Talk:Royal Standard of the United Kingdom

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The page describes the Royal Standard as "the personal flag" of Her Majesty. Actually, a blue flag with a golden "E" surrounded by a wreath of gold roses serves as the personal flag. Lord Emsworth 23:17, Dec 7, 2003 (UTC)

Yeah. It should read official flag of the monarch I think. FearÉIREANN 01:33, 8 Dec 2003 (UTC)

Its says that the Royal stamdard never files at half mast, this is not true, when a monarch dies the royal standard is loweres to half mast. tony jones

  • That is not true. The Royal Standard is the flag of the monarch, and thus when one king dies, the flag becomes the standard of his successor, who is very much alive. A personal standard can fly at half mast tho, when the holder dies. This is because no other person can hold that flag. eg the Queen Mum's standard flew at half mast on her death (but only over her offical residence, Clarence House). When QEII dies, the Royal Standard will be lowered at the place she dies, and raised at the place of her successor. Astrotrain 20:09, May 12, 2005 (UTC)
Flying the Royal Standard at half mast would technically mean the end of the monarchy itself! David

AFAIK it has only been flown at half mast twice, both by a junior staffer whose act was immediately reversed. When Edward VII died in 1910 someone lowered the standard to half mast. George V noticed it and had it raised to full mast again. In 1997 it was lowered wrongly after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Within minutes it was raised again.

FearÉIREANNFile:Tricolour.gifFile:Animated-union-jack-01.gif SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF LONDON\(caint) 8 July 2005 20:35 (UTC)

When was it raised after the death of Diana? At Balmoral Castle? Astrotrain 13:24, July 17, 2005 (UTC)

Irish Version

I have seen a version of the Royal Standard which contains a gold harp of Ireland on a blue field in the first and fourth quadrants, and the English and Scottish flags in the other two quadrants, was this a version for Ireland or is it still used when the Queen is in Northern Ireland? Keith 11:17, 24 August 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Where did you see this? There is no Royal Standard for Ireland, or Northern Ireland in use. Astrotrain 18:11, August 24, 2005 (UTC)
'Keith' above is correct, you can see versions with two harp quarters. There's even one with two English and two Irish quarters pictured here (and on many McEwan's beer taps, which also use other Royal and British symbolism). Unfortunately, this was never an official flag - so can at best be considered a patriotic banner. --Breadandcheese 14:32, 21 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Formatting[edit]

This article really needs to have the flags in the appropriate sections. Might need a bit of work though to get stuff not overlapping? Morwen - Talk 23:22, 22 December 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Channel Islands[edit]

Is there a special Royal Standard used in the Channel Islands? The World Flag database only shows the flags of the Lieutenant Governors of Guernsey and Jersey (it seems to be the same) but nothing flown by the queen herself.--Hun2 14:08, 24 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

  • As the Channel Islands are not seperate relams, they are possessions of the British crown, so the Queen would use the main Royal Standard while present on the islands. There may have been a flag for the Duke of Normandy at one point, but I am not sure what that would have been. Astrotrain 14:12, 24 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

New image[edit]

Please take a look at this page.

  • I much prefer it to the older image. The colours are better. A good replacment Sotakeit 14:04, 23 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Past standards[edit]

Maybe infromation on past royal standards would be interesting, what to yout think? Sotakeit 14:06, 23 April 2006 (UTC)[reply]

There are four: Malta (SVG flag on the commons), Mauritius (GIF flag at FOTW), Sierra Leone (GIF flag at FOTW) and Trinidad and Tobago (GIF flag at FOTW). Would be great if you could add material on that to the article! —Nightstallion (?) 20:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Image:Royal Standard of Malta (1964).svg has been uploaded (found on Queen of Malta) Brian | (Talk) 22:06, 10 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

{{UKFlags}}[edit]

I have removed the template {{UKFlags}} as this article talks about Royal Standards from across Commonwealth Realms; not just in the UK Brian | (Talk) 01:40, 8 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

But, some of the Royal Standards are flags of the UK, and others are flags of Canada, which is why I inserted {{CanadaFlags}}. Should we include all available templates, or simply leave them all out? --gbambino 15:28, 8 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Leave all of them out, I'd say. —Nightstallion (?) 20:19, 10 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]
Canada, Australia and New Zealand have their own national Royal Standard articles, with the respective flag templates placed. The UK article is here so should have the UK template for navigational purposes. Astrotrain 12:33, 7 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It seems odd that the oldest of the royal standards doesn't have its own article. --gbambino 14:41, 11 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Move the Queen's UK flag to its own article imo Brian | (Talk) 21:28, 11 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]
This article is not just about UK flags; it is about Royal Standards; there for the template should not be added; or the NZ flags, Canada Flag, Aussie Flag templates will have to be added. Brian | (Talk) 20:49, 16 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

half staff[edit]

