The Prince's Flag () is a
tricolour Dutch flag, first used in the
Dutch Revolt during the late 16th century.
The Prince's Flag is based on the flag of
William the Silent, hence the name. The colours are orange, white and blue. On the basis of the French names of these colours, ''orange-blanc-bleu'', the flag is also referred to by the Dutch rhymes ''oranje-blanje-bleu'' and ''ranje-blanje-bleu''.
This flag became controversial in the Netherlands due to its usage by the pro-Nazi
NSB in the years before and during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The flag is now mostly used in the Netherlands by
far right activists and in historical re-enactment.
History
The colours orange, white and blue ( or , from French ) are associated with
William Prince of Orange (1533–1584).
William is reported to have used these colours as early as 1577, as part of his procession entering
Ghent
Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...
.
Jacob Duym also reports that in the
siege of Leiden in 1574, the Dutch officers wore orange-white-blue
brassards. From this, Rey (1837) concludes that the combination of orange-white-blue was certainly used by the Prince of Orange in the 1570s. The first reference to a naval flag in these colours dates to 1587, when the
Admiralty of Zeeland ordered these flags to fly on their warships.
[Jean Rey, ''Histoire du drapeau, des couleurs et des insignes de la Monarchie française'' vol. 2, 1837]
p. 515f
The naval flag was used by the ''
Watergeuzen'' (''Gueux de mer'', "Sea Beggars"), the pro-Dutch
privateers during the Dutch Revolt.
According to de Waard (1900), the Dutch navy between 1588 and 1630 always displayed the Prince's Flag, and after 1663 always the red-white-blue ''
Statenvlag''. The latter was introduced gradually during the 1630s to 1650s, and named "States' Flag" in 1664.
During the 17th century the Prince's Flag was hoisted on the
Castle of Good Hope and saluted by incoming ships. The orange-white-blue flag formed the basis for the
South African flag of 1928. It is also the basis for the flags of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
and
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...
.
After the republican
Patriots, aided by the French, seized control over the Netherlands in 1795, the Prince's Flag was forbidden and the red-white-blue flag became the only official flag in order to dissociate from the House of Orange, to the content of the French, analogous as they were to
their own tricolour, chosen just a few months earlier. In the following period of the
Kingdom of Holland, there was also no place for Orange and the
Bonapartist King
Louis I chose red.
In 1813, when the French were expelled and the Netherlands regained its independence, the Prince of Orange returned to the country from England. The Prince's Flag saw a short revival; to demonstrate the attachment of the people to the House of Orange, both this flag and the red-white-blue flag fluttered on the roofs. In the same year, for the first time, the red-white-blue flag was flown with an orange
pennant, which has remained the custom in the Netherlands. Whether the Prince's Flag or the red-white-blue flag should be the national flag was left undecided, although the Prince of Orange, later King
William I, preferred the latter.
In the 1930s, the supporters of the
National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB) chose the orange-white-blue and the Prince's Flag as their symbol.
Queen Wilhelmina in 1937 signed a
Royal Decree that the colours red, white and blue are set as the official colours of the
Dutch flag.
Usage
The Prince's flag was raised from the old Matthias church tower in
Warmond in 2013 as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The flag is also used as a symbol of the
Greater Netherlands and Dutch
pan-nationalist movements. It is frequently used by extreme right-wing groups such as the
Dutch People's Union (NVU) and ''
Voorpost'', as well as the (now defunct)
Nationalist People's Movement (NVB).
In 2011, two members of parliament for the
Party for Freedom (PVV) had the Prince's flag hanging in their offices in the parliament's building. When this was received with scrutiny, the flags were removed. Former Dutch MP
Wim Kortenoeven said he was perturbed by the negative connotations the flag carries as he believes the flag was "hijacked" by the
NSB. At a PVV protest on 21 September 2013 in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, several attendants were carrying Prince's flags. When
Geert Wilders was speaking in
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
the same week,
Alexander Pechtold referred to the flags as 'NSB-flags', to which Wilders called Pechtold a "sad, measly, hypocritical little man." In protest of Pechtold's remark, at least five PVV members of the House of Representatives,
Martin Bosma,
Reinette Klever,
Machiel de Graaf,
Harm Beertema and
Barry Madlener wore a Prince's flag lapel pin.
