There were a variety of flags flown by ships of the
Commonwealth during the
Interregnum of 1649–1660.
At sea, royalist ships continued to fly the
Union Jack
The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...
of 1606, while on 22 February 1649 the
Council of State
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
decided to send the parliamentary navy an order (signed by
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
on 23 February) that "the ships at sea in service of the State shall onely beare the red Crosse in a white flag" (viz., the
flag of England
The flag of England is the national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is derived from Saint George's Cross (heraldic blazon: ''Argent, a cross gules''). The association of the red cross as an emblem of England ...
).
On 5 March 1649 the Council further ordered "that the Flagg that is to be borne by the Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Rere-Admiral be that now presented, viz., the Armes of England and Ireland in two severall Escotcheons in a Red Flagg, within a compartment."
[cited afte]
Dave Martucci, 29 September 1999
/ref>
A sole surviving example of a naval flag following this description is kept by the National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...
at Greenwich, others having fallen victim to the destruction of Commonwealth symbols at the Restoration of Charles II
The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to b ...
.
Scotland was formally united with England in 1654. According to Perrin (1922), the saltire of Scotland did not reappear on naval flags of the Commonwealth until 1658.
In 1658 Cromwell's personal standard as Lord Protector became the 'Standard for the General of his Highnesse fleet', while the Cross-and-Harp jack was replaced by the "Protectorate Jack", consisting of the royal Union Flag with the addition of the Irish Harp at the centre.
Flags of the Commonwealth
File:Flag of England.svg, A flag used by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Navy and privateers beginning on 22 February 1649.[The parliamentary navy was ordered by the Council of State on 22 February 1649 as follows: "that the ships at sea in service of the State shall onely beare the red Crosse in a white flag"]
File:Flag of the Commonwealth (1649-1651).svg, A flag of the Commonwealth flown by the Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Rear-Admiral. On 5 March 1649 the Council ordered "that the Flagg that is to be borne by the Admiral, Vice-Admiral, and Rere-Admiral be that now presented, viz., the Armes of England ed St. George Cross on whiteand Ireland old harp on bluein two severall Escotcheons in a Red Flagg, within a compartment."
File:Flag of The Commonwealth.svg, Flag of the Commonwealth from 1651 to 1658.
File:Standard of Oliver Cromwell (1653–1659).svg, Standard of the Lord Protector from 1653 to 1659.[Timothy Wilson, Flags at Sea (1986)]
File:Flag of the Commonwealth (1658-1660).svg, A flag used by the Commonwealth after 1658.
See also
* List of English flags
*Coat of arms of England
The royal arms of England are the arms first adopted in a fixed form at the start of the age of heraldry (circa 1200) as personal arms by the Plantagenet kings who ruled England from 1154. In the popular mind they have come to symbolise the ...
Notes
References
*Dave Martucci, Christopher Southworth, Vincent Morley, Jarig Bakker
United Kingdom: Flags of the Interregnum, 1649–1660
Flags of the World (1999, 2010). Retrieved 30 March 2011.
External links
*http://flagspot.net/flags/gb-inter.html
{{UKFlags
Interregnum
Interregnum
Lists of flags of the United Kingdom
Stuart England