Australian Navy: The Queen's Colour of the RAN is a variation of the Australian White Ensign – it is a reverse of the Australian flag (white with blue stars), with the Royal Cypher and Garter band positioned between the Commonwealth Star and the stars representing the Southern Cross. (See former Colours at Naval Chapel, Garden Island NSW.) The RAN possesses two Colours, the first is the Fleet Colour held on behalf of the fleet units by Fleet Headquarters, . The second, known as the Establishment Colour, is held by  on behalf of the shore establishments.
*Royal Canadian Navy: The Queen's Naval Colour is a variation of the Canadian Naval Ensign (which used to be the Canadian Forces naval Jack) – it is white, with the Canadian flag in the canton, the cypher from the Queen's personal flag for the Commonwealth (a crowned "E" surrounded by a wreath of roses) in the centre, and the symbol of the navy in the lower fly. The edge of the Colour is trimmed in gold. Until 1979 the RCN possessed two identical colours: one for the Atlantic fleet and one for the Pacific fleet.  Since then, a single Colour has been held at Naval Service Headquarters.
*Royal New Zealand Navy: Since 1968 the RNZN Queen's Colour is a variant of the Naval Ensign of New Zealand - itself the Flag of New Zealand but in white, with the Royal Cypher and Garter band situated near the Southern Cross.

Army

* While the colours of the Australian Army infantry regiments follow the British tradition, starting in the 1960s colours based on the Australian national flag are now used as the Queen's Colour. Armoured units carry Standards and Guidons – flags smaller than Colours and traditionally carried by Cavalry, Lancer, Light Horse and Mounted Infantry units. The 1st Armoured Regiment is the only unit in the Australian Army to carry a Standard, in the tradition of heavy armoured units. Guidons are also carried by aviation units. Only the Royal Australian Artillery uses guns. Non-combat units (combat service support corps) do not have Colours, but have Standards or Banners instead. The Royal Military College, Duntroon also has an additional colour, the Sovereign's Banner, carried yearly by the RMC's Champion Company from the Corps of Staff Cadets formed from the best cadet company for the year, which on parades takes precedence over the other companies as the Sovereign's Company.  The Army itself since 2001 has a banner known as the Army Banner, carried on all events of the service (as the Army is the protector of the traditions of the Flag of Australia, and thus does not have its own service colour). It is trimmed with gold fringe, has gold and crimson cords and tassels, and is mounted on a pike with the usual British royal crest finial.  The Army Banner bears the Australian Coat of Arms on the obverse, with the dates "1901–2001" in gold in the upper hoist. The reverse bears the "rising sun" badge of the Australian Army, flanked by seven campaign honours on small gold-edged scrolls: South Africa, World War I, World War II, Korea, Malaya-Borneo, South Vietnam, and Peacekeeping. It was presented to the Army in celebration of its 2001 centennial year.
* In the Canadian Army, regiments designated horse guards and dragoon guards, along with the Canadian Special Operations Regiment, have regimental standards. Royal Canadian Armoured Corps standards have a crimson field and the CSOR standard has a tan field. Other RCAC regiments have crimson regimental guidons. Each battalion of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps, except those of rifle regiments, has a stand of two colours: a queen's colour and a regimental colour. For foot guards, the queen's colours have a crimson field, and the regimental colours are based on the Canadian national flag. For other infantry regiments, the queen's colours are based on the national flag, and the regimental colours are of the regimental facing colour.

Air Force

*Royal Australian Air Force: The Queen's Colour of the RAAF is similar to that of the RAF – however, in addition to the RAAF roundel, which is in the lower fly, it has the Commonwealth Star in the lower hoist and the stars of the Southern Cross in the upper fly, with the Royal Cypher in the centre. The flag has a border of golden wattle as well as golden fringe.
*Royal Canadian Air Force: The Queen's Air Force Colour is significantly different from the standard in that it is not based on the ensign but instead is similar to the Queen's Colour of infantry regiments: it is a silk national flag of Canada with a red circlet on the maple leaf inscribed with the name of the command, surrounding the royal cipher, and ensigned with the royal crown. Uniquely among Commonwealth air forces, the Canadian air force also has a Command Colour, analogous to an infantry Regimental Colour. This is light blue with the command badge in the centre and a gold maple leaf in each corner, stems outward. Also like army units, squadrons with 25 years or more of active service receive unit colours with battle honours surrounding the unit badge on the same light blue background edged with flowers.

Sri Lanka

When Sri Lanka declared itself a republic in 1972 the units that had a Queen's Colour retired them. These were replaced by the new President's Colour, which was first awarded in 1972.
The following colours have been awarded:

;Army
*Regiments
**Sri Lanka Light Infantry – 1978
**Gemunu Watch – 1980
**Gajaba Regiment – 2007
*Establishments
**Army Training Centre – 1972, laid up 20 August 1992
**Sri Lanka Military Academy – 1997

;Air Force
*Sri Lanka Air Force – 1976
*SLAF Regiment – 2009
*Squadrons
**No. 1 Flying Training Wing – 2001
**No. 2 Heavy Transport Squadron – 2009
**No. 4 (VIP) Helicopter Squadron – 2009
**No. 9 Attack Helicopter Squadron – 2009
**No. 10 Fighter Squadron  – 2009
*Stations
**SLAF Katunayake – 2001

;Navy
*Naval and Maritime Academy – 2000

Malaysia

The same format of Sovereign's and Regimental Colours also apply in Malaysia. The King's Colours and Regimental Colours of the Malaysian Armed Forces are the flags given by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in his responsibilities as Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and by the 8 other state monarchs, to units recognized as Royal units and to flags of large formations (the King's Colour) and to units now receiving their new regimental colours (the Unit Regimental Colour).

The King's Colour is yellow with the national arms surrounded by paddy on the centre, thus Malaysia is one of only two Commonwealth countries, the other being Brunei, that does not use its national flag for use as a senior Colour (the flag is the senior colour of the entire Armed Forces establishment). The sides are emblazoned with the battle honours of the unit. On the canton the service emblem of either service of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy and Air Force) can be seen. The Regimental Colour, however, differs by service arm or branch (the latter case being used in the Army) and unit. Both flags have gold fringes surrounding them. These colours are only present in formal parades.

During the Merdeka Parade and on Armed Forces Day on 21 September, as the armed services on parade do not wear their dress uniforms, only the 1st Battalion, Royal Malay Regiment, which wears dress uniforms, is present with its King's and Regimental Colours, but for the rest of the services on public parade the following order then applies:

* Service Colour/Regimental Camp Flag
* Flag of Malaysia (National Colour)
* Colour of the Malaysian Armed Forces

Singapore

Singaporean military colours of the Singapore Armed Forces are divided today into Service State Colours and Unit Regimental Colours. Until 1997 there were also Service Regimental Colours and Unit State Colours. The State Colours are similar to the Flag of Singapore but differ per service. But Regimental Colours are different, and they differ per unit or service arm (save for the flags of the Air Force and Navy that show their respective service colours instead and some SAF service-wide commands like the Military Police). Their common design is that of the regimental or command arms at the centre of the colour used. Both are gold fringed and are brought out on major occasions only.

European countries

Belgium 

Infantry units have a drapeau / vaandel, a square vertical tricolour of black, yellow, and red within a 15 mm wide gold border, the whole being 90 cm square. The names of battle honours for which the unit was cited are embroidered in gold in French on the obverse and in Dutch on the reverse, in straight lines.

Denmark 

Danish Navy, Army and Air Force units carry a unit colour () and for the Life Guards a battalion colour (), which measures 105 × 140 cm, former horse units a slightly smaller guidon.  The flag is a variation of the Dannebrog, with a curvilinear white Dannebrog cross, called the Mantova cross, set with its centre about one-half the width of the hoist from the hoist edge. The royal cypher is embroidered in gold over the centre of the cross, the unit badge in gold in the upper hoist, and the unit number, name or both in gold in the lower hoist. Some regiments have additional marks in the upper fly. The Jyske Dragonregiment, for instance, has Prince Henrik's cipher in the upper fly. The finial is an ornate gold openwork spearhead with the royal cypher in the centre. Attached below the spearhead can be one or more campaign streamers (). The colour is decorated with a gold cord with two tassels and bordered with a thin strip of gold cord. The sleeve holding the colour to the pike is attached with ornamental nails, the first three of which represent the sovereign, the Fatherland, and the Union.

Finland

Units of Finnish Defence Forces have a single Colour. The Colours are either active or traditional. An active Colour belongs to a brigade or an equivalent unit in the FDF. A traditional Colour belongs to a battalion or a regiment that has formerly been separate but is now part of a brigade. The difference between an active and traditional Colour is the way of presenting them. The active Colour has always a guard of two officers, while a traditional Colour is borne without one. The military oath is always given in the presence of the active Colour of the unit.

The Finnish military vexillology is a mixture of Scandinavian and Russian tradition. The Colours are usually modelled after Swedish regimental flags of the 17th century, but some units carry flags modelled after Russian or German colour traditions. The Colour often bears the emblem of the province where the unit is located with an appropriate symbol of the service branch. No battle honours were awarded for units during the Second World War but some units have battle honours from the Finnish Civil War.

Units and institutions of the Finnish Defence Force which have not been awarded a colour of their own use the unadorned swallow-tailed Flag of Finland as their State Colour, and the oath of service for NCOs and volunteer enlisted personnel assigned to these are given in its presence.

File:KaartJR-lippu.jpg|Colour of the Finnish Guard Jaeger Regiment. Note the Imperial Russian-style design of the flag which is symbolic of the lineage of the regiment as part of the Russian imperial guard
File:PsPr-lippu.jpg|Colour of the Armoured Brigade features the black and silver colours of Finnish armoured troops while the main emblem is a cuirassier helmet symbolizing armoured force.
File:PorPr-lippu.jpg|Colour of Pori Brigade has the blue and yellow colours of Satakunta, and the coats of arms of Satakunta and Finland Proper on its two sides. The colour carries the ribbon of the Order of the Cross of Liberty as a streamer.
File:Kymen_J%C3%A4%C3%A4k%C3%A4ripataljoonan_lippu.jpg|The traditional colour of the Kymen jääkäripataljoona (Kymi Jaeger Battalion), nowadays a part of Karelia Brigade, is of the form defined for light infantry. The Kymi Jaeger Battalion follows the traditions of the 3rd Bicycle Battalion and carries that number on its colour, and the Order of the Cross of Liberty both as a streamer and as the point of the staff.
File:I-SVP_flag.jpg|The traditional colour of Itä-Suomen Viestipataljoona (Eastern Finland Signals Battalion), part of Karelia Brigade, has the branch colours of signals corps: purple and gold. The device featuring Western Capercaillie is a throwback to the earlier designation as Central Finland Signals Battalion. The main device, the three lightning bolts,  is symbolic of communication.
File:7_Ohjuslaivue_lippu.jpg|The traditional Colour of the 7. Pintatorjuntalaivue (7th Surface Combat Flotilla) of the Coastal Navy features a blue Lion of Finland with a fish tail, striking with a trident.
File:PvKvK-lippu.jpg|The Colour of the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre features a Lion of Finland holding a herald's staff in addition to the sword. The shade of blue of the colour is the same as in the flag of United Nations.
File:Karjalan Lennoston lippu.svg|The Colour of the Karelian Air Command features, like all Finnish Air Force Colours, a swastika within a winged circle. The identifying device is a small coat of arms of Karelia

France

In January 1188, in a meeting between Henry II of England and Philip II of France,
where it was agreed that both would go on a crusade, and that  Henry II would use a white cross and Philipp II would use a red cross.
"On January 1188 there was a meeting between Henry II and Phillip II under an old tree at Gisors on the border between France and Normandy. The meeting was attended also by Phillip of Alsace, the Count of Flanders. The two rivals agreed to stop the wars between them and swear to "take the cross" (i.e. to go in a crusade). They also agreed to establish symbols to the different corps: white cross for the Plantagenet corps of Henry II, a red cross for the Capetian corps of Phillip II, and a green cross for the Flemish."
Joshua Prawer, A history of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (Hebrew, 3rd edition, vol. II, pp. 17-18)

 
Later on, this usage was inverted, and the English took to using a red cross on white, and the French a white cross on red.