Guys, I don`t know how to correct a mistake in this article...the Royal Standard didn't fly half staff when HRH Princess Diana died. The Union Jack did. The thing is that till that moment when the Queen was not at Buck Palace any flag flown in Buckingham Palace. That's why there was no flag at the palace when Di died as the Queen was in Balmoral. An the Queen order to place the Union Jack half staff but never the Royal Standard. It's impossible to put the Royal Standard half mast.

Agreed; thats what I thought; was not 100% sure; I'll fix Brian | (Talk) 06:43, 11 September 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Great, Brian!!!! Thanks a lot...the article looks much better now!!!

Please help correct the language …

A flag flown from a ship is referred to being flown at “mast”

A flag flown from a pole on land is referred to being flown on a “staff”

Saw the flags flying upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II are flying at “half staff” not half mast. Unless the flag in question is on a ship. According to The Sextant, the Naval History and Heritage Command's blog, half-mast refers to lowered flags on a ship, while half-staff is a pole in the ground.

This article repeatedly refers incorrectly using the word mast.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-mast 

Erikleenelson (talk) 17:58, 10 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

HRH[edit]

Is there a technical reason for the heavy use of HRH here? Normally it is discouraged by the manual of style. --Hroðulf (or Hrothulf) (Talk) 18:41, 2 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Copyright violation?[edit]

Parts of this article (most of the introductory section, and perhaps the images, at least) appear to be copied from www.royal.gov.uk . Can the author confirm that he has the necessary permission to copy, and add an acknowledgement to the text? JCBradfield 19:27, 4 March 2007 (UTC)[reply]

England is not the world[edit]

If there were such a thing as a "Presidential Standard", and the Wikipedia page on it was devoted entirely to the Presidential Standard of the United States when other countries had their own Presidential Standard, no one would stand for it. So why's it OK for "Royal Standard" to be sole preserve of the English(/British/Commonwealthers)? The Netherlands and Norway, to name just two, are countries that fly their own Royal Standards. This is a neutral, international encyclopedia. England is not the world. Let's not apply double standards.

What do you mean know one would stand for it? If the president of the United States had his own standard I’m sure there would be an article on it.
This is an encyclopaedia which lets people know relevant information not a site where people can enforce their own opinions about President Bush, so if he had his own standard I’m sure there would be an article on it. There is Evan a page with information about Adolf Hitler's personal standard.
This page is giving information about the standard of the Monarch of the United Kingdom --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Lee setters (talk • contribs)
You seem to have got the wrong end of the stick here. The original user was commenting on this page when the article entitled Royal Standard was soley devoted to infomation about the British royal standard (seen here when it was redirected to the current page. --DWRtalk 13:27, 15 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Standard used in Commonwealth Realms without their own[edit]

The article does not make it clear what flies in Commonwealth Realms with the Queen as head of state should they not have their own Royal Standard. Is it the Personal 'E' flag, the UK Royal Standard or nothing?--Breadandcheese 14:22, 21 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

The answer is not that clear on my end too. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 21:50, 21 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Standard at half mast[edit]

The Queen planned to be at Balmoral at the time, which allowed the Royal Standard to fly at half mast over Buckingham Palace for the first year anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.([[1]])

I don't think that's correct. Protocol was changed so that the union flag is flown whenever the Queen is not at the palace, and it has been ever since. The union flag could therefore be flown at half mast on the anniversary (and it has flown at half mast on other occasions too). The Royal Standard was not flown at half mast and never has been. It did get stuck once in 1997, but that was rectified within minutes, as someone mentions above.

I have read the BBC article linked, but it is slightly ambogious as to which flag it was. I think that's just down to sloppy journalism (which the BBC is prone to at times).

