Queen Elizabeth II's personal Canadian standard flies over Queen's Park in Toronto, 2010

The royal standards of Canada are a set of uniquely Canadian personal flags approved by the King of Canada for use by members of the Canadian royal family. They are used to denote the presence of the bearer within any car, ship, airplane, building, or area, within Canada or when representing Canada abroad. There are currently six personal royal standards, one each for the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York, and the Earl of Wessex, as well as one standard for use more generally to denote the presence of any member of the royal family who has not previously been provided with a specific personal standard. The flags are part of a larger collection of Canadian royal symbols.[1]

Members of the royal family

There are currently five variants of the sovereign's royal standard, each approved by the King of Canada by letters patent for a specific member of Canada's royal family: Prince William, Prince of Wales; Princess Anne, Princess Royal; Prince Andrew, Duke of York; and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex. The sixth variant is used by any other member of the royal family who has not been presented by the Crown with a personal Canadian standard.[2] All were created by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, the first two, other than Queen Elizabeth II's, being the banners for Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. These were developed over a three-month period and revealed 29 June 2011,[3] just prior to that year's royal tour by the Duke of Cambridge;[4] his flag at the time was first flown from the cockpit window of the Canadian Forces airplane that carried him and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, to Canada in 2011, as it taxied after landing at Ottawa.[5] Prince Charles' flag was first unfurled 20 May 2012 at CFB Gagetown, from the cockpit window of the taxiing Royal Canadian Air Force airplane that brought him and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to Canada for royal tour marking the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[6] The Princess Royal's banner was first used during her October 2013 visits to CFB Borden and CFB Kingston. Prince Edward's standard was first used during his visit to British Columbia's Government House at the start of a royal tour by him and his wife, on 12 September 2014. The ermine bordered royal standard was registered 15 January 2015 for use by members of the royal family who do not have a personal standard for use in Canada.

All variants are in a 1:2 proportion. The personal standards consist of the escutcheon of the Royal Arms of Canada defaced with both a blue roundel surrounded by a wreath and a white label of three points. The wreath on Prince William's banner is of 24 gold maple leaves, the roundel depicts the Prince of Wales' feathers, and the label is not charged, signifying the eldest son of the monarch. The remainder of the banners have wreaths of 24 gold maple leaves only. On the royal standard of the Princess Royal, the roundel bears Anne's cypher (an A surmounted by a coronet of her rank, a child of the monarch) and the label is charged with a red heart at centre and the other two with red crosses, taken from the Princess' coat of arms.[7] The roundel on the royal standard of the Duke of York bears Andrew's cypher (an A surmounted by a coronet of his rank, a child of the monarch) and the centre label is charged with a blue anchor, taken from the Prince's coat of arms. The Earl of Wessex's standard uses the cypher of Edward (an E surmounted by a coronet of his rank, a child of the monarch) on the roundel and has within the centre label a Tudor Rose.

Former standards

The royal standard,[13] also called The Queen's Personal Canadian Flag,[14] was a heraldic banner[15] adopted and proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II in 1962 for her use in her capacity as Queen of Canada. With its introduction, red and white, first proclaimed by George V in 1921, became entrenched as the national colours of Canada,[16] and it was added to the Canadian Heraldic Authority's Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges on 15 March 2005.[15] Different standards were used by Elizabeth in some of the other Commonwealth realms, and she held another banner for use as Head of the Commonwealth.

The flag, in a 1:2 proportion, consists of the escutcheon of the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada in banner form defaced with the distinct device of Queen Elizabeth II used on her Head of the Commonwealth flag:[14] a blue roundel with the initial E surmounted by St Edward's Crown and within a wreath of roses, all gold-coloured.[15] The standard is protected under the Trade-marks Act; section 9(a) states: "No person shall adopt in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, any mark consisting of, or so nearly resembling as to be likely to be mistaken for... the Royal Arms, Crest, or Standard."[13] The symbols on the flag represent the nations that colonized Canada, which are England (Royal Arms of England), Scotland (Royal Banner of Scotland), Ireland (coat of arms of Ireland) and France (a symbol of Early modern France), alongside the national symbol (maple leaf). Before he was made Prince of Wales in 2022, William's flag had a wreath of each 12 gold maple leaves and scallop shells, the roundel bore a depiction of his cypher (a W surmounted by a coronet of his rank), and the label was charged with a red shell, reminiscent of the coat of arms of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.[17]

Use and protocol

Princess Elizabeth during her 1951 royal tour of Canada. Her then-royal standard is visible in the background.