Background

As the use of regimental colours spread in Europe, the habit developed of using a symmetric white cross as the basis of the design of the French regimental flags, and by the 18th century almost every regiment had a white cross. The regiments were distinguished by the colours of the cantons

After the French Revolution and the appearance of the new Tricolore, crosses disappear in 1794 and various arrangements of the tricolour come into use. Napoleon standardizes first in 1804 to a white field chape-chausse of red and blue, and in 1812 to the modern French flag.

File:Vigiles du roi Charles VII 32.jpg|French, white-cross, and English, red cross, fighting at the battle of Formigny during the Hundred Years' War.
File:Rég d Auvergne 1635.png|Regiment of Auvergne.
Rég de Normandie 1616.png|Regiment of Normandy.
Rég du Roi 1757.png|King's Regiment (Régiment du Roi).
File:Franche de la Marine1.jpg|The pre-revolutionary regimental flags inspired the flag of Quebec (here, the Compagnies Franches de la Marine).
File:Drapeau-3e-reg-suisse-napoleon-p1030181.jpg|French Imperial regimental flag with its Eagle (1804-1812).
File:Grenadier Pied 1 1812 Revers.png|Regimental flag of the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers of the French Imperial Guard (1812).

About battle honours on current colours

Somehow, the French Armed Forces of today are not officially considered to be the successors of the Royal Army and Navy, although many of their individual units are de facto. Accordingly, battles fought and won by the Royal Army and Navy before the French Revolution (such as Patay, Fontenoy, Chesapeake, Porto Praya and so on) do not appear as battle honours on regimental colours. The names of battles of the old times, however, which are rightly still considered as most glorious by the modern French Army, are honoured by being given to ships or armoured vehicles, and remembered by anniversaries.

As a paradoxical example, the 1st Infantry Regiment Picardie (founded 1479, during the reign of Louis XI) which is one of the oldest regiments with continuous service of all European armies, has fought an impressive number of fierce battles since the 15th century, as one may imagine... yet, officially, its battle honours record starts only in 1792:
*Valmy 1792
*Fleurus 1794
*Moeskirch 1800
*Biberach 1800
*Miliana 1842
*Guise 1914
*Verdun – L'Yser 1916-1917
*La Somme 1916
*L'Ourcq 1918
*Résistance Berry 1944
*AFN 1952-1962.

Latest official regulations

The following official documents relate to the colours of the Land Army (armée de Terre) :
* recommendation (circulaire) 808 EMM/CAB of 5 December 1985 rules what sorts of units can be given colours, abiding to previous regulations of joint services;
* decision 12350/SGA/DPMA/SHD/DAT of 14 September 2007 deals with the inscriptions of battle honours upon the flags and standards of the units of the Army, the Defence Health service and the Military Fuel Service; 
* government order of 19 November 2004 relates to the award of the AFN 1952-1962 battle honour to flags and standards of Army and Services units.(A) NORDEF0452926A, by Minister of Defence Mme Michèle Alliot-Marie.

Land Army in general

*Regimental colours of units which are traditionally on foot, such as Infantry regiments of the line, Marine Infantry, Foreign Legion Infantry, Paratroops Infantry, Engineers, Signal Corps and Military Colleges are called drapeaux (flags).
*Regimental colours of the (traditionally) mounted units of the Armoured Cavalry Branch and other cavalry units such as Dragoon Paratroopers, Hussar Paratroopers, Legion Cavalry, Artillery (including Marine Artillery, Legion Artillery, etc.), Transportation, Army Aviation, and Materiel, are called étendards (standards).

Regimental colours are 90 cm × 90 cm Tricolore silk square flags – standards are smaller: 64 cm × 64 cm – surrounded by a golden fringe. Both are set on a stave (2.11 m long and 32 mm diameter – staves for standards are slightly shorter) ended by a 38 cm pike-shaped finial with a cartouche bearing the initials "RF" for République française on one side, and the name or number of the unit on the other side.

The cravate hanging from the pike is made of two tricolour silk ribbons, 90 cm long and 24 cm wide, ended by an 8 cm gold fringe on which the unit number or monogram is embroidered in gold, encircled by an oak and laurel wreath. French decorations and fourragèresThe modern fourragère of the French Army is awarded to all members of military units which have been awarded a mention in despatches. It should not be confused with unit awards of particular decorations, where the medal itself is hung on the colour of the unit. For example, there are many units wearing the fourragère of the Médaille militaire, whereas only six units wore the medal on their colours. See also the article dealing with the Croix de guerre. awarded to the unit are pinned or tied to the cravate; foreign awards and decorations are borne on a red velvet cushion.

All writings on the colour are embroidered in gold, as well the unit number (or monogram) encircled in antique oak and laurel wreath in each corner of the flag.

Obverse of a colour:
*RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE
*(NAME OF THE UNIT)
Reverse of a colour:
*HONNEUR (Honour)
*ET (and)
*PATRIE (Fatherland)
*(BATTLE HONOURS)

Rifle battalions (chasseurs à pied)

By tradition, all the battalions of the rifles (the bataillons de chasseurs à pied together with the chasseurs alpins) share a single collective colour. Individual battalions have pennants (fanions) and the flag of the rifles (Drapeau des chasseurs) is given to be held each year in turn to a different rifle battalion. As a result, the single flag displays all the battle honours earned by every rifle battalion.

Other specific colours

*Since 1844, the obverse of Foreign Legion regimental colours do not carry the motto "Honneur et Patrie" but "Honneur et Fidélité" (Honour and Fidelity). This motto was originally written on the flags of the Swiss regiments in French service, such as the Régiment de Diesbach (85th Infantry of the line).
*The École polytechnique, as a military college, also has a colour which does not carry  "Honneur et Patrie" but instead "Pour la Patrie, les Sciences et la Gloire" (For the Fatherland, Sciences and Glory). The reverse of École polytechnique's colour has one battle honour written under the motto: Défense de Paris – 1814, awarded in 1901 by President Émile Loubet.
*Since 1880, the motto of the Paris Fire Brigade (which is a military unit belonging to the Engineering Arm), "Dévouement et Discipline" (Devotion and Discipline), is written under "Honneur et Patrie".
*The reverse of the Saint-Cyr Military College's colour has seven lines:  Honneur / et / patrie / Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre / Premier / bataillon / de France (Honour / and / Fatherland / They study for victory / First / battalion / of France).

The National Navy

The Colours worn by the ships of the National Navy (Marine nationale) consist of the National Ensign and the jack:
* the National Ensign  is flown at the stern and at the bowsprit if not replaced there by the FNFL jack or a military award jack;
* the FNFL jack is flown at the ship's jackstaff if the ship has fought with the Free French Naval Forces, or is named after such a ship;
* military award jacks may also be flown at the ship's jackstaff if the ship has received mention in dispatches (in which case crew members wear the corresponding fourragère).

Currently, only eight individual National Navy units do have colours  other than the National Ensign or the FNFL jack. Under recommendation 808 EMM/CAB of 5 December 1985, naval units to which colours can be bestowed must be those with manpower equivalent to that of a regiment, which are specialised in combat or services on land (or corps which have inherited their traditions from such units), and naval instruction centres or colleges. The flags are quite similar to those of Land Army units, the difference being the wreaths in corners which encircle anchors instead of name of unit, except for the Naval Gunners (initials CM) and the Fleet Engineering Cadets College (initials EAMF).

As of today, these units are (between brackets is where the colours are currently kept):
*the 1er Régiment de fusiliers marins (École des fusiliers marins) – the 1st Naval Fusiliers Rgt. (Naval Fusiliers College);
*the Demi-brigade de fusiliers marins (Compagnie de fusiliers marins de Cherbourg) – the Naval Fusiliers Half-Brigade (Cherbourg Naval Fusiliers Company);
*the Canonniers marins (Centre d' instruction naval de Saint-Mandrier) – the Naval Gunners (Saint-Mandrier Naval Instruction Centre);
*the École navale (Groupe des écoles du Poulmic) – the Naval College (Poulmic Schools Group);
*the École militaire de la flotte (Groupe des écoles du Poulmic) – the Fleet Military College (Poulmic Schools Group);
*the École des mousses (Centre d'instruction naval de Brest) – the Cabin Boys College (Brest Naval Instruction Centre);
*the École des apprentis mécaniciens de la flotte (Centre d' instruction naval de Saint-Mandrier) – the Fleet Engineering Cadets College  (Saint-Mandrier Naval Instruction Centre);
*the Bataillon de marins pompiers de Marseille (Bataillon de marins pompiers de Marseille) – the Marseille Marine Fire Battalion  (The Marseille Marine Fire Battalion).

The Air Army

The colours of Air Army (armée de l'Air) units are by all means similar to those of the Land Army from which it separated as an independent military arm in 1933. Colours are generally not bestowed to Air Army units smaller than escadres (wings), land combat regiments, air force bases, instruction centres or air colleges.

The National Gendarmerie

The units of the National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie nationale) have colours which are very similar to those of the Land Army. Each region (formerly legion), instruction centre, college or Republican Guard Regiment has its flag or standard, altogether 56 flags and 2 standards. The reverse of colours of the Departmental Gendarmerie units and Gendarmerie instruction centres have the same motto as the Land Army units (Honneur et Patrie) but the colours of the Mobile Gendarmerie have their own particular motto: Valeur et Discipline (Valour and Discipline). Most subordinate or smaller units use 50 cm large x 40 cm high pennants.

The National Gendarmerie also has a common flag, under the guard of the Director-general, on which five battle honours are registered:
*Hondschoote 1793;
*Villodrigo 1812;
*Taguin 1843;
*Sébastopol 1855;
*Indochine 1945-1954.

French influence

Nations of the former French Empire

Many of today's armed forces of independent countries that once were part of the French Empire share customs and traditions closely similar if not identical to those of the French military regarding organisation of military arms, army and navy rank structures and uniform styles. Indeed, in countries where the decolonisation process had been conducted through peaceful political negotiations (chiefly French West Africa and French Equatorial Africa), French colonial units were sometimes directly inherited by the former colonies where they had been raised to form the basis of the new national armies. This legacy not only included colour etiquette (the way colours are respected, taken care of and paraded), but also design, adapted to new national flag designs.

On the contrary, in countries where independence came as the aftermath of bloody wars of liberation, such as in Vietnam and Algeria, due to the Cold War context, French military culture was strongly rejected often only to be replaced by communist Soviet or Chinese style military culture (colours, ranks, uniforms, parade pace, etc.).

Other Nations

As one of the World's great powers together with Great Britain, France did not only exercise its influence by conquest but also by the prestige of its military. At the height of European colonial expansion in the 19th century, France's army and Britain's navy were each regarded as the most powerful forces ever on land and at sea. This lead many a military to copy both powers' military and naval cultures. As most navies in the World adopted the British naval looks (double-breasted navy blue jacket and peaked cap for officer, blue jean collar for ratings, etc.), numerous land armies adopted French-inspired uniforms during the 1860s and 1870s (both Union and Confederate armies during the American Civil War, the Chilean Army of the War of the Pacific, the Russian Imperial Army, etc.) and even sometimes imported types of French units (e.g. Zouave regiments). France's influence on military fashion dimmed for the time being after the most unexpected French defeat ending the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871 and many armies then changed to adopt Prussian military style (as a perfect example of this trend, Chilean soldiers traded their kepis for pickelhauben).

As far as regimental colours are concerned, French influence was mainly to be seen in armies of smaller European powers with strong cultural, economical or political ties to France, notably in such countries whose national flag itself was patterned after the French national flag, such as Belgium or Romania.

