Flags in mourning and at funerals in the Netherlands

After a death, the flag in the Netherlands sometimes flies at half-mast: at the home of the deceased, at a club or company, at the town hall or, in national mourning, on all government buildings. No law governs this. What exists are the general customs in the Handleiding voor het gebruik van de Nederlandse vlag, special flag instructions from the Prime Minister and municipalities’ arrangements for their own buildings.

Mourning in the family

According to the Dutch government, anyone may fly the flag at half-mast after a death. There is no rule on who does so, from when or for how long. In practice the flag flies at half-mast at the home of the deceased or of the family, and sometimes at the club or company the deceased belonged to.

For raising the flag to half-mast, the Handleiding applies: first to the top, then slowly down until the middle of the flag is at half the normal height. When it is taken down, the flag first goes back to the top. This is described in detail in the guide to half-mast.

The custom of not leaving the flag out between sunset and sunrise unless it is lit also applies in mourning. A flag at half-mast over several days is therefore usually lowered in the evening and raised to half-mast again in the morning. More about the times is in the guide to flag rules.

Which flag?

In mourning, the ordinary tricolour flies at half-mast in the Netherlands. The orange pennant does not belong with it: according to Zaanstad’s flag instruction, the flag is never flown in mourning position with the pennant. A club flag or municipal flag can also fly at half-mast. The National 4 and 5 May Committee, for example, notes that on 4 May the municipal flag can fly at half-mast alongside the tricolour.

Mourning at the municipality

Municipalities set out in their own flag instruction when they fly the flag at half-mast. The flag instruction of Zaanstad is an example:

• On the death of a serving administrator, council member or civil servant, a bereavement protocol takes effect and the municipal flag is flown on a limited basis on the day of the funeral.
• The flag then flies at the town hall and at the municipal site where the deceased worked.
• For commemorations of events from the Second World War, the flag flies at half-mast on fixed days at the monuments concerned.

Other municipalities may have other arrangements. The municipality itself can say what applies to its buildings.

National mourning

On the death of a member of the Royal House, the Prime Minister can proclaim a special flag instruction. The same can happen to commemorate the victims of a national or international disaster. Such an instruction names the days on which the flag flies at half-mast and whether this is extended, from all government buildings, or limited, from the main buildings only. Provinces and municipalities are asked to follow the instruction, and for private individuals and businesses it is a guideline.

The Royal House writes that for special events in the Royal House, such as a birth, marriage and death, a special flag instruction can be proclaimed. Such an instruction is usually announced through the government and the media.

Mourning and a flag day

If a period of mourning coincides with a flag day, there is no general rule. For government buildings the answer follows from the special flag instruction. For a family in mourning, whether the flag flies at half-mast, at full mast or not at all that day is its own choice. More about the fixed days is in the guide to flag days, and about flags at official ceremonies in the guide to flag protocol.