Flag of Orkney

Last updated
Orkney
2007 Flag of Orkney.svg
Use Civil flag
Proportion8:11
Adopted2007
DesignA yellow-fimbriated blue Nordic cross on a red field
Designed byDuncan Tullock
Photograph of the flag flying in Stromness Stromness Town House with Orkney flag flying - geograph.org.uk - 950697.jpg
Photograph of the flag flying in Stromness

The Flag of Orkney was the winner of a public flag consultation in February and March 2007. [1] [2] In the flag consultation the people of Orkney were asked for their preferred design from a short list of 5, [3] all of which had been approved by the Court of the Lord Lyon. The chosen design was that of Duncan Tullock of Birsay, which polled 53% of the 200 votes cast by the public. [4]

Contents

The colours red and yellow are from the Scottish and Norwegian royal coats of arms, which both use yellow and red, with a lion rampant. The flag symbolises the islands' Scottish and Norwegian heritage. The blue is taken from the flag of Scotland and also represents the sea and the maritime heritage of the islands.

2007 competition finalists [5]

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 heraldic authority of Scotland, due to similarity with other national flags; [4] as well as the flag of the Kalmar Union. [6]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orkney</span> Archipelago, county and council area in northern Scotland

Orkney, 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 of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney's largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall.

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References

  1. Orkney Islands Council
  2. Flag design approved by Lord Lyon Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine , The Orcadian , 25 June – 1 July 2007
  3. Orkney Islands Council
  4. 1 2 Postman designs new Orkney flag, BBC News Online , 10 April 2007
  5. Orkney Community Flag ballot paper
  6. "Kalmar Union Flag". www.crwflags.com. Retrieved 2020-07-18.