File:Djibouti Army stand at attention.jpg|Djiboutian colours: French influence through legacy.
File:2-4e Régiment de chasseurs à cheval belges.jpg|Belgian colours: French influence through common culture.
File:Romanian soldiers.jpg|Romanian colours: French influence through prestige.

Germany

Units of the Bundeswehr have only a single Colour. The Truppenfahne is a square version of the national flag with the Bundesadler (national shield) overall in the centre. The flag is surrounded by a black, red, and gold lacework border and edged on three sides by gold fringe. The finial is a gilt bronze openwork spearhead surrounding a black and silver Iron Cross. Below the finial, a streamer is attached with the unit badge at the top and its designation embroidered in gold at the end. These streamers are red for army (Heer) units, blue for the navy (Marine), and white for the air force (Luftwaffe). The streamer is the same length as the hoist of the flag. 

Greece

Traditionally, Army infantry and tank/cavalry regiments have a single colour or war flag (). This is blue, with a white cross and features St George and the Dragon in the centre.  The flag has no distinguishing features for individual regiments, although battle honours are sometimes added to the flag; the regiment's identity is inscribed on the flagstaff. The pattern has been in use since the 1830s, with no changes between the periods of monarchy or republic. The Hellenic Army Academy has also been awarded a war flag, its cadets having participated in the Battle of Crete in 1941. Similar flags exist also for the Air Force, featuring the archangel Michael. Recently war flags were assigned to the Army NCO Academy and the Police Academy.

Unlike Army, Police and Air Force, the Hellenic Navy uses the Flag of Greece as both the naval ensign and national colour.

Holy See

The flag of the Swiss Guard, the army of the Vatican City, consists of four quarters. The Coat of Arms of the current pope is in the first quarter, while the arms of Pope Julius II are in the fourth quarter. In the second and third quarters are horizontal stripes of red, yellow and blue, the colours of the unit's uniforms.

The flag also has the coat of arms of the commander within a wreath, on a background of the colour of his canton. The design of the flag changes with the election of a new pope and the appointment of a new commander.

Italy

The Colour (bandiera di guerra) for army units (other than cavalry) is a square version of the national tricolour in silk, 99 cm × 99 cm. It is mounted on a pike 2.2 m long, made of wood covered with green velvet and decorated with ornate brass nails arranged in a spiral. The pike is topped by a 35 cm high finial consisting of an ornate gilt brass spearhead chased with a five pointed star and the monogram RI (for Repubblica Italiana), which is in turn mounted atop a gilt brass ball on which is the name and date of establishment of the unit. The pike is adorned with two silver cords 67 cm long, each with a 10 cm long silver tassel and a blue silk cravat 8 cm × 66 cm with an 8 cm silver fringe at each end, to which the unit's decorations are pinned, the ribbons of the decorations overlapping so that the medals hang down the cravat.

Netherlands

In the Dutch armed forces, the Colour is orange (except for the colour of the midshipsmans' corps, which is red). On the obverse is the royal cypher of the monarch that gave the regiment its (original) colour, with the unit's name underneath, both in gold; around the four edges is a laurel branch. On the reverse is the arms of the Kingdom of the Netherlands without the mantle. The shield is blue and is strewn with small upright rectangles; the main device is a crowned rampant lion, holding a sword in its upper paw. The lion and rectangles are gold, whilst the blade of the sword is silver. Supporting the shield on either side is a gold rampant lion, facing outwards towards the viewer. There is a gold crown above the shield; whilst below it is a blue scroll with the motto Je Maintiendrai in gold. The shield and lions are surrounded by a wreath of green palm and oak leaves, and there is another wavy gold laurel wreath around the edge. Battle honours are added in the corners of the obverse; if additional honours are awarded, they are placed on streamers that are attached to the pike until the presentation of a new Colour. The Military Order of William or other decorations are attached to the pike when awarded. The pike has a finial of a lion on a block holding a sword and a bunch of seven arrows. Traditionally a colour is 87 cm x 87 cm (with a pike of 2.50 m in length), but armoured infantry regiments carry colours that measure 60 cm x 60 cm (with a pike of 2.20 m in length). Guards regiments carry the same colour, with some differing details. 

Norway

Norwegian infantry units have a stand of colours – the first (King's Colour) is the national flag, while the second (Regimental Colour) is unique to each unit:
*Infantry: Norwegian line infantry units carry regimental colours, either of a solid colour or divided vertically into two or three stripes, with the Norwegian lion in the centre, the name of the unit, and battle honours embroidered on the field. The colours vary by regiment and derive either from historic associations with predecessor regiments or from the colours of the regiment's oldest known uniform.
*Guards: The Royal Norwegian Guards regiment has a regimental colour that is all white, again with the lion in the centre, and with the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch in each corner.

Poland

The standard military colours of the Polish Armed Forces are in red and white, with the design tracing back to the Polish Second Republic, a standardized form based on earlier colours. The motto of the Armed Forces, "God, Honor and Fatherland" are at the reverse while the Polish military eagle (which differs per service) is at the centre of the obverse. The unit's name is inscribed on the obverse.

Portugal

All regiments of the Portuguese Army have a National Colour – Estandarte Nacional – which is based on the National Flag of Portugal. Regiments and battalions also have regimental heraldic colours based on the unit's coat of arms.

National Colours are also carried by major units of the Portuguese Navy, Portuguese Air Force and Portuguese National Republican Guard (GNR).

The official standard for the National Colours was established in 1911 and states that they should measure 120 cm in the hoist by 130 cm in the fly, the National Arms being surrounded by two olive branches tied by a scroll with the motto "Esta é a Ditosa Pátria Minha Amada" (This is my loved blessed Motherland). The colours used by the land units of the Navy, the Air Force and the GNR follow closely this standard. However, the colours used by the Army and by the ships crews of the Navy are smaller (90 cm by 90 cm), with these last ones having the additions of cross of the Order of Christ in the canton.

Romania

According to the Romanian General Staff, "The military colors (drapel de luptă) are the symbol of military honor, bravery and glory. They evoke the past struggle of the Romanian people for national liberty and the traditions of unity, reminding each soldier of his sacred duty to serve the Fatherland with trust, and to defend at all costs the unity, sovereignty and independence of Romania".

The military colours are granted to military units by presidential decree, on the advice of the Minister of National Defence, the Minister of Internal Affairs or the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. According to the Ministry of National Defence, the complete description of this military insignia is as follows:

The military colours of Romania are made of double silk cloth and have dimensions of 100 × 66 cm (2:3 ratio). The canvas has the colours of the Romanian flag and its obverse is identical with the reverse. The national coat of arms, measuring 29 × 21.5 cm, is applied in the middle of the yellow stripe, 18 cm above its base. In each corner, 5 cm from the edge of the canvas, is sewed a wreath of oak leaves, which surrounds the weapon signs, all of golden thread:
* two crossed swords for land forces
* a helicopter blade juxtaposed over a pair of wings in downward flight, a radar and a crossed rocket and telescope for aerial forces
* an anchor for naval forces.
* the letter J in a rhombus over two crossed swords for gendarmerie units
* the emblem of the Romanian Intelligence Service for its units

The three sides of the flag not attached to the pole are decorated with fringes of golden thread (5–7 cm long) and tassels of the same material (10–12 cm long) hang from the corners of the fly. The flag is attached to the pole by an antioxidant metal rod 70 cm long.

The pole, of brown wood, is 240 cm high and 3.5 cm in diameter. A brass cylinder is at the base, 4 cm long and closed on the bottom. The rod is attached to the pole by a brass ring, gilt on its lower part, and a 6 cm high cylindrical protective tube of the same material and gilt on its upper part. The ring (3.2 cm high) is inscribed with the name of the unit. Another brass cylinder is placed on the tip of the pole, 6 cm long and of brass. The eagle, of gilt copper, sheet, 15 cm high and 11.5 cm wide, is placed over this. Looking rightward, the eagle's wings are pointed downward and it holds the thunderbolts of Jupiter in its talons. It is placed on a parallelepipedic support of the same metal (10 × 3.5 × 2 cm), which has a 3.4 cm high ornament on its lower part. The support is screwed onto the brass cylinder and has inscribed into the front the motto "Onoare şi Patrie" ("Honor and Fatherland"). The name of the respective unit is engraved into the reverse.

Other features of the military colours are a tie for attaching decorations, six sashes for the troops in the flag's guard and a protective cover of impermeable fabric.

The military colours of navy vessels are identical to their ensign. The ensign is in turn identical to the national flag, being made of ordinary canvas in various dimensions, according to the ship's rank, size and place of hoisting.

Russia and Soviet Union 

Until Peter the Great assumed the office and throne of Tsar in 1685, various flag designs were used by land and naval units of Imperial Russia.

In the 18th century the Imperial Russian Army started to have colours of its own. Starting from the 1730s, Cross style flags in the colours of the various military units appeared in various units: large flags for the infantry and the other arms and small flags for the cavalry and horse artillery. These flags mirrored the Commonwealth military colours of today, with one colour set as the state colour and the rest as the regimental and battalion or squadron colours. 1797 regulations introduced new designs for the infantry—for regular units, the state color being white with the state emblem and the company, battalion and/or regimental colors using the assigned colors of their units, for the Imperial Guard a different emblem was used, and the design was identical. New colors were issued in 1800, but only Guards units used them.

Regulations set in 1813 unified infantry unit colors into one. Guards units used the orange and black of the Order of Saint George with the facing colors and unit emblem at the center.

All these years, the cavalry colors were different.

Naval flags, until 1861-62 (with a brief break in the late 1790s) whilst using the St. Andrew's cross in blue on white, mirrored the British Royal Navy.

From 1942 onwards, each regiment in the armed forces of the Soviet Union (especially the Army and Air Force) had its own colour, which was produced to a standard design:
*Obverse: red field, a red star yellow bordered and the full name and number of a military unit/school below. Each unit has its own inscription.
*Reverse: red field, a gold hammer and sickle and the motto "For our Soviet Motherland!" (За нашу советскую родину!, Za nashu sovyetskuyu rodinu)
The colour was gold fringed.

The former designs had a red star on the reverse with the name of the Central Executive Committee and later, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR surrounding it, and the obverse had the unit inscription below the coat of arms of the Soviet Union, which had the Soviet Union state motto (Workers of the world, unite!) and the red star with the hammer and sickle inside (both were on the flag of the Soviet Union) above it (the latter was near the hoist). Naval flags until 1935 sported different designs. (Distinguished units would be given a second color, the Revolutionary Red Banner of Honor, by the all-Union CEC (before 1924 by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee).)

The Soviet Navy colours had the 1935 official design with them (it was later revised in 1950), with additions for units honoured with the Order of the Red Banner, but in 1964 the Supreme Commander's and Defence Minister's own naval colour and the colours of the Navy Commander-in-Chief  (formerly the Minister for the Navy) and Chief of Naval Operations were issued with different designs used, with the addition of the Armed Forces General Staff's own naval colour. The first colour was red with the USSR state arms, the next two had the arms with blue stripes indicating office rank, and the final two were adaptations of the naval ensign (with a different ensign with the rank) plus the stripes. The 1935 design (that of a white field with a blue lower stripe and the red star plus the hammer and sickle above the blue stripe) replaced a much earlier, post-revolutionary naval colours design adopted in 1925. In 1944 a different flag was issued to the Navy for its land based units – the same design used by the Army with a different obverse having the unit name below the naval ensign.

Early flags even had the RKKA and RKKF insignia (the Army General Staff, represented by crossed blue rifles and later became the General Staff's naval colour until 1964, the Naval General Staff and the Army Naval Operations Staff, later the flag of the People's Comissariat for the Navy on its 1938 creation and was issued with two new colours for the Navy Commissar and Deputy Comissar) beside the hammer and sickle, even the flags of the People's Commissar for National Defence and that of the Navy General Staff and the various flags of naval officers which had the ensign on a canton surrounded by a red field, derived from the Navy Commissar's. The cruiser Aurora since 1968 has had a different version of the ensign, flanked by the Order of the Red Banner and of the Order of the October Revolution on the top sides of the star, as the Aurora was the only naval recipient of the latter order in 1967 while in 1918, the Order of the Red Banner was conferred to the ship.

