The Royal Standard of Norway ( no, Kongeflagget) is used by the

King of Norway The Norwegian monarch is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system. The Norwegian monarchy can trace its line back to the reign of Harald Fairhair and the previous petty kingd ...

. Of historical origin, it was introduced by Cabinet Decision of 15 November 1905, following the plebiscite confirming the election of Prince Carl of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

to the vacant throne after the dissolution of the

union between Sweden and Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Swede ...

. Under his chosen name of

Haakon VII Haakon VII (; born Prince Carl of Denmark; 3 August 187221 September 1957) was the King of Norway from November 1905 until his death in September 1957. Originally a Danish prince, he was born in Copenhagen as the son of the future Frederick ...

, the new king arrived in the capital

Kristiania Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population o ...

on 25 November 1905 on a ship flying the royal standard for the first time. The flag of the King is also used by the Queen.

Background and history

The flag was referred to as the "ancient royal standard" of Norway when it was re-introduced in 1905. It is the earliest known flag of Norway, originally only a flag for the king, as it is today. During the early period of the union with

, it was occasionally flown from castles and naval vessels until it was gradually phased out during the 17th and 18th centuries. Its earliest certain depiction is on the seal of Duchess Ingebjørg in 1318. In 1748 a decree stated that the Dannebrog should be the only legal merchant flag for ships of the united kingdoms of Denmark-Norway.

Union between Sweden and Norway (1814–1905)

From 1814 to 1905, Norway entered a

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...

with Sweden. As a result, the two nations would share the same monarch (and a common foreign policy) but remain separate kingdoms with their own laws and legislative bodies. In 1844, new flags with common features reflecting the union were introduced for the two kingdoms. From 1844 until 1905, the kings of Norway (i.e. also the King of Sweden) used a royal standard on the same pattern as

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

. It was Norway's

war flag A war flag, also known as a military flag, battle flag, or standard, is a variant of a national flag for use by a country's military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign. Under the strictest sense of the term, few count ...

with the union mark in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

and the addition of the royal union arms in the centre of the cross. In Norway, growing discontent with the union would lead to the union mark being removed from the merchant (i.e. today's national flag) and the state flag, but the mark remained in the war flag (naval ensign) and the royal flag as they were under jurisdiction of the king. The flag introduced in 1844 would be made redundant after the dissolution of the union with Sweden in 1905 and the adoption of the current flag. File:Royal Standard of Sweden and Norway (1815-1844).svg, Royal Standard of Sweden and Norway 1815-1844 File:Royal Standard of Norway (1844-1905).svg, Royal Standard of Norway 1844-1905

Description

The flag is the

coat of arms of Norway The coat of arms of Norway is the arms of dominion of king Harald V of Norway, and as such represents both the monarch and the kingdom (nation and the state). It depicts a standing golden lion on a red background, bearing a golden crown and ax ...

in banner form and features a golden lion over a red field. With the dissolution of the Union in 1905 and election of a new king, the Norwegian Lion coat of arms were subsequently adopted for use by the King as was the old royal flag. Graphically, that first royal standard was charged with a lion designed by the Danish expert on

heraldry 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 bran ...

''Anders Thiset'', complying with the

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The ...

decided by the Cabinet. It differed from the definitive version of the royal standard, which was charged with the lion designed by the painter Eilif Peterssen The Peterssen designed lion was changed on the coat of arms for government use in 1937 to fit a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

style, but the king kept the 1905 Peterssen design for the royal arms and standard.

Crown Prince’s version

The flag of the Crown Prince (''Kronprinsflagget'') is similar to the royal standard, except that the field is swallowtailed. It was introduced by Royal Resolution of 26 September 1924.Resolution regarding the flag of the Crown Prince and Crown Princess (26.09.1924) – Lovdata
/ref> The Crown Prince's flag may also be used by the Crown Princess. There are no flags for the rest of the royal family.

Pennant

References

Sources

Flags of the World

Royal standards in encyclopedia ''Skikk og bruk''

The Royal Standard flown from the Royal palace

With a picture of the seal of duchess Ingebjørg. * Hans Cappelen: ''Norge i 1905: Gammelt riksvåpen og nytt kongevåpen'', (Norway in 1905: Old national arms and new royal arms) ''Heraldisk Tidsskrift'', Vol. 10 No. 94, Copenhagen October 2006

External links

Flags of Norway
{{Flags, Banners and Standards of Heads of State and Government

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

Flags of Norway Norwegian monarchy Flags displaying animals