Prior to the adoption of the Canadian royal standards, members of the royal family who toured Canada used the royal standard they employed when in the United Kingdom; after 1931, each of those standards took on a dual role of representing a member of either the British or the Canadian royal family, depending on the context. Only during a 2009 tour by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, did the Prince of Wales use the British standard for members of the Royal Family who are not entitled to a personal standard of their own, rather than the standard used by the Prince of Wales for England and Wales.[citation needed]

The King's personal Canadian flag is employed only when the King is in Canada or is attending an event abroad as the Canadian head of state; for example, the flag will be unfurled at Juno Beach in France when the King is present there for commemorations of the Normandy Landings. The flag must be broken immediately upon the sovereign's arrival and lowered directly after his departure from any building, ship, aircraft, or other space or vehicle.[18][19] On land, as per Department of National Defence protocol, the King's standard must be flown from a flagpole bearing as a pike head the crest of the Canadian royal arms.[20] As the monarch is the personification of the Canadian state, his banner also takes precedence above all other flags in Canada, including the national flag and those of the other members of the Canadian royal family.[18]

The Queen's standard flying from the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill

No other person may use the flag; the King's federal representative, the governor general, possesses a unique personal flag, as does each of the monarch's provincial viceroys. Flags are kept at the King's Ottawa residence, Rideau Hall, and supplied to Department of Canadian Heritage royal visit staff by the household staff prior to the King's arrival.[18]

Protocol is sometimes, though rarely, officially broken. On 9 August 1902, the day of the coronation of King Edward VII, the monarch's royal standard (then the same in Canada as in the United Kingdom) was raised on a temporary flag pole at His Majesty's Dockyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Similarly, for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953, the sovereign's royal standard was broken atop the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.[21] Sixty years later, on 6 February 2012, the Queen's personal standard for Canada was unfurled at Rideau Hall and Parliament Hill, as well as at other legislatures across the country to mark the monarch's diamond anniversary of her accession to the throne;[22] permission to do so was granted by the Queen.[23]

When Police Service Horse Burmese was presented to Queen Elizabeth II by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police on 28 April 1969, Her Majesty requested that Burmese perform in the Royal Windsor Horse Show and have the rider carry the Queen's royal standard on the lance, instead of the usual red and white pennon, thus allowing Elizabeth to easily follow Burmese's performance.[24]

Coronation standard

During the coronation ceremony of the monarch at Westminster Abbey, the "standards" of various countries are carried by various officials in the procession inside the abbey. These flags are the country's coat of arms as a banner of arms. For Canada, similar standards based on the previous coat of arms were used thrice: at the coronations of King George V, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II in 1911, 1937, and 1953, respectively.[citation needed] The banner of the coat of arms of the first four Canadian provinces was used in 1911,[25][26] with the banner of the 1921-1957 version of the arms used in 1937 and 1953.[27] The banner was in a 3:4 ratio and without defacement.

See also

References

  1. ^ Franco, Guida (2006). Canadian Almanac & Directory 2006. Toronto: Micromedia ProQuest. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-895021-90-5.
  2. ^ General, The Office of the Secretary to the Governor. "Members of the Royal Family [Royal Family]". reg.gg.ca.
  3. ^ Office of the Governor General of Canada (29 June 2011). "New Flags for The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  4. ^ Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages (29 June 2011). "Harper Government Unveils New Personal Canadian Flags for Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Cambridge". Canada News Wire. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  5. ^ Proudfoot, Shannon (30 June 2011), "The royals are here: Will and Kate start Canadian tour", Vancouver Sun, retrieved 30 June 2011
  6. ^ Bissett, Kevin (20 May 2012). "Prince Charles, Camilla arrive in Canada to begin royal tour". CityTV. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  7. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The flag of The Princess Royal for use in Canada". Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  8. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The Prince of Wales". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  9. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The Princess Anne, Princess Royal". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  10. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The Prince Andrew, Duke of York". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  11. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
  12. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "Members of the Royal Family". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges. Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  13. ^ a b Elizabeth II (2008), Trade-marks Act, 9.1.a, Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada (published 1985), R.S., 1985, c. T-13, retrieved 28 October 2009
  14. ^ a b Department of Canadian Heritage (13 December 2013). "Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion > The crown in Canada > The Queen's Personal Canadian Flag". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  15. ^ a b c Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority. "Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges > Registration of the Flag of Her Majesty the Queen for personal use in Canada". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  16. ^ Tidridge, Nathan (2011). Thompson, Allister (ed.). Canada's Constitutional Monarchy. Toronto: Dundurn Press. p. 222. ISBN 9781554889808.
  17. ^ Canadian Heraldic Authority (15 September 2011). "Prince William, Duke of Cambridge". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  18. ^ a b c Department of Canadian Heritage (13 December 2013). "Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion > Personal flags and standards". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  19. ^ Office of the Prime Minister of Canada (29 June 2011). "PM unveils a new personal flag for use in Canada for His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge" (Press release). Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  20. ^ Department of National Defence (1 April 1999), The Honours, Flags and Heritage Structure of the Canadian Forces (PDF), Ottawa: Queen's Printer for Canada, pp. 4–1–6, A-AD-200-000/AG-000, retrieved 8 February 2012
  21. ^ Government of Nova Scotia. "The Queen's Personal Canadian Flag". Queen's Printer for Nova Scotia. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  22. ^ "Manitoba Celebrating Queen's Diamond Jubilee". ChrisD. 6 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  23. ^ "Canada kicks off festivities for Queen's jubilee". CTV. 6 February 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  24. ^ "RCMP and the monarchy", Scarlet and Gold, RCMP Veterans Association Vancouver Division, 6 September 2012, retrieved 31 July 2022
  25. ^ "CORONATION STANDARDS". Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 - 1954). 15 May 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  26. ^ "Alfred Pearse (c.1854-1933) - Coronation of George V: Standard bearers". www.rct.uk. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  27. ^ "Australian Standard For Coronation". Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954). 23 May 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 18 August 2020.

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