I'm sure it was the union flag that was flown at half mast, so those sentences need to be changed. JRawle (Talk) 18:27, 26 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]


I agree with your assessment. --Breadandcheese 19:21, 26 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]
In fact, the linked BBC article specifically says that the R.S. was not flown at half-staff on the first anniversary. - Montréalais 04:02, 31 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Move[edit]

I propose that this article be renamed as "Royal Standards of the United Kingdom," since this article now focuses solely on those heraldic standards used in the UK, and it would then fall into format with those articles on standards used in other countries. If no one objects, I will go ahead with this in a few days. --G2bambino 17:15, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

  • Object- it is just known as the Royal Standard. Astrotrain 21:18, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
What is "it," and where is "it" known as "the Royal Standard"? --G2bambino 21:25, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It is about the flags used by British monarchs, known as the Royal Standard. Astrotrain 21:32, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
How can the plural "flags" be known as the singular "Royal Standard"? There are not only two Royal Standards used by the sovereign of the United Kingdom, but variants of one used by other members of the Royal Family, and quite different ones used by royal consorts; all of which are covered here. Plus, there are royal standards for other monarchs that are all called the "Royal Standard," why does this one have the monopoly on the term? --G2bambino 21:45, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
The article is about the Royal Standard, ie the British monarch's flag. It also covers the variants used by consorts and other British Royals. In English language it is always known as the Royal Standard, that is why it has been here for several years. It used to also show the other realm standards, but these were moved off to their own articles. Astrotrain 22:04, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
You haven't addressed my points: 1) there is more than one royal standard covered here, hence the singular "Royal Standard" is inappropriate, and 2) in the English language there are flags known as royal standards in other countries besides the United Kingdom; hence, Wikipedia has Royal Standard of the Netherlands, Royal Standard of Norway, and Royal Standard of Spain; why should this article not follow suit? As it currently stands, it appears this article is on royal standards in general, when, in fact, it is not. Previous incarnations of the article were just as misleading. --G2bambino 22:13, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
It follows the naming guidelines, using the most known name for the flag. Internationally it is considered and known as the Royal Standard. I believe the Netherlands standard is actually known as the Royal Flag, not sure about the others- although I believe the Spanish one is personal. Astrotrain 22:20, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I believe that outside the UK it would be known as the "Royal Standard of Queen Elizabeth II," or the "British Royal Standard," so as not to confuse it with other royal standards of other monarchs. Then again, what Royal Standard are we talking about here? That for Scotland or that for the rest of the UK? You see, you still haven't addressed my point about there being more than one royal standard covered in this article. --G2bambino 22:48, 10 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that Royal Standard should be a disambig page and the current page could be moved to Royal Standard (United Kingdom) --Barryob Vigeur de dessus 13:55, 15 October 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Graphic problem[edit]

I just compared the current graphic used for the Royal Standard for use in England or other areas, and it looks different to the one I took a photo of over Buckingham Palace. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.192.216.174 (talk) 04:18, 1 April 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Yes you are right I was going to raise this subject myself. The way the lions in the English quadrants and in the Scottish quadrant on this page is different to the way they look on the standards that are flown over royal residences. The design is the same but the lions in the English quadrants look actually quite different and the Scottish quadrant looks different as well. The design of the flag that flies over Buckingham palace is the one that will be seen on any other webpage but the way the standard is designed on this page is the only place I have seen it like this. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by Lee setters (talk • contribs)

The issue here is that we cannot simply copy and paste images of the Royal Standard from elsewhere due to copyright restrictions, so I believe some ingenious Wikipedian has rendered his own. Whilst it may not be an exact replica of what is flown, it's a reasonably good representation and is heraldically accurate, remaining true to the blazon of the Royal Arms. --Breadandcheese (talk) 12:00, 6 December 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Royal standard of the Prince of Wales for Canada[edit]

A user seems to feel the Prince of Wales' royal standard for Canada has some relevance to the standards used by the Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom. Of course, this is entirely erroneous and incongruous with the opening sentence of the section: "The Prince of Wales has a number of distinct standards and banners for use throughout the United Kingdom." Adding the Prince's standard for Canada here is as misleading and illogical as adding his standards for use in the UK to the article Prince of Wales' Personal Canadian Flag. At most, a "see also" link to the aforementioned page could be added to the head of the section. But nothing more than that. --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 15:40, 7 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

