The first flag was created for Queen Elizabeth II in 1962, and the remainder over the subsequent decades. The current flag for the monarch was unveiled on 6 May 2023, the day of King Charles III's coronation. The flags are part of a larger collection of Canadian royal symbols.[1]
A quartered field, with three golden lions top left, a red lion rampant surrounded by a double border with fleurs-de-lis top right, a golden harp bottom left, and three gold fleurs-de-lis bottom right. At the base is a sprig of three red maple leaves.
The Sovereign’s Flag for Canada (also called the Sovereign’s personal Canadian flag and the Royal Standard of Canada) is a banner of arms of the coat of arms of Canada, and is used to denote the presence of the Canadian monarch. It consists of the escutcheon or shield of the coat of arms, namely the quartered arms of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, Ireland, and France above three maple leaves on a silver background. The official blazon of the arms is:[3]
Tierced in fess the first and second divisions containing the quarterly coat following, namely, 1st, gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or, 2nd, Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory gules, 3rd, azure a harp Or stringed argent, 4th, azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or, and the third division argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper.
Elizabeth II, the monarch preceding Charles III, had from 1962 until her death in 2022 used a flag that incorporated the Canadian banner of arms charged with her personal badge. This flag was personal to her, whereas the sovereign's flag is designed for use by all future Canadian monarchs.[5]
Prince of Wales
Flag of the Prince of Wales for personal use in Canada
Personal flag of The Prince of Wales for use in Canada
The flag of The Prince of Wales consists of a banner of arms of the coat of arms of Canada, differentiated from that of the monarch by a white heraldic label of three points and, in the centre, a blue disc or roundel within a wreath of golden maple leaves, within which are the Prince of Wales' feathers.[7] The initial concept for the design was created by Claire Boudreau, the Chief Herald of Canada, with assistance from other heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and with the co-operation of Buckingham Palace officials.[7][8]
The flag was approved for use by Elizabeth II through letters patent dated 31 May 2011, and gazetted in the Canada Gazette on 24 March 2012.[7] It was unveiled to the public on 29 June 2011, alongside the personal flag for William, then Duke of Cambridge, prior to his 2011 royal tour of Canada.[8]
The flags are similar to those of the Prince of Wales, consisting of a banner of arms of the coat of arms of Canada, differenced by a silver heraldic label and, in the centre, a blue roundel with a border of 24 gold maple leaves.[2] Each roundel contains the bearer's cypher—the initial of their first name surmounted by the coronet of a child of the monarch. The labels are derived from the bearer's coats of arms: Anne's has a red heart on the centre point and red crosses on the outer points, Andrew's a blue anchor on the centre point, and Edward's a Tudor rose on the centre point. The initial concept for these designs created by Claire Boudreau, the Chief Herald of Canada, with assistance from other heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.[9][10][11]
The personal flag for Princess Anne, was approved for use by Elizabeth II on 8 May 2013, and the personal flags for Prince Andrew and Prince Edward on 15 May 2014.[9][10][11]
A banner of the Royal Arms of Canada with an ermine border
The flag for members of the royal family for use in Canada denotes is used by those members of the family without their a personal Canadian flag.[12][13]
The flag consists of the banner of the coat of arms of Canada surrounded by an ermine border, a design also seen on British flags of royal family members without personal flags. The initial concept for the design was done by Claire Boudreau, the Chief Herald of Canada, with assistance from other heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.[13]
This flag was approved for use by Elizabeth II on 20 December 2014, and was gazetted in the Canada Gazette on 3 October 2015.[13]
Queen Elizabeth II's Canadian flag flies atop the Peace Tower as she attended Canada Day festivities on Parliament Hill, 2010
The Sovereign's Flag is usually used only when they are in Canada or attending an event abroad as the Canadian head of state; for example, the flag will be unfurled at Juno Beach in France when the sovereign is present there for commemorations of the Normandy Landings. The flag must be broken immediately upon the sovereign's arrival and fly day and night[14] until lowered directly after their departure from any building, ship, aircraft (not in the air), or other space or vehicle.[15][16]
When a police service horse, Burmese, was presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on 28 April 1969, she requested that Burmese perform in the Royal Windsor Horse Show and that the rider carry the Queen's royal flag on the lance, instead of the usual red and white pennon, thus allowing Elizabeth to easily follow Burmese's performance.[20]
Prior to the adoption of the Canadian royal flags, members of the royal family who toured Canada used the royal flag they employed when in the United Kingdom; although, for the tour undertaken in 1860 Albert, Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII), he used the banner of his mother Queen Victoria.[17] after 1931, each of those flags took on a dual role of representing a member of either the British or the Canadian royal family, depending on the context.
