Types of flags and their use in the Netherlands

Beside the red, white and blue tricolour, many other flags fly in the Netherlands: the orange pennant on royal occasions, provincial and municipal flags, company flags at businesses and banners along the road. Some are set by the authorities, others are free. This guide describes the main types and who is responsible for them.

The Dutch flag

The tricolour has three horizontal stripes in red, white and blue. The colours were set by Royal Decree in 1937; the Royal House describes them as bright vermilion, bright white and cobalt blue. According to the Handleiding voor het gebruik van de Nederlandse vlag there are no rules on the dimensions, but in general the length relates to the width as 3:2. No decoration or addition belongs on the flag. More about the colours is in the guide to flag symbolism.

The orange pennant

The orange pennant (oranje wimpel) is a long, narrow orange streamer that flies above the Dutch flag. According to the flag instruction and the Royal House, the flag flies with the pennant on King’s Day and the birthdays of Queen Máxima, Princess Beatrix and the Princess of Orange, and without it on all other occasions. According to the Royal House, the custom dates from the period after 1813, when the Netherlands became independent again and the House of Orange returned. The pennant never flies at half-mast. More is in the guide to flag rules.

The Royal Standard and personal flags

The Royal Standard is the King’s flag. According to the Royal House, it is raised on the working palace and the residence when the King is in the Netherlands. The flag has a Nassau blue cross dividing it into four quarters, with blue hunting horns from the arms of the Principality of Orange, and in the centre the Royal Arms with the Royal Crown. Queen Wilhelmina introduced the standard in 1908.

The other members of the Royal House have their own personal flags. Like their coats of arms, these are set by Royal Decree.

Provincial, municipal and water authority flags

Every province and most municipalities have a flag of their own. According to the High Council of Nobility (Hoge Raad van Adel), flags of public bodies are adopted by the body’s own board. The Minister of the Interior asked provinces (in 1948), municipalities (in 1957) and water authorities (in 1961) to seek the Council’s advice when doing so. The Council keeps a register of flags with the description, a coloured drawing and the board’s decision.

A well-known example is the Frisian flag: according to the province of Fryslân, four blue and three white diagonal stripes with seven red pompeblêden, the leaves of the yellow water lily, which stand for the seven sea lands. The Provincial Executive recognised the flag in 1897, it first flew officially on the provincial house in 1927, and the Provincial Council adopted it in 1957. How provincial and municipal flags fly beside the tricolour is described in the guide to flag protocol.

Company flags, banners and vertical flags

Businesses, clubs and private individuals also use flags with a logo or their own design. No flag rules apply to them. A Dutch flag supplier distinguishes:

• Landscape flag: the ordinary rectangular flag in 2:3 proportions that flies from the pole.
• Vertical flag: an upright flag attached to the pole only along its vertical side, which according to the supplier usually reaches halfway down the pole.
• Banner: an upright flag on a pole with a horizontal arm at the top, so that it stays visible even with little wind.

Façade flags and celebration flags

On the façade, the flag hangs from a flagstaff in a bracket. For the staff, the Handleiding asks for a length at which the flag never touches the ground or obstructs traffic. There are also celebration flags, such as birthday flags and the flag for passing exams. These are separate from the tricolour, on which no text or decoration belongs. More about occasions is in the guide to flags on holidays, and about sizes in the guide to flag sizes.