Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
UseSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Adopted1952
Relinquished2021
UseSmall vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag
Adopted1951
Relinquished1952

The standard of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was the personal flag used by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. It displays his coat of arms and can thus be considered a banner of arms.[1]

Design

See also: Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh § Arms

In November 1951, King George VI authorised Philip to use a personal standard consisting of his arms impaled with the arms of his wife, Princess Elizabeth. He did so until Elizabeth ascended to the throne as queen in 1952, after which his standard bore his arms alone.[2][3][4]

Philip's standard after 1952 was divided into quarters, each alluding to a component of his ancestry or title. The top-left quarter featured three blue crowned lions on a yellow background with red hearts, derived from the coat of arms of Denmark,[5] while the top-right quarter was blue with a white cross, representing the coat of arms of Greece and the country's flag at the time. Both of these represented his former status as a prince of Denmark and of Greece.[5][6] The bottom-left quarter had five vertical black and white stripes, representing the House of Mountbatten, Philip's maternal family, and the bottom-right quarter bore a heraldic representation of Edinburgh Castle, taken from the city's coat of arms,[1] to symbolise his title as Duke of Edinburgh.[6][7] The whole design was blazoned by the College of Arms as follows:[8]

Quarterly: first or, semée of hearts gules, three lions passant in pale azure ducally crowned or; second azure, a cross argent; third argent, two pallets sable; fourth argent, upon a rock proper a castle triple towered sable masoned argent windows port turret-caps and vanes gules.

Usage

The flag was flown above buildings and on cars to indicate Philip's presence.[9] It was flown except when the Queen was present as well; then the Royal Standard of the United Kingdom was used instead.[10] As he was a Knight of the Order of the Garter, his standard was hung in the form of a banner in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle until his death in 2021, when it was removed in accordance with the order's tradition.[11] At Philip's funeral in St George's Chapel, his coffin was draped with his standard.[12]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Duke of Edinburgh". 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  2. ^ "British Royal Standards since 1801". Loeser. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  3. ^ William John Gordon, Harold Gresham CARR (1953), Flags of the World. Edited by H. Gresham Carr, Etc, London & New York, p. 26
  4. ^ Flags of the World by H. Gresham Carr, 1961 edition, page 35
  5. ^ a b Archibald-Powell, Naimah; Roig, Estel Farell (17 April 2021). "The meaning behind the flag draped over Duke's coffin". Bristol Post. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b "The meaning of the flag draped over Prince Philip's coffin". I News. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Twenty Things You Didn't Know About Philip". Sky News. 9 June 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. ^ "HRH The Duke of Edinburgh". College of Arms. 9 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  9. ^ "50 facts about The Duke of Edinburgh". The Royal Family. 25 January 2002. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Standards, flags and colours". The Queen's Regulations for the Royal Navy (PDF). 6. Royal Navy. April 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Royal family say farewell to Prince Philip at Windsor Castle funeral". the Guardian. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Duke of Edinburgh's standard: The meaning of the flag draped over Prince Philip's coffin". I News. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
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