The

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

of the

Principality of Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Monégasque dialect, Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riv ...

(french: drapeau de Monaco) has two equal horizontal bands, of red (top) and white (bottom), both of which have been the

heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...

colours of the

House of Grimaldi The House of Grimaldi ( , also , , ) is the current reigning house of the Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when Francesco Grimaldi captured Monaco in 1297 ...

since at least 1339. The present bicolour design was adopted on 4 April 1881, under

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...

Overview

Monaco's original flag, which was similar to its current princely flag but bore an older version of its

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

, was in use from the principality's early days (except during its annexation to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1793 to 1814) until the present, simpler design was adopted in 1881. Another design (below), the banner of the state arms ( lozenges in the Grimaldi family colours, in heraldic terms "lozengy

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

and

gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

"), was used at various times, particularly in the 17th century, as an unofficial flag and still appears in some royal photographs. However, it has no designated use and does not represent any Monegasque official in particular. The flag of Monaco is graphically similar to the

flag of Indonesia The Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolor with two horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3. It was introduced and hoisted in public during the proclamation of independence on 17 August 1945 at 56 Proklamasi ...

, with differences in their dimension ratios (Monaco's at 4:5 and Indonesia's at 2:3), and the shade of red is darker for the flag of Monaco. The

flag of Poland The national flag of Poland ( pl, flaga Polski) consists of two horizontal stripes of equal width, the upper one white and the lower one red. The two colours are defined in the Polish constitution as the national colours. A variant of the flag ...

is also similar to that of Monaco, but with the colours reversed – white on top and red on the bottom. The

flag of Singapore The Flag of Singapore was adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It remained the national flag upon the country's independence from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of ...

also has a similar design and colour, with the exception being a crescent with the five stars pointed at the upper left side.

Princely flag

Monaco's princely flag (or government flag) consists of the full achievement of the

on a white background.Gouvernement de la Principauté de Monaco
/ref> It is flown at the Prince's palace, government offices, in the presence of government officials, and as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

on the Prince's yacht.

Personal standard of Albert II

The personal standard of Prince Albert II consists of the Crown of Monaco over two opposing letters A, on a white background. It is only used in his immediate presence, particularly on cars in which he travels. It is often seen with a gold fringe on the top, bottom and right, which is one-ninth the height of the white field.

Notes

# Sources disagree as to the flag's usage. According t
Flags of the World
it is FIAV 110110

; according to th
World Flag Database
it is FIAV 100110

; and according to Whitney Smith's ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' (1975), it is FIAV 000100

References

External links

*
Drapeau monégasque
— Gouvernement de Monaco {{nationalflags 1881 introductions 1881 establishments in Monaco National symbols of Monaco