Regimental colours of the Guards units

The colours of those regiments that were classed as "Guards" was slightly different as per 1942 regulations. These had the portrait of Lenin, the Za nashu motto and the abbreviation "USSR" (СССР, SSSR) on the obverse and the small star with hammer and sickle in its centre, unit's name and a motto on the reverse of the colour. The mottoes were different for every regiment (for example, those regiments made Guards in the Great Patriotic War bore the motto "Death to the German invaders", Смерть Немецким захватчикам, Smyert' Nyemyetskim zahvatchikam). In some Guards Armies and Corps, different designs on the obverse and reverse were used. Even the Lenin portrait was different in these colours. All of them were gold fringed.

The Navy's Guards units still had the 1935 design, with the addition of the Guards ribbon below, except for units which were honoured with the Order of the Red Banner and became Guard units later.
The difference is in the red five-pointed star, in which Red Banner Guard unit flags had applied the Guards ribbon below aside from the Order of the Red Banner on the star for units that had the order bestowed on their colours earlier. Units which used the 1944 regimental colour design but adapted for the navy's guards units  included air and marine units which still had the obverse of Army and Air Force guards units standards.

Colours of the present-day Russian Armed Forces

Since the birth of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the aftermath of the dissolution of the USSR, the old Soviet unit colours were retained. Starting in 1998, the traditional Imperial Russian Armed Forces flag designs were reinstated; however, the new designs began to appear in the early years of the 21st century in the Army and Air Force. But the Russian Navy's old naval colour (St. Andrew's cross in blue on a white field) began to be used again in 1992. It has several variations, and the old jack colour of the Soviet Navy (pre-1935) soon became its jack colour, with the red star with the hammer and sickle removed. The unit colours (especially those of the Navy honour guards) have the same design with the unit insignia at the centre of it while Guards units and bemerited and decorated units apply a different version of the colour.

The new Army and Air Force unit colours are square shaped, have St. Andrew's cross in the colors of the Ribbon of Saint George, and with the unit insignia in the middle of the observe and the national arms at the reverse, with the service branch emblem on the corners. These colours are the basis for similar ones used today in the various Russian uniformed services.

Spain

*Standard Colours: Units of the Spanish Armed Forces have a single colour based on the national flag. This has the coat of arms in the centre of the flag, surrounded by the regiment's name in black lettering. Red and yellow tassles are attached to the finial which have the battle honours embroidered on them. Formerly a white regimental colour with the unit insignia on the middle of a red Cross of Burgundy or at the sides was used by these units until the adoption of the present colours design in 1843.
*Coronelas: Up until the early years of the 20th century, some Spanish regiments had a coronela, or King's Colour in addition to their Regimental Colour based on the national flag. Although officially the only colour is the standard one, some older regiments continue to carry a copy of their old coronela which are used on some occasions to maintain regimental traditions. However, the coronelas no longer have any official standing and are not used on official occasions. The design of such colours are white with the royal arms at the centre and the unit insignia and honours at the sides.
*Second Order Colours-Regimental/Wing Guidons and Banners:In the Spanish Armed Forces, Guidons and Banners are second order colours, but are more smaller (Guidons are medium square shaped while Banners are small square shaped). Guidons are used by battalions, squadrons and groups (even vessels) in the Armed Forces while the banners are used by companies, troops, flights and batteries. All have different and unique designs with some of these having the old Burgundy cross on them. These have also the unit insignia at the centre. Like the Regimental Colour the finials of these colours have the attached unit battle honours and decorations.

Turkey 

The Flag of Turkey is used by the Turkish Armed Forces as a National Colour, and thus has distinguishing featurers:

* the golden TC (Turkish monogram for Republic of Turkey) on the top left corner, surrounded by golden rays
* the regimental name, abbreviated, below the crescent and star in white

Ukraine 

Maroon and gold are the colors used in the military colors used in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with origins in the Imperial Russian Army's Cossacks and Ukrainian units. In the observe the Coat of arms of Ukraine is at the center of an Orthodox Cross - both symbols form the emblem of the Armed Forces - with a St. Andrew's Cross under it with the same emblem in the sides. The unit's name is in the reverse. The same design is used in the National Guard of Ukraine but in blue, and the secondary cross is absent.

Yugoslavia and post-Yugoslav nations

The first Yugoslav military colours came about when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established in 1918. These were the square versions of the Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia with the state coat of arms and the motto of the Yugoslav Royal Army. The unit names were attached to a ribbon at the pole. The colours were inspired by the military colours of Serbia and of the Croat, Slovene and Bosnian military units of resistance against Austria-Hungary during the First World War.

With the birth of the communist Partisans in 1941 in time for the Second World War, their flags showed the same Pan-Slavic colours on them (arranged according to nationality) but this time a red star was added in the middle. The naval units had a different ensign used and these flags became the basis for the military colours of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia at the time of its 1943 proclamation.

By the time, these flags had the unit name on the pole pennants and were gold fringed. The Partisan General Staff had their own version of it.

Postwar colours (from 1947, when the nation became a Federal People's Republic) used various flag design with the Yugoslav People's Army motto in Serbo-Croatian (For the freedom and independence of the socialist fatherland) both in Cyrillic and Latin and differed per unit or service arm of the YPA, but was longer and were gold fringed. Just as before, the unit name stayed on the attached ribbon. Both the Flag of Yugoslavia and the flag of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia were used as National Colours in parades. Unique colours were issued to the Navy, to YPA reserve units and the Territorial Defense Forces of the republics.

Today all the nations comprising the former Yugoslavia have separate colour traditions per armed forces, but keep their unique appearance.

Guidons and standards

Commonwealth of Nations

The standard is the colours-equivalent for the heavy cavalry (e.g., horse guards and dragoon guards). At 27 in × 30 in, on an 8 ft 6 in long pole, it is much smaller than infantry colours, so that it can be carried by a soldier on horseback.

The guidon is the equivalent for the light cavalry (e.g., dragoons, light dragoons, hussars and lancers). It is swallow-tailed, 27 in × 41 in, with an 8 ft 6 in long pole.

The word guidon is a corruption of the French guyde homme – 'the guide man'.   Originally each troop had its own, but this was quickly reduced to a single, regimental one. With the increased dispersion of troops required in the light cavalry role, their operational function had ceased by the 1830s and they were discontinued. The regiment's kettledrums, with the battle honours woven onto the drum banners (with the exception of 3rd The King's Own Hussars and its successors, where they are uncovered, with the battle honours engraved onto the kettledrums themselves) became the focal point of the regiment's loyalty. In 1952 King George VI reintroduced the guidons of the light cavalry for ceremonial purposes.

Both the standard and the guidon are usually of crimson trimmed in gold and with the regiment's insignia in the centre. The regiment's battle honours are emblazoned on both the obverse and reverse, up to a maximum of 22 on each side.

Denmark

Cavalry (armour) units carry an estandart (standard), of similar design to the infantry fane, but smaller and square, with the cross centred on the field. The royal cypher is in the upper hoist and the initials of the regiment in the lower hoist.

France

In the French Army, mounted units carry étendards (standards). Mounted units include Armoured corps and Cavalry, Artillery, Transportation, Army Aviation, Supplies. The étendard is a 64 × 64 cm square flag similar to the drapeaux carried by the units of foot.

Italy

In the Italian Army, cavalry units carry a stendardo (standard) of the same pattern as the bandiera di guerra, but which measures 60 cm × 60 cm.

The Netherlands

The four Hussar regiments of the Royal Netherlands Army carry a standaard (standard), of similar design to the infantry colour, but smaller (50 cm x 50 cm).

Portugal

In the Portuguese Armed Forces parlance, a guidon () is a small square flag, normally used to identify a battalion size unit. The present guidon design - similar in all branches of the Armed Forces - consists in the quadrature of the coat of arms of the unit or of its mother unit, framed by a bordure in various geometric shapes. The colors of the bordure can be used to identify a sub-unit inside its mother unit.

Besides guidons, the Portuguese military units also use two other types of heraldic flags, the standard (estandarte) and the pennant (flâmula). The standard is also a square flag used normally to identify regiment size units, while the pennant is a swallow-tailed or triangular flag used normally to identify company size units.

These types of heraldic flags are also used by some of the Portuguese security forces.

United States

In the United States armed forces, guidons are much more prevalent, with units below battalion size being authorized to use them. In the US Army, these are swallow tailed flags that are 20 in × 27 in, and are in the colour of the branch of the service the unit is from, with the branch's insignia the most prominent device. Also on the guidon is included the unit's identifying letter, and the number(s) of its parent unit. War service and campaign streamers are not attached to these guidons, but unit citation streamers can be.

Guns

In regiments of the (British) Royal Artillery, and artillery regiments of other Commonwealth countries, the guns are afforded the status of colours.   This is due to the difficulty of artillery regiments being able to carry flags onto the battlefield, and the fact that the guns themselves were the rallying points for the soldiers manning them. As a consequence, whenever artillery regiments parade, the etiquette that would normally be applied to the colours is applied to the guns. During the Battle of Balaclava gunners abandoned their guns, in effect abandoning their colours, causing disgrace.

Because the guns have the status of colours, gunners of commonwealth countries will attempt to prevent their guns falling intact into enemy hands both for practical reasons (so that the guns can not be turned and used against their own side) and for the honour of the regiment.  For example, the last action of gunners of the Royal Artillery during the fall of Singapore was to destroy their guns.  

The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest regiment in the British Army, and not part of the Royal Artillery, is the only artillery regiment to have both colours and guns, which are treated with equal respect.

In Singapore, however since its independence the Singapore Army's artillery arm (the Singapore Artillery) uses Colours instead of Guns (this is also the case for the Malaysian Army, Pakistan Army, Royal Cambodian Army and the Royal Thai Army, whose artillery units use Colours and not Guns on parade). But in the Venezuelan Army, Guns and Colours are both used for the field artillery, but the colours are attached to the lead vehicle on parades.

Etiquette

*The Regimental Colour (or Standard or Guidon) is always paraded whenever the regiment is on a formal parade. However, the Queen's Colour is only paraded on certain occasions.
*Compliments (for example saluting and presenting arms) are always paid to the (uncased) Colours.
*When the Colours are being paraded, they are carried either by a subaltern or warrant officer, dependent on the regiment. On parade, the Colours always have an armed escort, the Colour Party, who would normally be non-commissioned officers. In the infantry this role usually falls to Colour Sergeants.
*When the Colours are not being paraded, most regiments house them in their Officers' Mess. They are cased and secured every night.
*When a regiment is presented with new Colours, the old Colours, which will now never again be paraded, are laid up (i.e.: put on permanent display) in a place sacred to the Regiment (for example the  Regimental Chapel).

Ceremonies of colours

Royal Navy

The British Royal Navy and other navies of the Commonwealth of Nations call the flag-raising ceremony that happens every morning when a ship is in harbour colours. In British home waters, colours is conducted at 0800 (eight bells in the morning watch) from 15 February to 31 October inclusive, and at 0900 (two bells in the forenoon watch) during the winter.

When sunset is at or before 2100, flags are lowered at sunset at the ceremony of sunset. When sunset is after 2100, the evening flag lowering ceremony is called evening colours and carried out at 2100.

United States Navy

The United States Navy performs the same ceremonies, called "Morning Colors" and "Evening Colors", at 0800 and sunset each day. When Colors is played aboard Navy and Marine Corps bases, those outdoors must stop to render proper courtesies by saluting if in uniform or, if out of uniform, by standing at attention, until "Carry On" is sounded. Marines and sailors driving on base during this time are expected to stop their vehicles and stand at attention until the ceremony is over.

