Flag of Orkney
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The Flag of
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
was the winner of a public flag consultation in February and March 2007.Orkney Islands Council
/ref>
, ''
The Orcadian ''The Orcadian'' is the oldest newspaper in Orkney, Scotland, first published in 1854. At first a monthly paper, it soon became a weekly. The newspaper is based in Kirkwall but printed in Glasgow for sale every Thursday. It is part of the Orkn ...
'', 25 June – 1 July 2007
In the flag consultation the people of
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
were asked for their preferred design from a short list of 5,Orkney Islands Council
/ref> all of which had been approved by the
Court of the Lord Lyon The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of arms, known as the Public Register of All ...
. The chosen design was that of Duncan Tullock of
Birsay Birsay () (Old Norse: ''Birgisherað'') is a parish in the north west corner of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland. Almost all the land in the parish is devoted to agriculture: chiefly grassland used to rear beef cattle. There are various ancient ...
, which polled 53% of the 200 votes cast by the public.Postman designs new Orkney flag
''
BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the ...
'', 10 April 2007
The colours red and yellow are from the Scottish and
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
royal coats of arms, which both use yellow and red, with a
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...
rampant In heraldry, the term attitude describes the ''position'' in which a figure (animal or human) is emblazoned as a charge, a supporter, or as a crest. The attitude of an heraldic figure always precedes any reference to the tincture of the figure ...
. The flag symbolises the islands' Scottish and
Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...
heritage. The blue is taken from the
flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland ( gd, bratach na h-Alba; sco, Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the ...
and also represents the sea and the maritime heritage of the islands.


Former flag of Orkney

The former flag of Orkney was adopted in 1995. In 2001, the flag of Orkney, the traditional flag of St Magnus, was declined official recognition by the
Lord Lyon The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new gra ...
, the
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
authority of Scotland, due to similarity with other national flags; as well as the flag of the
Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdo ...
.


Chronology

File:Former Flag of Orkney.svg, The former flag of
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
File:2007 Flag of Orkney.svg, The current flag of
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
(since 2007)


See also

*
Flag of Shetland The flag of Shetland is a white or silver Nordic cross on a blue background. The flag uses the colours of the flag of Scotland, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolise Shetland's historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. ...
* Nordic Cross Flag *
Royal Standard of Scotland The Royal Banner of the Royal Arms of Scotland, also known as the Royal Banner of Scotland, or more commonly the Lion Rampant of Scotland, and historically as the Royal Standard of Scotland, ( gd, Bratach rìoghail na h-Alba, sco, Ryal banner ...
*
Royal Standard of Norway The Royal Standard of Norway ( no, Kongeflagget) is used by the King of Norway. Of historical origin, it was introduced by Cabinet Decision of 15 November 1905, following the plebiscite confirming the election of Prince Carl of Denmark to the ...
*
Flag of Norway The national flag of Norway ( nb, Norges flagg; nn, Noregs flagg; ) is red with a navy blue Scandinavian cross fimbriated in white that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style ...
*
List of Scottish flags This is a list of flags that are used exclusively in Scotland. Other flags used in Scotland, as well as the rest of the United Kingdom can be found at list of British flags. National flag A white saltire on a Pantone 300 medium blue per Scott ...
*
Emblems of the Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was the personal union of the kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden during the 15th century. The first king of the Kalmar Union was Eric of Pomerania. His seal combined the coats of arms of Norway (center, as an inescutcheon up ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orkney Flags adopted through competition
Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
Flags of places in Scotland Nordic Cross flags Orkney