Netherlands Flag

The Netherlands, or Holland, is a country of over sixteen million people who are called the Dutch, and is located in Northern Europe. The Netherlands has been an independent nation since the year 1648, and joined the European Union in the year 1957. The national Netherlands flag was not adopted, however, until the year 1937.

There were two versions of the Netherlands flag used before the current one. In 1572, the Netherlands flag was a tricolor called the Prince’s Flag, with horizontal stripes of orange, white, and blue, as seen from top to bottom. From 1795 to 1806, the Netherlands flag was that of the Batavian Republic, a red, white, and blue tricolor with the Republic’s emblem in the upper left hand corner.

The current Dutch national flag is a very simple design. The Dutch flag is made up of three horizontal stripes. These stripes are red, white, and blue, as seen from top to bottom. These colors of the Netherlands flag were fixed by a royal decree from Queen Wilhelmina. The royal decree also specified the particular shades of each color to be used on the Holland national flag. These colors are bright vermilion, white, and cobalt blue.

There are other Dutch flags besides the national one. The Civil Jack flag of the Netherlands features a white background, with two rays of red and two of blue running from the center of the flag to its corners. The two red rays of this Netherlands flag extend to the top two corners, and the blue rays go to the bottom two corners.

Another Netherlands flag is the Naval Jack. This flag of Holland is much the same as the Civil Jack, but features one ray of red and one of blue extending from the center to each of the four corners of the flag. There are also several other Netherlands flags used by different offices to represent the Navy.

The Royal Standard Dutch flag features an orange background with a blue cross. Each corner of this Netherlands flag contains a depiction of a bugle-horn. The center of the Royal Standard features the national coat of arms topped by a crown. The meaning of the Dutch Royal Standard flag is deeply rooted in history. This Netherlands flag contains references to the Order of Willem and the Principality of Orange, both from Dutch history.

Each of the twelve Dutch provinces has its own flag, which is flown in addition to the national Netherlands flag. Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles, two Dutch territories, also have their own flags.