Yacht Clubs

Many traditional Yacht Clubs worldwide also conduct morning and evening colour ceremonies. At 0800 each morning and at sunset during the club's active sailing season the ceremony is performed by the launchmen or harbourmaster.
* First, a bell is sounded as an alert for all members and guests present to stand at attention.
* A cannon is then shot and the national ensign hoisted (or lowered if sunset).
* At the conclusion of the ceremony the most senior officer present says: "As you were" and members and guests may carry on. A national flag is a flag that symbolises a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country.

Both public and private buildings such as schools and courthouses may fly the national flag. In some countries, the national flags are only flown from non-military buildings on certain flag days.

History

Historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the maritime flag, introduced during the age of sail, in the early 17th century. The origins of the Union Jack flag date back to 1603, when James VI of Scotland inherited the English and Irish thrones (as James I), thereby uniting the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland in a personal union (which remained separate states). On 12 April 1606, a new flag to represent this regal union between England and Scotland was specified in a royal decree, according to which the flag of England (a red cross on a white background, known as St George's Cross), and the flag of Scotland (a white saltire on a blue background, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross), would be joined together, forming the flag of Great Britain and first Union Flag.

With the emergence of nationalist sentiment from the late 18th century the desire was felt to display national flags also in civilian contexts,  notably the US flag, in origin adopted as a naval ensign in 1777, which after the American Revolution began to be displayed as a generic symbol of the United States, and the French Tricolore which became a symbol of the Republic in the 1790s.

Most countries of Europe adopted a national flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries, often based on older (medieval) war flags. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, based on a 14th-century design.  The flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813 (either an orange-white-blue or a red-white-blue tricolour; the final decision in favour of red was made in 1937).

The Ottoman flag (now the flag of Turkey) was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, that of Qing China  in 1890. 
Also in the 19th century, most countries of South America introduced a flag as they became independent (Peru in 1820, Bolivia in 1851, Colombia in 1860, Brazil in 1822, etc.)

Process of adoption

The national flag is often, but not always, mentioned or described in a country's constitution, but its detailed description may be delegated to a flag law passed by the legislative, or even   secondary legislation or in monarchies a decree.

Thus, the national flag is mentioned briefly in the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany of 1949 "the federal flag is black-red-gold" (art. 22.2 Die Bundesflagge ist schwarz-rot-gold), but its proportions were regulated in a document passed by the government in the following year. The Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777.

Minor design changes of national flags are often passed on a legislative or executive level, while substantial changes have constitutional character. The design of the flag of Serbia omitting the communist star of the flag of Yugoslavia was a decision made in the 1992 Serbian constitutional referendum, but the adoption of a coat of arms within the flag was based on a government "recommendation" in 2003, adopted legislatively in 2009 and again subject ot a minor design change in 2010. The Flag of the United States underwent numerous changes because the number of stars represents the number of states, proactively defined in a Flag Act of 1818 to the effect that "on the admission of every new state into the Union, one star be added to the union of the flag"; it was changed for the last time in 1960 with the accession of Hawaii.

A change in national flag is often due to a change of regime, especially following a civil war or revolution. In such cases, the military origins of the national flag and its connection to political ideology (form of government, monarchy vs. republic vs. theocracy, etc.) remains visible. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbols.

The flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation (1866).  The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour. Nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup d'état led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration.

Usage

There are three distinct types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several (and sometimes all) of these types of flag.

On land

On land, there is a distinction between civil flags (FIAV symbol ), state flags (), and war or military flags (). State flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags (also called military flags) are used by military organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps, or Air Forces.

In practice, many countries (such as the United States and the United Kingdom) have identical flags for these three purposes; national flag is sometimes used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag (). In a number of countries, however, and notably those in Latin America, there is a distinct difference between civil and state flags. In most cases, the civil flag is a simplified version of the state flag, with the difference often being the presence of a coat of arms on the state flag that is absent from the civil flag.

Very few countries use a war flag that differs from the state flag. The People's Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Japan are notable examples of this. Swallow-tailed flags are used as war flags and naval ensigns in Nordic countries and charged versions as presidential or royal standards. The Philippines does not have a distinctive war flag in this usual sense, but the flag of the Philippines is legally unique in that it is flown with the red stripe on top when the country is in a state of war, rather than the conventional blue.

At sea

The flag that indicates nationality on a ship is called an ensign. As with the national flags, there are three varieties: the civil ensign (), flown by private vessels; state ensigns (also called government ensigns; ), flown by government ships; and war ensigns (also called naval ensigns; ), flown by naval vessels. The ensign is flown from an ensign-staff at the stern of the ship, or from a gaff when underway. Both these positions are superior to any other on the ship, even though the masthead is higher. In the absence of a gaff the ensign may be flown from the yardarm. (See Maritime flags.) National flags may also be flown by aircraft and the land vehicles of important officials. In the case of aircraft, those flags are usually painted on, and those are usually to be painted on in the position as if they were blowing in the wind.

In some countries, such as the United States and Canada (except for the Royal Canadian Navy's Ensign), the national ensign is identical to the national flag, while in others, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, there are specific ensigns for maritime use. Most countries do not have a separate state ensign, although the United Kingdom is a rare exception, in having a red ensign for civil use, a white ensign as its naval ensign, and a blue ensign for government non-military vessels.

Protocol

There is a great deal of protocol involved in the proper display of national flags.  A general rule is that the national flag should be flown in the position of honour, and not in an inferior position to any other flag (although some countries make an exception for royal standards). The following rules are typical of the conventions when flags are flown on land:
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags, it must be hoisted first and lowered last.
*When a national flag is displayed together with the national flags of other countries, all the flags should be of approximately equal size and must be flown at an equal height, although the national flag of the host country should be flown in the position of honour (in the centre of an odd number of flagpoles or at the far right — left from an observer's point of view — of an even number of flagpoles).
*When a national flag is displayed together with flags other than national flags, it should be flown on a separate flagpole, either higher or in the position of honour.
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flags on the same flagpole, it must be at the top, though separate flagpoles are preferable.
*When a national flag is displayed together with any other flag on crossed flagpoles, the national flag must be on the observer's left and its flagpole must be in front of the flagpole of the other flag.
*When a national flag is displayed together with another flag or flags in procession, the national flag must be on the marching right. If there is a row of flags, it should be in the position of honour.
*When a national flag, with some exceptions, is flown upside down it indicates distress.  This however is merely tradition.  It is not a recognised distress signal according to the International regulations for preventing collisions at sea.  Further, a nation's flag is commonly flown inverted as a sign of protest or contempt against the country concerned. As of now, only the flag of the Philippines recognises the distress symbolism of the reverse flag.

Hanging a flag vertically

Most flags are hung vertically by rotating the flag pole. However, some countries have specific protocols for this purpose or even have special flags for vertical hanging; usually rotating some elements of the flag — such as the coat of arms — so that they are seen in an upright position. 

Examples of countries that have special protocol for vertical hanging are: Canada, Czech Republic, Greece, Israel, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United States (reverse always showing); and the United Kingdom (obverse always showing).

Examples of countries that have special designs for vertical hanging are: Austria, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Montenegro, Poland, and Slovakia (coat of arms must be rotated to normal position); Cambodia (coat of arms must be rotated and blue strips are narrowed); Dominica (coat of arms must be rotated and reverse always showing); Liechtenstein (crown must be rotated).
File:Flag of Slovakia vertical.svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Slovakia.
File:Vertical flag of Greece (correct).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Greece.
File:Vertical United States Flag.svg|Vertical variation of the flag of the United States.
File:Flag of Germany (Hanging state flag).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Germany.
File:Flag of Montenegro (vertical).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of Montenegro.
File:Flag of the Philippines (vertical display).svg|Vertical variation of the flag of the Philippines.

Design

The art and practice of designing flags is known as vexillography. The design of national flags has seen a number of customs become apparent.

All national flags are rectangular, except for the flag of Nepal. The ratios of height to width vary among national flags, but none is taller than it is wide, again except for the flag of Nepal. The flags of Switzerland and the Vatican City are the only national flags which are exact squares.

The obverse and reverse of all national flags are either identical or mirrored, except for the flag of Paraguay and the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. See Flags whose reverse differs from the obverse for a list of exceptions including non-national flags.

As of 2011, all national flags consist of at least two different colours. In many cases, the different colours are presented in either horizontal or vertical bands. It is particularly common for colours to be presented in bands of three.

It is common for many flags to feature national symbols, such as coats of arms. National patterns are present in some flags. Variations in design within a national flag can be common in the flag's upper left quarter, or canton.

Colours

*
 The most popular colours in national flags are red, white, green, dark blue, yellow, light blue, and black. The [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Distribution_colours_in_national_flags.pdf graph] on the right shows the proportion of the surface colour across all national flags. The occurrence of each colour in all the flags is listed in detail in the table below. The table shows that the colours light brown, dark brown and grey only occur in very small quantities. In fact, they only occur in the symbols of flags, such as in the Spanish flag.

Similarities

Although the national flag is meant to be a unique symbol for a country, many pairs of countries have highly similar flags. Examples include the flags of Monaco and Indonesia, which differ only slightly in proportion; the flags of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which differ in proportion as well as in the tint of blue used; and the flags of Romania and Chad, which differ only in the tint of blue.

The flags of Ireland and Côte d'Ivoire and the flags of Mali and Guinea are (aside from shade or ratio differences) vertically mirrored versions from each other. This means that the reverse of one flag matches the obverse of the other. Other than horizontal mirrored flags (like Poland and Indonesia) the direction in which these flags fly are crucial to identify them.

There are three colour combinations that are used on several flags in certain regions. Blue, white, and red is a common combination in Slavic countries such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia as well as among Western nations including Australia, France, Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States of America. Many African nations use the Pan-African colours of red, yellow, and green, including Ghana, Cameroon, Mali and Senegal. Flags containing red, white, and black (a subset of the Pan-Arab colours) can be found particularly among the Arab nations such as Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

While some similarities are coincidental, others are rooted in shared histories.  For example, the flags of Colombia, of Ecuador, and of Venezuela all use variants of the flag of Gran Colombia, the country they composed upon their independence from Spain, created by the Venezuelan independence hero Francisco de Miranda; and the flags of Kuwait, of Jordan, and of Palestine are all highly similar variants of the flag of the Arab revolt of 1916–1918. The flags of Romania and Moldova are virtually the same, because of the common history and heritage. Moldova adopted the Romanian flag during the declaration of independence from the USSR in 1991 (and was used in various demonstrations and revolts by the population) and later the Moldovan coat of arms (which is part of the Romanian coat of arms) was placed in the centre of the flag. The Nordic countries all use the Nordic Cross design (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, in addition to the autonomous regions of the Faroe Islands and Åland), a horizontal cross shifted to the left on a single-coloured background. The United States and United Kingdom both have red, white, and blue. This similarity is due to the fact that the first 13 states of the U.S. were former colonies of the United Kingdom. Also, Australia and New Zealand share a very similar flag, which stems from their joint British heritage. Both of these flags feature the Union Jack in one corner, both have royal blue background, and both have the Southern Cross as a prominent feature. The only differences between these flags is that the Australian flag has the Commonwealth Star below the canton, and that on the New Zealand flag, just four stars in the Southern Cross are presented, and they are five-pointed red stars with white borders. On the other hand, all five stars of the Southern Cross are presented on the Australian flag, and they are white with seven points, except for the additional smaller fifth star in the Southern Cross which has only five points on this flag.  Some similarities to the United States flag with the red and white stripes are noted as well such as the flag of Malaysia and the flag of Liberia, the latter of which was an American resettlement colony.

Many other similarities may be found among current national flags, particularly if inversions of colour schemes are considered, e.g., compare the flag of Senegal to that of Cameroon and Indonesia to Poland. Also the Flag of Italy and the Flag of Hungary uses the same colours, in the same order, only the direction differs (the Italian flag is vertical and the Hungarian flag is horizontal) The Flag of Denmark ( ) is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. 

