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![]() Flag of the Flag Institute since 2016 | |
Formation | 23 April 1971 |
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Founder | William Crampton |
Type | Charitable incorporated organisation |
Registration no. | 1152496 |
Purpose | Vexillology |
Location | |
President | Malcolm Farrow |
Key people | John Hall (Chairman) |
Website | www |
The Flag Institute is a membership organisation and UK-registered educational charity devoted to the study and promotion of flags and flag flying. [1] It documents flags in the UK and around the world, maintains a UK Flag Registry, and offers advice and guidance about flags and their design and usage. It is often consulted on these matters but holds no official status or authority.
The Flag Institute was formed from the Flag Section of The Heraldry Society on St George's Day, 23 April 1971, by Dr William Crampton, later president of FIAV, with E.M.C. Barraclough as its chairman. [2] [3] It is a membership-based vexillological organisation with over 400 members from all parts of the world, an adviser to the UK Parliamentary Flags and Heraldry Committee, and the provider of advice and information to individuals and organisations including UK Government departments, the BBC, ITN, and many publishers, museums and libraries. [4]
The Flag Institute became a charity in 2013, following a postal vote of its members, and is governed by a board of five elected Trustees, who are advised by the President and a number of appointed Officers. It maintains the William Crampton Library, named in honour of its co-founder, and publishes a bi-annual journal, Flagmaster. It holds twice-yearly Conferences, open to members and non-members, in locations around the UK or on Zoom.
In 2010 the Flag Institute and the UK Parliamentary Flags and Heraldry Committee campaigned successfully to ensure that the national flag of the United Kingdom would fly permanently from the flagpole of the Houses of Parliament. Previously the Union Flag had flown only when Parliament was in session, leaving the flagpole bare at other times. [5]
The Flag Institute maintains maintains and manages a UK Flag Registry recording the national, supranational, local and community flags flown in the UK and its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories.
Its officers have also been involved in several flag designs, including those for the badge and ensign of the UK Border Agency [6] and the flag of the UK Supreme Court. [7]
All Scottish flags must, by law, be authorised by Lord Lyon and recorded in the 'Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland'. The Earl Marshal and the College of Arms are legally responsible for flags in the rest of the UK. [8] Both the College of Arms and the Court of Lord Lyon maintain the official register of flags for their respective country or countries. Flags and symbols relating to the UK Armed Forces are regulated by the Crown through the Ministry of Defence, which also governs flags flown at sea by British-registered vessels. [9]
In 2010 the Flag Institute, with the Parliamentary Flags and Heraldry Committee, [10] published a guide to Britain's flag protocol, Flying Flags in the United Kingdom ( ISBN 978-0-9513286-1-3). [11]
A flag is a piece of fabric with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging. Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin vexillum, meaning "flag" or "banner".
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Flag was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. The flag continues to have official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union Flag.
The National Flag of Canada, often referred to simply as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf Flag, consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag. The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada.
Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display.
The coat of arms of Canada, also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada or, formally, as the Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Canada, is the arms of dominion of the Canadian monarch and, thus, also the official coat of arms of Canada. In use since 1921, it is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.
The flag of Scotland is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire defacing a blue field. The Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the correct flag for all private individuals and corporate bodies to fly. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8:00 am until sunset, with certain exceptions.
The coat of arms of the United Kingdom are the arms of dominion of the British monarch. They are the personal arms of the monarch, currently King Charles III, and are used as the arms of the state. In addition to the monarch, the arms are used by state institutions, including the UK Government, Parliament, and judiciary. Differenced versions of the arms are used by members of the British royal family. The monarch's official flag, the Royal Standard, is the coat of arms in flag form.
The national flag of the United Kingdom is the Union Jack, also known as the Union Flag.
The national flag of Ukraine consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow.
In Scotland, a Baron or Baroness is a rank of the ancient nobility of the Baronage of Scotland, a title of honour, and refers to the holder of a barony, formerly a feudal superiority or prescriptive barony attached to land erected into a free barony by Crown Charter, this being the status of a minor baron, recognised by the crown as noble, but not a peer.
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, or Banner of the King of Scots, is the royal banner of Scotland, and historically, the royal standard of the Kingdom of Scotland. Used historically by the Scottish monarchs, the banner differs from Scotland's national flag, the Saltire, in that its official use is restricted by an Act of the Parliament of Scotland to only a few Great Officers of State who officially represent the Monarchy in Scotland. It is also used in an official capacity at royal residences in Scotland when the Head of State is not present.
Saint Patrick's Saltire or Saint Patrick's Cross is a red saltire on a white field. In heraldic language, it may be blazoned argent, a saltire gules. Saint Patrick's Flag is a flag composed of Saint Patrick's Saltire. The origin of the saltire is disputed. Its association with Saint Patrick dates from the 1780s, when the Anglo-Irish Order of Saint Patrick adopted it as an emblem. This was a British chivalric order established in 1783 by George III. It has been suggested that it derives from the arms of the powerful Geraldine or FitzGerald dynasty. Some Irish nationalists and others reject its use to represent Ireland as a "British invention" "for a people who had never used it".
The Flag of Sussex is the flag of the traditional and historic county of Sussex. The flag was registered by the Flag Institute on Friday 20 May 2011 as a 'traditional' county flag as a result of a campaign started in August 2010, by Sussex resident Brady Ells, with support from his father, David. The Flag was certified by Chief Vexillologist, Graham Bartram. It was first flown officially on Saturday 28 May 2011 at Lewes Castle. and was flown from the Department of Communities and Local Government at Eland House, London on Sussex Day, 16 June 2011.
Canadian heraldry is the cultural tradition and style of coats of arms and other heraldic achievements in both modern and historic Canada. It includes national, provincial, and civic arms, noble and personal arms, ecclesiastical heraldry, heraldic displays as corporate logos, and Canadian blazonry.
A heraldic authority is defined as an office or institution which has been established by a reigning monarch or a government to deal with heraldry in the country concerned. It does not include private societies or enterprises which design and/or register coats of arms. Over the centuries, many countries have established heraldic authorities, and several still flourish today.
The flag of Huntingdonshire is the county flag for the historic county of Huntingdonshire in England. It was enrolled on the UK Flags Register by the Flag Institute on 25 June 2009.
The Northumberland flag is the flag of the historic county of Northumberland and the banner of arms for Northumberland County Council. The shield of arms is in turn based on the arms medieval heralds had attributed to the Kingdom of Bernicia. The Bernician arms were fictional but inspired by Bede's brief description of a flag used on the tomb of St Oswald in the 7th century.
First published in the United Kingdom in 2010 by the Flag Institute in association with the Flags and Heraldry Committee of the UK Parliament and with support from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.