Legacy
The Prince's Flag served as the basis for the
flag of the Union of South Africa. This flag was adopted in 1928 and was inspired by the former Dutch flag. In the white part of the flag are the flags of (left to right) the United Kingdom, the
Orange Free State and
Transvaal, representing the
Union's British colonial and republican predecessor states. In 1994, the flag was replaced by the post-apartheid
flag of South Africa
The national flag of South Africa was designed in March 1994 and adopted on 27 April 1994, during South Africa's South African general election, 1994, 1994 general election, to replace the Flag of South Africa (1928–1994), previous flag used ...
.
In 2004, the
Afrikaner town of
Orania adopted a new flag based on the colours of the Prince's Flag. The flag is divided vertically (symbolizing a fresh beginning) with the white stripe replaced by a picture of a boy rolling up his sleeves (symbolizing going to work).
As a consequence of its beginnings as the Dutch colony of
New Netherland, several places in
New York State and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
use variants of the Prinsenvlag as their official flags. These places include New York City,
Jersey City,
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
,
Albany, and
Nassau County. The blue and orange color scheme is also used by several of New York's professional sports teams, including the
Knicks,
Mets,
Islanders, and
New York City FC.
File:Prinsenvlag7.svg, Variant on the Prince's flag
File:Brielse Geus.svg, Naval jack Brielse Geus
File:Statenvlag a10.svg, Prinsenvlag variant
File:Statenvlag a15.svg, Prinsenvlag variant
File:Statenvlag Peter Fobs regiment kolonel Olivier van den Tempel.svg, Statenvlag by Peter Fobs
File:Hoek vlag.svg, Flag of the village of Hoek, Zeeland, Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
File:Flag of South Africa (1928-1982).svg, Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)
File:Flag of the President of South Africa (1984–1994).svg, Former flag of the State President of South Africa (1984–1994)
File:Flag of the Orange Free State.svg, Flag of the Orange Free State
File:Orania flag.svg, Flag of Orania
File:Flag of Kavangoland.svg, Flag of the former Kavangoland, South West Africa
File:Flag of New York City.svg, Flag of New York City
File:Flag of The Bronx.svg, Flag of the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
File:Flag of the Borough of Manhattan.svg, Flag of the Borough of Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
File:Flag of Albany, New York.svg, Flag of Albany, New York
File:Flag of Schenectady County, New York.svg, Flag of Schenectady County, New York
File:Flag of Ulster County, New York.png, Flag of Ulster County, New York
File:Flag of Westchester County, New York (version).svg, Flag of Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
File:Flag of Jersey City.png, Flag of
File:Hu flag 1.png, Flag of Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a Private university, private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, includ ...
File:Netherlands Coast Guard flag.svg, Flag of the Netherlands Coast Guard
File:Marine vlag.svg, Flag of the Royal Netherlands Navy
The Royal Netherlands Navy (, ) is the Navy, maritime service branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It traces its history to 8 January 1488, making it the List of navies, third-oldest navy in the world.
During the 17th and early 18th centurie ...
File:Landmacht vlag.svg, Flag of the Royal Netherlands Army
File:Luchtmacht vlag.svg, Flag of the Royal Netherlands Air Force
File:Marechaussee vlag.svg, Flag of the Royal Marechaussee
File:Flag of National Socialist Movement.svg, Flag of National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands with coat of arms bearing the Prince's Flag
File:Flag of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands alternate.svg, Alternate flag of National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands
File:Afrikaner Vryheidsvlag.svg, Flag of the Afrikaner Volksfront
File:Bandera del VNV.svg, Flag of Vlaamsch Nationaal Verbond
File:Flag of Verdinaso.svg, Flag of Verdinaso
See also
*
Statenvlag
References
External links
{{Dutch flags
1570s introductions
1577 beginnings
Dutch Republic
Obsolete national flags
Flags of the Netherlands
Flag controversies
Tricolor flags
William the Silent