The flag of

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

is a white or silver

Nordic cross A Nordic cross flag is a flag bearing the design of the Nordic or Scandinavian cross, a cross symbol in a rectangular field, with the centre of the cross shifted towards the hoist. All independent Nordic countries have adopted such flags in t ...

on a blue background. The flag uses the colours of the

flag of Scotland The flag of Scotland ( gd, bratach na h-Alba; sco, Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland, which consists of a white saltire Defacement (flag), defacing a blue field. The Saltire, r ...

, but in the form of the Nordic cross in order to symbolise Shetland's historical and cultural ties with Scandinavia. The official recommended colour of the flag of Scotland is Pantone 300, which implies that this would be appropriate for the Shetland flag too, though the Flag Institute lists the colour as a similar Pantone 286. It was created by Roy Grønneberg and Bill Adams in 1969, to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the transfer of the islands from

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and the 500 years before as part of Norway. The flag is widely used privately by Shetlanders both on land and sea and is now seen as a symbol of the

identity. In 2007 a "Shetland Flag Day" was introduced by the council, who hope the day will be used to "celebrate all things Shetland". After almost forty years of unofficial use, the flag was formally granted by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, the heraldic authority of Scotland, on 1 February 2005, in time for the

Island Games The Island Games (currently known as the NatWest International Island Games for sponsorship reasons) are biennial international multi-sports events organised by the International Island Games Association (IIGA). Competitor teams each represent d ...

in July 2005 in Shetland.IGA – Games Profile 2001
The flag is practically identical to the former unofficial national flag of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

(the '' Hvítbláinn'') in use by Icelandic nationalist activists from 1897 until 1915, when it was in part abandoned due to its similarity to the Greek jack and the

Swedish flag The national flag of Sweden ( sv, Sveriges flagga) consists of a yellow or gold Nordic cross (i.e. a horizontal cross extending to the edges, with the crossbar closer to the hoist than the fly) on a field of light blue. The Nordic cross design t ...

, which critics reasoned would be hard to tell apart at sea, a major issue in a time of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. The white and blue is still used by the Icelandic Youth Association, nationalists and at political events.

References

See also