Queen Elizabeth II's personal Canadian flag was the first Canada-specific flag. It was used from 1962 to 2022.
Elizabeth II was the first Canadian monarch to use a distinct flag for her role as Queen of Canada. Adopted in 1962, it consisted of the banner of the coat of arms of Canada with the Queen's personal device in the centre—a blue roundel with a border of gold roses, containing within it a capital E surmounted by a crown.[21] It was added to the Canadian Heraldic Authority's Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges on 15 March 2005.[21] Nathan Tidridge argued the introduction of this flag set red and white as the national colours of Canada.[22] However, there is debate over whether the proclamation of the coat of arms in 1921 determined Canada's national colours.[23]
The next two personal flags were created for Charles, then Prince of Wales, and William, then Duke of Cambridge, and were revealed on 29 June 2011.[24][25] The creation of the flags made Canada the second Commonwealth realm, after the United Kingdom, to adopt unique flags for members of the royal family.[26]
William's flag consisted of the banner of arms with, in the centre, a blue roundel with a border of 12 gold maple leaves alternating with 12 gold scallops and, within this, his cypher—a W surmounted by a coronet of a child of the heir apparent. The label had a red scallop on the centre point.[27] It was first flown from the Canadian Forces airplane that carried him and his wife, Catherine, to Canada in 2011.[28]
The Canadian personal flag of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, from 2011 to 2022.
Additional personal flags were created in subsequent years, with the first use of Princess Royal's banner occurring during her October 2013 visits to CFB Borden and CFB Kingston. Prince Edward's flag was first used on 12 September 2014, during a visit to Government House, British Columbia, with his wife Sophie, as part of a royal tour.
Sean Palmer asserted in the 2018 book, The Canadian Kingdom: 150 Years of Constitutional Monarchy, that, by way of creating the uniquely Canadian flags for members of the royal family other than the monarch, Canada took "'ownership', not only of the Queen of Canada, but, of the other members of her family as well", and that doing so was another formal affirmation of the concept of a Canadian royal family "as distinct as the Queen of Canada is from the Queen of the United Kingdom".[30] Jai Patel and Sally Raudon also noted the following year that the purpose of these heraldic banners was to recognize the owners' roles as members of the Canadian royal family.[26]
Coronation flag
The coronation of monarchs at Westminster Abbey have included flags from of various countries, carried by officials in a procession into the abbey. The flags carried in for the coronations of King George V in 1911, King George VI in 1937, and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, were the countries' banners of arms. The flag carried in by Canadian officials in 1911 was quartered with the arms of the first four Canadian provinces,[31][32] while the flag carried in for the 1937 and 1953 coronations was based on the escutcheon of the Canadian coat of arms, as devised in 1921.[33]
The coronation of Charles III saw representatives from the Commonwealth realms carry their respective national flag instead of a banner of arms.[34]
1 2 Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (16 May 2023), Sovereign's Flag for Canada, King's Printer for Canada, retrieved 14 August 2023
↑ Elizabeth II (2008), Trade-marks Act, 9.1.a, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada (published 1985), R.S., 1985, c. T-13, archived from the original on 21 September 2013, retrieved 28 October 2009
↑ Office of the Secretary to the Governor General, Members of the Royal Family, Queen's Printer for Canada, archived from the original on 16 November 2020, retrieved 4 February 2016
↑ "RCMP and the Monarchy". Scarlet and Gold. RCMP Veterans Association Vancouver Division. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 31 July 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
↑ Office of the Secretary to the Governor General (15 September 2011), Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Queen's Printer for Canada, archived from the original on 8 February 2022, retrieved 9 September 2022
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