The lead states "Different standards are used in the Queen's other Commonwealth realms, and the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom is varied for use in Scotland." My suggestion is to add a section for Canada, because it is pretty much the Royal Standard charged with a section of maple leaves at the bottom (with the addition of the personal cypher of the royal in question). User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 22:43, 8 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
But it's not the royal standard of the UK with maple leaves at the bottom. It's the arms of Canada in banner form, defaced by various elements. Additionally, this article is clearly, as evidenced by its title, about the royal standard of the UK and other flags used in the UK. There are already pages for each of the Queen's standards in various other Commonwealth realms. If the three royal standards for Canada are added to this page, then, so too must the Queen's Personal Australian Flag, the Queen's Personal Barbadian Flag, the Queen's Personal Jamaican Flag, and the Queen's Personal Flag for New Zealand, and, by the same logic, the royal standards of the UK must be added to Queen's Personal Canadian Flag and the Prince of Wales' UK standards added to Prince of Wales' Personal Canadian Flag, etc. --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 02:24, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Then I would reword the lead section to make it where this article only applies to the UK. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 03:22, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
The lead could be reworked. But, perosnally, I thought it was clear enough from various sentences that this article was about flags that are related only to the UK: "The Royal Standard of the United Kingdom is the flag used by Elizabeth II in her capacity as Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its overseas territories"; "The Prince of Wales has a number of distinct standards and banners for use throughout the United Kingdom."
As an aside: I wonder if the title of this page should be changed to "Royal Standards of the United Kingdom", given that there's such an array of flags shown here. --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 04:36, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
I would not object to the rename (and that also might clear up some issues). User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 05:33, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Well, that is another matter. To correct my deviation off course and get back more to the point of this discussion: Is it agreed that detailed information about royal standards for other countries don't belong on this page? --Ħ MIESIANIACAL 17:09, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]
Yes. User:Zscout370 (Return Fire) 17:11, 9 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Duchess of Cornwall[edit]

The article says that the Other Members banner will most likely function as Camilla's standard when she becomes Consort. Did Clarence House announce this? Couldn't the College of Arms (and Lord Lyon) grant her arms that could be impaled with the Royal Standard as has been done with the previous consorts?Goldnpuppy (talk) 21:55, 20 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I would assume that this is an inaccuracy. Camilla has a coat of arms, as was announced on her 58th birthday by Clarence House. Given as the royal standards are essentially just the arms in banner form then it stands to reason that Camilla will be using her own standard. Psunshine87 (talk) 23:33, 20 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I have added info on Camilla and Kate's arms. If Diana had a personal standard as Princess of Wales, wouldn't Cate also be eligible to have one after William becomes PW?Goldnpuppy (talk) 20:57, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

There's no source supporting the statement that Diana had a personal standard as Princess of Wales. Given as the standard that draped Diana's flag was the Royal Standard with an ermine border, instead of one personalized for her and as Camilla currently doesn't have a personal standard, I personally would question if Diana did in fact have a personal standard (or at least hope for a source). For Catherine, two assumptions are being made here: that her husband is going to be created Prince of Wales (it's not automatic) and that if and when this happens she is going to use a personalized standard instead of the royal standard. Given as one of the last two wives of the Prince of Wales did (or may have) use a personal standard, while the other did not, I wouldn't say it's safe to assume whether or not Catherine will use the royal standard or a personal one when she is the wife of the heir apparent. In contrast, it can be considered more of a given that Camilla and Catherine will have a personal standard when they're Queen consort, as the last four consorts to the monarch have had their own standard and both Camilla and Catherine have their own arms already. Psunshine87 (talk) 21:50, 21 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Prince of Wales Standards[edit]

In section 3.1, the table states that the first standard is "For use in England and Northern Ireland" but the description states "This is the standard that is used outside the United Kingdom by the prince.". I don't know enough about the subject to know which is correct, but the two statements are mutually exclusive, seeing as both England and Northern Ireland are in the United Kingdom. m8e39 05:50, 25 April 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The PoW has specific Standards for use exclusively in Wales and Scotland, and a separate design for use in all other situations; this based upon the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom used outside Scotland. 82.132.222.147 (talk) 13:48, 10 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified[edit]

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Who may fly the Royal Standard?[edit]

Is anyone allowed to fly the royal standard? or is it reserved for the monarch? Op47 (talk) 15:04, 15 June 2018 (UTC)[reply]

Dubious[edit]

Personal Standard of the Prince of Wales

The Royal Standard was not flown at the Barbadian Presidential inauguration in Bridgetown. It was the Prince of Wales's Personal Standard. If someone's got good eyes, go compare for yourself.[2] Peter Ormond 💬 05:33, 16 December 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Prince Harry[edit]

The illustration for Prince Harry's standard shows a five-point label. Is this still correct? As he is now the child of the monarch and not the grandchild, has his standard changed? Goldnpuppy (talk) 04:21, 23 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Queen Camilla[edit]

Currently the article states that she started using her own royal standard on becoming queen consort, but in her recent slew of solo engagements her limousine is clearly still flying the ermine flag. Robin S. Taylor (talk) 21:35, 28 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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