A banner with a white-on-red cross is attested as having been used by the kings of Denmark since the 14th century."Dannebrog" by Hans Christian Bjerg, p.12, ISBN 87-7739-906-4.
An origin legend with considerable impact on Danish national historiography  connects the introduction of the flag to the  Battle of Lyndanisse of 1219.  
The elongated Nordic cross reflects the use as maritime flag in the 18th century. 
The flag became popular as national flag in the early 19th century. Its private use was outlawed in 1834, and again permitted in a regulation of 1854. 
Description

A red field charged with a white cross extending to the edges; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. 
In 1892, a series of regulations defined the  correct lengths of the two last fields in the flag as .
In May 1893 a new regulation to all chiefs of police, stated that the police should not intervene, if the two last fields in the flag were longer than  as long as these did not exceed , and provided that this was the only rule violated.
This regulation is still in effect today and thus the legal proportions of the National flag is today   3:1:3 in width and anywhere between  3:1:4.5 and 3:1:5.25 in length.

No official nuance definition of "Dannebrog rød" exists. The private company Dansk Standard, regulation number 359 (2005), defines the red colour of the flag as Pantone 186c.

History

Middle Ages 

The white-on-red cross emblem originates in the age of the Crusades. In the 12th century, it was also used as war flag by the Holy Roman Empire.

In the Gelre Armorial, dated c. 1340–1370, such a banner is shown alongside the coat of arms of the king of Denmark.  (The King of Denmark). This is the earliest known undisputed colour rendering of the Dannebrog.
At about the same time, Valdemar IV of Denmark displays a cross in his coat of arms on his Danælog seal (Rettertingsseglet, dated 1356).
The image from the Armorial Gelre is nearly identical to an image found in a 15th-century coats of arms book now located in the National Archives of Sweden, (Riksarkivet)
The seal of   Eric of Pomerania (1398) as   king of the Kalmar union displays the arms of Denmark chief dexter, three lions. In this version, the lions are holding a Danebrog banner. 

File:State Banner of Denmark (14th Century).svg|Dannebrog as depicted in the Gelre Armorial
File:Royal Banner of Denmark (14th Century).svg|The Royal Banner of the Kings of Denmark based on the royal arms.
File:Erikafpommernsdanskeunionssegl.jpg| Seal of Eric of Pomerania as king of the Kalmar union, 1398. A small Dannebrog banner is depicted as held by the three Danish lions in the top-left corner.

The reason why the kings of Denmark in the 14th century begin displaying the cross banner in their coats of arms is unknown. 
Caspar Paludan-Müller (1873) suggested that it may reflect a banner sent by the pope to the Danish king in support of the Baltic countries. 
Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen (1875) identifies the banner as that of the Knights Hospitaller, which order had a presence in Denmark from the later 12th century.   

Several coins, seals and images exist, both foreign and domestic, from the 13th to 15th centuries and even earlier, showing heraldic designs similar to Dannebrog, alongside the  royal coat of arms (three blue lions on a golden shield.)

Early military banners

There is a record suggesting that the Danish army had a "chief banner" (hoffuitbanner) in the early 16th century.
Such a banner is mentioned in 1570 by  Niels Hemmingsøn in the context of a 1520 battle between Danes and Swedes near Uppsala as nearly captured by the Swedes but saved by the heroic actions of the banner-carrier Mogens Gyldenstierne and Peder Skram.
The legend attributing the miraculous origin of the flag to the campaigns of  Valdemar II of Denmark (r. 1202–1241)  were recorded by  Christiern Pedersen and Petrus Olai  in the 1520s.

Hans Svaning's History of King Hans from 1558–1559 and Johan Rantzau's History about the Last Dithmarschen War, from 1569, record the further fate of the Danish hoffuitbanner:
According to this tradition, the original flag from the Battle of Lyndanisse was used in the small campaign of 1500 when King Hans tried to conquer Dithmarschen (in western Holstein in north Germany). The flag was lost in a devastating defeat at the Battle of Hemmingstedt on 17 February 1500. 
In 1559, King Frederik II recaptured it during his own Dithmarschen campaign.
In 1576, the son of Johan Rantzau, Henrik Rantzau, also writes about the war and the fate of the flag. He notes that the flag was in a poor condition when returned. 
Contemporary records describing the battle of Hemmingstedt make no reference to the loss of the original Dannebrog, although the capitulation state that all Danish banners lost in 1500 were to be returned.
In a letter dated 22 February 1500 to Oluf Stigsøn, King John describes the battle, but does not mention the loss of an important flag. In fact, the entire letter gives the impression that the lost battle was of limited importance.
In 1598, Neocorus wrote that the banner captured in 1500  was brought to the church in Wöhrden and hung there for the next 59 years, until it was returned to the Danes as part of the peace settlement in 1559.
Henrik Rantzau in 1576 records that the flag after its return to Denmark was placed in the cathedral in  Slesvig. Slesvig historian Ulrik Petersen (1656–1735) confirms the presence of such a banner in the cathedral in the early 17th century, and records that it had crumbled away by about 1660.

Maritime flags 

The size and shape of the civil ensign ("Koffardiflaget") for merchant ships is given in the regulation of June 11, 1748, which says: A red flag with a white cross with no split end. The white cross must be  of the flag's height. The two first fields must be square in form and the two outer fields must be  lengths of those.
The proportions are thus: 3:1:3 vertically and 3:1:4.5 horizontally. This definition are the absolute proportions for the Danish national flag to this day, for both the civil version of the flag ("Stutflaget"), as well as the merchant flag ("Handelsflaget"). Both flags are identical.

A regulation passed in 1758 required Danish ships sailing in the Mediterranean to carry the 
royal cypher in the center of the flag in order to distinguish them from Maltese ships, due to the similarity of the flag of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.  

According to the regulation of June 11, 1748 the colour was simply red, which is common known today as "Dannebrog rød" ("Dannebrog red"). The only available red fabric dye in 1748 was made of madder root, which can be processed to produce a brilliant red dye (used historically for British soldiers' jackets). 
A regulation of May 4, 1927 once again states that Danish merchant ships have to fly flags according to the regulation of 1748.

The first regulation regarding the Splitflag dates from March 27, 1630, in which King Christian IV orders that Norwegian Defensionskibe (armed merchants ships) may only use the Splitflag if they are in Danish war service.
In 1685 an order, distributed to a number of cities in Slesvig, states that all ships must carry the Danish flag, and in 1690 all merchant ships are forbidden to use the Splitflag, with the exception of ships sailing in the East Indies, West Indies and along the coast of Africa.
In 1741 it is confirmed that the regulation of 1690 is still very much in effect; that merchant ships may not use the Splitflag. At the same time the Danish East India Company is allowed to fly the Splitflag when past the equator.

It is obvious that some confusion must have existed regarding the Splitflag. In 1696 the Admiralty presented the King with a proposal for a standard regulating both size and shape of the Splitflag. In the same year a royal resolution defines the proportions of the Splitflag, which in this resolution is called Kongeflaget (the King's flag), as follows: The cross must be  of the flags height. The two first fields must be square in form with the sides three times the cross width. The two outer fields are rectangular and  the length of the square fields. The tails are the length of the flag.

These numbers are the basic for the Splitflag, or Orlogsflag, today, though the numbers have been slightly altered. The term Orlogsflag dates from 1806 and denotes use in the Danish Navy.

From about 1750 to early 19th century a number of ships and companies which the government has interests in, received approval to use the Splitflag. 

In the royal resolution of October 25, 1939 for the Danish Navy, it is stated that the Orlogsflag is a Splitflag with a deep red ("dybrød") or madder red ("kraprød") colour. Like the National flag, no nuance is given, but in modern days this is given as 195U.
Furthermore, the size and shape is corrected in this resolution to be: "The cross must be  of the flag's height. The two first fields must be square in form with the height of  of the flag's height. The two outer fields are rectangular and  the length of the square fields. The tails are  the length of the rectangular fields".
Thus, if compared to the standard of 1696, both the rectangular fields and the tails have decreased in size.

National flag

Used as maritime flag since the 16th century, the Dannebrog was introduced as regimental flag in the Danish army in 1785, and
for the militia (landeværn) in 1801. From 1842, it was used as the flag of the entire army.Sven Tito Achen,  Heraldikkens femten glæder (1978), p. 108f.

In parallel to the development of  Romantic nationalism in other European countries, the military flag increasingly came to be seen as representing the nation itself during the first half of the 19th century. Poems of this period invoking the Dannebrog were written by B.S. Ingemann , N.F.S. Grundtvig, Oehlenschläger, Chr. Winther and H.C. Andersen.
By the 1830s, the military flag had become sp popular as inofficial national flag, and its use by private citizens was outlawed in a circular enacted on 7 January 1834. In the national enthusiasm sparked by the First Schleswig War during 1848–1850, the flag was still very widely displayed, and the prohibition of private use was again repealed  in a regulation of  7 July  1854, for the first time allowing Danish citizens to display the Dannebrog (but not the swallow-tailed Splitflag variant). 
Special permission to use the Splitflag was given to individual institutions and private companies, especially after 1870.
On 10 April 1915, the hoisting of any other flag on Danish soil was prohibited. 
In 1886, the war ministry introduced a regulation indicating that the flag should be flown from military buildings on thirteen specified days, including royal birthdays, the date of the signing of the Constitution of 5 June 1849 and on days of remembrance for military battles. 
In 1913, the naval ministry issued its own list of flag days. From 1939, the yearbook Hvem-Hvad-Hvor included a list of flag days.

Origin legend

A tradition recorded in the 16th century traces the origin of the flag to the campaigns of 
Valdemar II of Denmark (r. 1202–1241).
The oldest  of them is  in Christiern Pedersen's "Danske Krønike", which is a sequel to Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, written 1520–23. Here, the flag falls from the sky during a Russian campaign of Valdemar's. Pedersen also states that the very same flag was taken into exile by Eric of Pomerania in 1440.

The second source is the writing of the Franciscan monk Petrus Olai (Peder Olsen) of Roskilde (died c. 1570).  This record describes a battle in 1208 near a place called "Felin" during the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II. The Danes were all but defeated when a lamb-skin banner depicting a white cross falls from the sky and miraculously leads to a Danish victory. 
In a third account, also by Petrus Olai, in Danmarks Tolv Herligheder ("Twelve Splendours of Denmark"), in splendour number nine, the same story is re-told almost verbatim, with a paragraph inserted correcting the year to 1219.
Now, the flag is falling from the sky in the  Battle of Lyndanisse, also known as the Battle of Valdemar (Danish: Volmerslaget), near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, of June 15, 1219.

It is this third account that has been the most influential, and some historians  have treated it as the primary account taken from a (lost) source dating to the first half of the 15th century.

In Olai's account, the battle was going badly, and defeat seemed imminent. However the Danish Bishop Anders Sunesen on top of a hill overlooking the battle prayed to God with his arms raised, which meant that the Danes moved closer to victory the more he prayed. When he raised his arms the Danes surged forward and when his arms grew tired and he let them fall, the Estonians turned the Danes back. Attendants rushed forward to raise his arms once again and the Danes surged forward again. At a second he was so tired in his arms that he dropped them and the Danes then lost the advantage and were moving closer to defeat. He needed two soldiers to keep his hands up and when the Danes were about to lose, 'Dannebrog' miraculously fell from the sky and the King took it, showed it to the troops and their hearts were filled with courage and the Danes won the battle.

