Royal Standard of Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Standard of Scotland, also known as the Royal Standard of the King of Scots or more commonly the Lion Rampant, is the Scottish Royal banner, and its correct use is restricted to only a few Great Officers who officially represent The Sovereign.[1] The banner of the Royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Scotland, it was used historically by the King of Scots until the Union of the Crowns in 1603.
Displaying a red lion rampant, with blue tongue and claws, within a red double border on a yellow background, it is formally specified in heraldry as: Or, a lion rampant Gules armed and langued Azure within a double tressure flory counter-flory of the second, meaning: A gold (Or) background, whose principal symbol is a red (Gules) upright lion (lion rampant) with blue (Azure) claws and teeth (armed and langued), surrounded by a two lined border (tressure) decorated with opposing pairs of floral symbols (flory counter-flory) of the second colour specified in the blazon (Gules).
The Lion is commonly thought to have been adopted in the early 12th century by William I (known as "William the Lion"), but there is no evidence of its use as "the Arms of Dominion of Scotland" before 1222, when it appeared in the seal of his son, Alexander II.[2] An earlier recorded Scottish Royal standard featured a dragon, which is known to have been used at the Battle of the Standard in 1138 by David I. It has also been suggested that the Royal arms of Scotland were first devised by Malcolm III in 1061, given that the central lion-rampant motif is also used as a badge by Irish clans who claim a place in the Milesian genealogies, in common with Malcolm III. Following the Union of the Crowns in 1603, the flag was incorporated into the Royal Standard of successive Scottish and then British Monarchs, appearing in both the first and fourth quadrants of versions used in Scotland while only appearing in the second quadrant on versions used elsewhere.
Today the flag is used officially at the Scottish Royal residencies of Holyrood Palace and Balmoral Castle when the Queen is not in residence. The flag is also used by a few Great Officers who officially represent The Sovereign, including the First Minister, Lord Lieutenants in their Lieutenancies, the Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and the Lord Lyon King of Arms. A variation of the Royal Standard of Scotland is used by the heir apparent to the King of Scots, the Duke of Rothesay, whose personal Standard is the Royal Standard of Scotland defaced with an Azure coloured label of three points.[3] (The banner of the Duke of Rothesay also features the same, displayed upon an inner shield). The Lion Rampant element was also incorporated on the capbadge of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.[4]
As the personal banner of the monarch, its use is restricted under the Act of the Parliament of Scotland 1672 cap. 47 and 30 & 31 Vict. cap. 17.[5]. In 1978 a St Albans linen merchant, Denis Pamphilon, was fined £100 daily for usurpation of the standard on decorative bedspreads until he desisted, and both Rangers F.C. and the Scottish National Party have been admonished by the Lyon for its improper use.[6] Today however, the flag continues to be used unofficially as a second national flag of Scotland, particularly at sporting events. (The red lion rampant on a yellow shield also features on the badges of both the Scottish Football Association and the Scotland national football team).
[edit] See also
- Flag of Scotland
- List of Scottish flags
- Royal Standard of the United Kingdom
- Royal coat of arms of Scotland
[edit] References
- ^ The "Lion Rampant" Flag The Court of the Lord Lyon. Retrieved on 10 October 2008.
- ^ McAndrew, Bruce (2006). Scotland's Historic Heraldry. Boydell Press. p. 24. ISBN 1843832615. "Most important, the convex shield now displays arms of A lion rampant, without as yet the embellishment of a border of any sort" At Google Book Search
- ^ image
- ^ britishflags.net- The Royal Standard of Scotland
- ^ Lyon Court- "The Lion Rampant"
- ^ Groom, Nick (2006). The Union Jack: the Story of the British Flag, Atlantic Books, p.294. ISBN 1843543362.
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