The possible historical nucleus behind this origin legend was extensively discussed by Danish historians in the 19th to 20th centuries.
Jørgensen (1875) argues that Bishop Theoderich  was the original instigator of the 1218 inquiry from Bishop Albert of Buxhoeveden to King Valdemar II which led to the Danish participation in the Baltic crusades.
Jørgensen speculates that Bishop Theoderich might have carried the Knight Hospitaller's banner in the 1219 battle and that "the enemy thought this was the King's symbol and mistakenly stormed Bishop Theoderich tent. He claims that the origin of the legend of the falling flag comes from this confusion in the battle."  
The Danish church-historian L. P. Fabricius (1934)   ascribes the origin to the 1208 Battle of Fellin, not the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219, based on the earliest source available about the story.
Fabricius speculated  that it might have been Archbishop Andreas Sunesøn's personal ecclesiastical banner or perhaps even the flag of Archbishop Absalon, under whose initiative and supervision several smaller crusades had already been conducted in Estonia. The banner would then already be known in Estonia. 
Fabricius repeats Jørgensen's idea about the flag being planted in front of Bishop Theodorik's tent, which the enemy mistakenly attacks believing it to be the tent of the King.
A different theory is briefly discussed by Fabricius and elaborated more by Helge Bruhn (1949).  Bruhn interprets the story in the context of the widespread tradition of the miraculous appearance of crosses in the sky in Christian legend, specifically comparing such an event attributed to a battle of 10 September 1217 near Alcazar, where it is said that a golden cross on white appeared in the sky, to bring victory to the Christians. 

In Swedish national historiography of the 18th century, there is a tale paralleling the Danish legend, in which 
a golden cross appears in the blue sky during a Swedish battle in Finland in 1157.

Variants 

Splitflag and Orlogsflag 

The Splitflag and Orlogsflag have similar shapes but different sizes and shades of red. Legally, they are two different flags. The Splitflag is a Danish flag ending in a swallow-tail, it is Dannebrog red, and is used on land. The Orlogsflag is an elongated Splitflag with a deeper red colour and is only used on sea.

The Orlogsflag with no markings, may only be used by the Royal Danish Navy. There are though a few exceptions to this. A few institutions have been allowed to fly the clean Orlogsflag. The same flag with markings has been approved for a few dozen companies and institutions over the years.

Furthermore, the Orlogsflag is only described as such if it has no additional markings. Any swallow-tail flag, no matter the color, is called a Splitflag provided it bears additional markings.

Royal Standards 

;Monarch
The current version of the royal standard was introduced on 16 November 1972 when the Queen adopted a new version of her personal coat of arms.  The royal standard is the flag of Denmark with a swallow-tail and charged with the monarch’s coat of arms set in a white square. The centre square is 32 parts in a flag with the ratio 56:107.

;Other members of the royal family

File:Standard of the Crown Prince of Denmark.svg|Standard of Frederik the Crown Prince of Denmark.
File:Standard of Prince Consort Henrik of Denmark.svg|Standard of Henrik the Prince Consort of Denmark.
File:Standard of the Regent of Denmark.svg|Standard of the Regent of Denmark
File:Standard of the Royal House of Denmark.svg|Standard of the Royal House- used by other members of the Royal Family

Other flags of the Kingdom of Denmark 

Greenland and the Faroe Islands are additional autonomous countries within the Kingdom of Denmark. These countries have their own official flags.

File:Flag of the Faroe Islands.svg|8:11  Flag of the Faroe Islands
File:Flag of Greenland.svg|2:3  Flag of Greenland

Regional Flags 

Some areas in Denmark have unofficial flags, listed below. The regional flags of Bornholm and Ærø are known to be in active use. The flags of Vendsyssel (Vendelbrog) and the Jutlandic flag ("Den jyske fane") are obscure. None of these flags have legal recognition in Denmark, and are officially considered to be "fantasy flags".  Denmark reserves official recognition to official flags and regional flags (områdeflag) from other jurisdictions.

The flag of Volyn Oblast, Ukraine is very similar to the Dannebrog. The Flag of Scotland, (,  ), also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland.   As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all individuals and corporate bodies to fly. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8am until sunset, with certain exceptions.

According to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, (Patrae), in Achaea. Use of the familiar iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross, first appears in the Kingdom of Scotland in 1180 during the reign of William I. It was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century, including on one used by the Guardians of Scotland, dated 1286.

Using a simplified symbol which does not depict St. Andrew's image, the saltire or crux decussata, (from the Latin crux, 'cross', and decussis, 'having the shape of the Roman numeral X'), began in the late 14th century. In June 1385, the Parliament of Scotland decreed that Scottish soldiers serving in France would wear a white Saint Andrew's Cross, both in front and behind, for identification.

The earliest reference to the Saint Andrew's Cross as a flag is found in the Vienna Book of Hours, circa 1503, in which a white saltire is depicted with a red background. In the case of Scotland, use of a blue background for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to date from at least the 15th century,  with the first certain illustration of a flag depicting such appearing in Sir David Lyndsay of the Mount's Register of Scottish Arms, circa 1542.

The legend surrounding Scotland's association with the Saint Andrew's Cross was related by Walter Bower and George Buchanan, who claimed that the flag originated in a 9th-century battle, where Óengus II led a combined force of Picts and Scots to victory over the Angles, led by Æthelstan. Supposedly, a miraculous white saltire appeared in the blue sky and Óengus' troops were roused to victory by the omen.  Consisting of a blue background over which is placed a white representation of an X-shaped cross, the Saltire is one of Scotland's most recognisable symbols. 

Design

The heraldic term for an X-shaped cross is a 'saltire', from the old French word saultoir or salteur (itself derived from the Latin saltatorium), a word for both a type of stile constructed from two cross pieces and a type of cross-shaped stirrup-cord.  In heraldic language, it may be blazoned azure, a saltire argent. The tincture of the Saltire can appear as either silver (argent) or white, however the term azure does not refer to a particular shade of blue. 

Throughout the history of fabric production natural dyes have been used to apply a form of colour,  with dyes from plants, including indigo from Woad, having dozens of compounds whose proportions may vary according to soil type and climate; therefore giving rise to variations in shade.  In the case of the Saltire, variations in shades of blue have resulted in the background of the flag ranging from sky blue to navy blue. When incorporated as part of the Union Flag during the 17th century, the dark blue applied to Union Flags destined for maritime use was possibly selected on the basis of the durability of darker dyes,  with this dark blue shade eventually becoming standard on Union Flags both at sea and on land. Some flag manufacturers selected the same navy blue colour trend of the Union Flag for the Saltire itself, leading to a variety of shades of blue being depicted on the flag of Scotland. 

These variations in shade eventually led to calls to standardise the colour of Scotland's national flag,  and in 2003 a committee of the Scottish Parliament met to examine a petition that the Scottish Executive adopt the Pantone 300 colour as a standard. (Note that this blue is of a lighter shade than the Pantone 280 of the Union Flag). Having taken advice from a number of sources, including the office of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the committee recommended that the optimum shade of blue for the Saltire be Pantone 300.  Recent versions of the Saltire have therefore largely converged on this official recommendation. (Pantone 300 is #006CB4 as hexadecimal web colours.)   

The flag proportions are not fixed, however the Lord Lyon King of Arms states that 5:4 is suitable. (Flag manufacturers themselves may adopt alternative ratios, including 1:2 or 2:3).  The ratio of the width of the bars of the saltire in relation to the width of the field is specified in heraldry in relation to shield width rather than flag width. However, this ratio, though not rigid, is specified as one-third to one-fifth of the width of the field. 

History

According to legend, in 832 A.D. Óengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, led by Æthelstan, near modern-day Athelstaneford, East Lothian. The legend states that whilst engaged in prayer on the eve of battle, Óengus vowed that if granted victory he would appoint Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland; Andrew then appeared to Óengus that night in a dream and assured him of victory. On the morning of battle white clouds forming the shape of an X were said to have appeared in the sky. Óengus and his combined force, emboldened by this apparent divine intervention, took to the field and despite being inferior in terms of numbers were victorious. Having interpreted the cloud phenomenon as representing the crux decussata upon which Saint Andrew was crucified, Óengus honoured his pre-battle pledge and duly appointed Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland. The white saltire set against a celestial blue background is said to have been adopted as the design of the flag of Scotland on the basis of this legend.

Although the earliest use as a national symbol can be traced to the seal of the Guardians of Scotland in 1286,  material evidence for the Saltire being used as a flag, as opposed to appearing on another object such as a seal, brooch or surcoat, dates from somewhat later. The huge heraldic standard of the Great Michael had the "Sanct Androis cors" on a blue background in the Hoist  and by 1542 a white saltire set against a blue background was depicted as being the flag of Scotland. An even earlier example known as the "Blue Blanket of the Trades of Edinburgh", reputedly made by Queen Margaret, wife of James III (1451–1488), also shows a white saltire on a blue field. However, in this case the saltire is not the only emblem to be portrayed.

Protocol

Use by the Scottish Government

The Scottish Government has ruled that the Saltire should, where possible, fly on all its buildings every day from 8am until sunset. An exception is made for United Kingdom "national days", when on buildings where only one flagpole is present the Saltire shall be lowered and replaced with the Union Flag. Such flag days are standard throughout the United Kingdom, with the exception of Merchant Navy Day, (3 September), which is a specific flag day in Scotland during which the Red Ensign of the Merchant Navy may be flown on land in place of either the Saltire or Union Flag.

A further Scottish distinction from the UK flag days is that on Saint Andrew's Day, (30 November), the Union Flag will only be flown where a building has more than one flagpole; the Saltire will not be lowered to make way for the Union Flag where a single flagpole is present. If there are two or more flagpoles present, the Saltire may be flown in addition to the Union Flag but not in a superior position. This distinction arose after Members of the Scottish Parliament complained that Scotland was the only country in the world where the potential existed for the citizens of a country to be unable to fly their national flag on their country's national day.  (In recent years, embassies of the United Kingdom have also flown the Saltire to mark St Andrew's Day).  Many bodies of the Scottish Government use the flag as a design basis for their logo; for example, Safer Scotland's emblem depicts a lighthouse shining beams in a saltire shape onto a blue sky.  Other Scottish bodies, both private and public, have also used the saltire in similar ways. 

Use by military institutions on land

The seven British Army Infantry battalions of the Scottish Division, plus the Scots Guards and Royal Scots Dragoon Guards regiments, use the Saltire in a variety of forms. Combat and transport vehicles of these Army units may be adorned with a small, (130x80mm approx.), representation of the Saltire; such decals being displayed on the front and/or rear of the vehicle. (On tanks these may also be displayed on the vehicle turret).  In Iraq, during both Operation Granby and the subsequent Operation Telic, the Saltire was seen to be flown from the communications whip antenna of vehicles belonging to these units.   Funerals, conducted with full military honours, of casualties of these operations in Iraq, (plus those killed in operations in Afghanistan),  have also been seen to include the Saltire; the flag being draped over the coffin of the deceased on such occasions. 

In the battle for "hearts and minds" in Iraq, the Saltire was again used by the British Army as a means of distinguishing troops belonging to Scottish regiments from other coalition forces, in the hope of fostering better relations with the civilian population in the area south west of Baghdad. Leaflets were distributed to Iraqi civilians, by members of the Black Watch, depicting troops and vehicles set against a backdrop of the Saltire. 

Immediately prior to, and following, the merger in March 2006 of Scotland's historic infantry regiments to form a single Royal Regiment of Scotland, a multi-million-pound advertising campaign was launched in Scotland in an attempt to attract recruits to join the reorganised and simultaneously rebranded "Scottish Infantry". The recruitment campaign employed the Saltire in the form of a logo; the words "Scottish Infantry. Forward As One." being placed next to a stylised image of the Saltire. For the duration of the campaign, this logo was used in conjunction with the traditional Army recruiting logo; the words "Army. Be The Best." being placed beneath a stylised representation of the Union Flag.  Despite this multi-media campaign having had mixed results in terms of overall success,  the Saltire continues to appear on a variety of Army recruiting media used in Scotland.

Other uses of the Saltire by the Army include the cap badge design of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, which consists of a (silver) Saltire, surmounted by a (gilt) lion rampant and ensigned with a representation of the Crown of Scotland. (This same design, save for the Crown, is used on both the Regimental flag and tactical recognition flash of the Royal Regiment of Scotland).  The badge of the No. 679 (The Duke of Connaught's) Squadron Army Air Corps bears a Saltire between two wreaths ensigned 'Scottish Horse'; an honour they received in 1971 which originated through their links with the Royal Artillery.  The Officer Training Corps units attached to universities in Edinburgh and Glasgow, plus the Tayforth University OTC, all feature the Saltire in their cap badge designs. 

The Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy adorned three of their aircraft with the Saltire. Specifically, the Westland Sea King Mk5 aircraft of HMS Gannet, operating in the Search and Rescue (SAR) role from Royal Naval Air Station Prestwick, Ayrshire, displayed a Saltire decal on the nose of each aircraft.  (The SAR function was transferred from the Royal Navy to Bristow Helicopters, acting on behalf of HM Coastguard, part of the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency, with effect from 1 January 2016.) 

Although not represented in the form of a flag, the No. 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force uses the Saltire surmounted by a lion rampant as the device shown on the squadron crest.  The station crest of the former RAF Leuchars, Fife, also showed the Saltire, in this case surmounted by a sword. The crest of the former RAF East Fortune, East Lothian, also showed a sword surmounting the Saltire, however unlike Leuchars this sword was shown inverted,  and the station crest of the former RAF Turnhouse, Edinburgh, showed a Saltire surmounted by an eagle's head.  The East of Scotland Universities Air Squadron crest features a Saltire surmounted by an open book; the book itself being supported by red lions rampant. 

General use

In Scotland, planning permission to fly the Saltire from a flagpole is required,  therefore it can not be flown at any time by any individual, company, local authority, hospital or school without first obtaining planning permission (in practice this is not enforced). This is not the case in England & Wales where the Saltire can be flown without planning permission first being obtained. Many local authorities in Scotland fly the Saltire from Council Buildings, however in 2007 Angus Council approved a proposal to replace the Saltire on Council Buildings with a new Angus flag, based on the council's coat of arms. This move led to public outcry across Scotland with more than 7,000 people signing a petition opposing the council's move, leading to a compromise whereby the Angus flag would not replace but be flown alongside the Saltire on council buildings. 

In the United Kingdom, owners of vehicles registered in Great Britain have the option of displaying the Saltire on the vehicle registration plate, in conjunction with the letters "SCO" or alternatively the word "Scotland".  In 1999, the Royal Mail issued a series of pictorial stamps for Scotland, with the '2nd' value stamp depicting the Flag of Scotland.  In Northern Ireland, sections of the Protestant community routinely employ the Saltire as a means of demonstrating and celebrating their Ulster-Scots heritage. 

 Use of the Saltire at sea as a Jack or courtesy flag has been observed, including as a Jack on the Scottish Government's Marine Partrol Vessel (MPV) Jura.   The ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne routinely flies the Saltire as a Jack on vessels which have a bow staff, including when such vessels are underway.  This practice has also been observed on the Paddle Steamer Waverley when operating in and around the Firth of Clyde.  The practice of maritime vessels adopting the Saltire, for use as a jack or courtesy flag, may lead to possible confusion in that the Saltire closely resembles the maritime signal flag M, "MIKE", which is used to indicate "My vessel is stopped; making no way."  Obviously mariners who understand this signal code also understand that the saltire is displayed on the jackstaff and not as a signal. For the benefit of Scottish seafarers wishing to display a Scottish flag other than the Saltire, thereby avoiding confusion and a possible fine, a campaign was launched in November 2007 seeking official recognition for the historic Scottish Red Ensign.  Despite having last been used officially by the pre-Union Royal Scots Navy and merchant marine fleets in the 18th century,  the flag continues to be produced by flag manufacturers   and its unofficial use by private citizens on water has been observed. 

In May 2016, the Saltire was flown from horseback  during The Queen's 90th birthday celebration at Windsor, alongside the flags of England, Northern Ireland and Wales

Incorporation into the Union Flag

 
The Saltire is one of the key components of the Union Flag  which, since its creation in 1606, has appeared in various forms  following the Flag of Scotland and Flag of England first being merged to mark the Union of the Crowns.  (The Union of the Crowns having occurred three years earlier, in 1603, when James VI, King of Scots, acceded to the thrones of both England and Ireland upon the death of Elizabeth I of England). The proclamation by King James, made on 12 April 1606, which led to the creation of the Union Flag states:

However, in objecting strongly to the form and pattern of Union Flag designed by the College of Arms and approved by King James, whereby the cross of Saint George surmounted that of Saint Andrew, (regarded in Scotland as a slight upon the Scottish nation), a great number of shipmasters and ship-owners in Scotland took up the matter with John Erskine, 18th Earl of Mar, and encouraged him to send a letter of complaint, dated 7 August 1606, to James VI, via the Privy Council of Scotland, stating:

Despite the drawings described in this letter as showing drafts of the two new patterns, together with any royal response to the complaint which may have accompanied them, having been lost, (possibly in the 1834 Burning of Parliament), other evidence exists, at least on paper, of a Scottish variant whereby the Scottish cross appears uppermost. Whilst, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, this design is considered by most vexillologists to have been unofficial, there is reason to believe that such flags were employed during the 17th century for use on Scottish vessels at sea.    This flag's design is also described in the 1704 edition of The Present State of the Universe by John Beaumont, Junior, which contains as an appendix The Ensigns, Colours or Flags of the Ships at Sea: Belonging to The several Princes and States in the World. 

On land, evidence suggesting use of this flag appears in the depiction of Edinburgh Castle by John Slezer, in his series of engravings entitled Theatrum Scotiae, c. 1693. Appearing in later editions of Theatrum Scotiae, the North East View of Edinburgh Castle engraving depicts the Scotch (to use the appropriate adjective of that period) version of the Union Flag flying from the Castle Clock Tower.   A reduced view of this engraving, with the flag similarly detailed, also appears on the Plan of Edenburgh, Exactly Done. However, on the engraving entitled North Prospect of the City of Edenburgh the detail of the flag, when compared to the aforementioned engravings, appears indistinct and lacks any element resembling a saltire.  (The reduced version of the North Prospect ..., as shown on the Plan of Edenburgh, Exactly Done, does however display the undivided arm of a saltire and is thereby suggestive of the Scottish variant).

On 17 April 1707, just two weeks prior to the Acts of Union coming into effect, Sir Henry St George, Garter King of Arms, presented several designs to Queen Anne and her Privy Council for consideration as the flag of the soon to be unified Kingdom of Great Britain. At the request of the Scots representatives, the designs for consideration included that version of Union Flag showing the Cross of Saint Andrew uppermost; identified as being the "Scots union flagg as said to be used by the Scots". Partial view at [http://www.encyclopedia.com/ Encyclopedia.com] However, Queen Anne and her Privy Council approved Sir Henry's original effort, (pattern "one"), showing the Cross of Saint George uppermost.

From 1801, in order to symbolise the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland a new design, which included the St Patrick's Cross, was adopted for the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.  A manuscript compiled from 1785 by William Fox, and in possession of the Flag Research Center, includes a full plate showing "the scoth  union" flag with the addition of the cross of St. Patrick. This could imply that there was still some insistence on a Scottish variant after 1801. 

Despite its unofficial and historic status the Scottish Union Flag continues to be produced by flag manufacturers,  and its unofficial use by private citizens on land has been observed.  In 2006 historian David R. Ross called for Scotland to once again adopt this design in order to "reflect separate national identities across the UK",  however the 1801 design of Union Flag remains the official flag of the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 

File:Scottish Union Flag - detail.JPG|Scottish Union Flag. An unofficial variant used in the Kingdom of Scotland during the 17th century, following the Union of the Crowns.
File:Châté Lîzabé Couleu d'la Grande Brétangne c (reverse).jpg|Union Flag used in the Kingdom of England from 1606 and, following the Acts of Union, the flag of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1707–1800.
File:Union flag.jpg|Union Flag since 1801, including the Cross of Saint Patrick, following the Act of Union between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland.
File:Union Flag and St Georges Cross.jpg|Flag of the United Kingdom, (Union Flag since 1801), flying alongside the Flag of England; the Cross of Saint George.

Similar flags

Several flags outside of the United Kingdom are based on the Scottish saltire. In Canada, an inverse representation of the flag (i.e. a blue saltire on a white field), combined with the shield from the royal arms of the Kingdom of Scotland, forms the modern flag of the province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia (Latin for "New Scotland") was the first colonial venture of the Kingdom of Scotland in the Americas. 

The Dutch municipality of Sint-Oedenrode, named after the Scottish princess Saint Oda, uses a version of the flag of Scotland, defaced with a gold castle having on both sides a battlement. 

The flag of Tenerife, an island of the Canary Islands, is identical to the Scottish flag except for the shade of blue. Although some theories claim a connection between the flags, their similarity is likely coincidental.

File:Australian Scottish-heritage flag.svg|Flag of the Scottish Australian Heritage Council, Australia
File:Royal Regiment of Scotland Flag.PNG|Regimental flag of the Royal Regiment of Scotland
File:Flag of Scotland defaced with Royal Arms.PNG|Unofficial design; popular with members of the Tartan Army
File:Flag of Nova Scotia.svg|Provincial flag of Nova Scotia, Canada
File:Sint-Oedenrode vlag.svg|Flag of Sint-Oedenrode, Netherlands
File:Flag of Tenerife.svg|Flag of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
File:ICS_Mike.svg|International Code of Signals flag "M" (Mike)

Royal Standard of Scotland

The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Banner of the King of Scots  or more commonly the Lion Rampant of Scotland,  is the Scottish Royal Banner of Arms. Used historically by the King of Scots, the Royal Standard of Scotland differs from Scotland's national flag, The Saltire, in that its correct use is restricted by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland to only a few Great Officers of State who officially represent The Sovereign in Scotland.  It is also used in an official capacity at Royal residences in Scotland when the Sovereign is not present. 

Gallery

File:Flag of Scotland.jpg|The Saltire, the national flag of Scotland: A white (argent) saltire on a blue (azure) field.
File:Flags outside Parliament.jpg|The Flag of the United Kingdom, Flag of Scotland and Flag of Europe at the Scottish Parliament Building.
File:Slag om Grolle 2008-1 - Linie van Staatse troepen vuurt.jpg|The Scottish Red Ensign at a historical reenactment of the Battle for Grolle.
File:The Saltire - geograph.org.uk - 718800.jpg|A variety of Saltires at Murrayfield Stadium; the national stadium of Rugby Union in Scotland.
File:Welcome to Scotland - geograph.org.uk - 931197.jpg|The Flag(s) of Scotland marking the Anglo-Scottish Border.
File:Highland Games-Opening ceremonies in Canmore.jpg|The Flag of Scotland and Flag of Canada at the Canmore Highland Games.
File:Hampden_Park_WP_EN.JPG|The Flag of Scotland seating design at Hampden Park Stadium; the national stadium of Football in Scotland.
File:Replica Covenanter flag, National Museum of Scotland.JPG|A replica 17th-century Covenanters' flag.
File:The flag at North Berwick Golf Course - geograph.org.uk - 1523656.jpg|A defaced Saltire belonging to the Bass Rock golf club, North Berwick.
File:Carrying the Royal Burgh Flag on Peat Hill - geograph.org.uk - 1354482.jpg|The defaced Saltire of the Royal Burgh of Selkirk leading the Common Riding.
File:Scottish Flag.jpg|The Flag of Scotland; Proportions: 2:3.
File:Saltire.jpg|The Flag of Scotland; Proportions: 1:2.
White (Colour) Rgb(255, 255, 255) White Whitishness Whiter (255, 255, 255) Whitishly White (political adjective) White- White-Finn Whitest FFFFFF Color/white Man on a white horse
color white white political adjective whitishness rgb 255 255 255 255 255 255 ffffff whitishly white colour man on white horse white whiter white finn whitest
white
WikipediaEntity
White
 What color is the cross on the nasal flag of Denmark? 

 The Cross black Danish on even even many biggest other flag that Denmark is a popular version that Denmark is an easy to analyze, I correct that Denmark name flag or that made it more more more so to breakdown and or flag is it many two narrow to life or the the same color area of the title to background or something else in the