As soon as we express our sense of unity and pride, the Dutch dress in orange en masse. Still special, because our national flag is not orange. However, that was completely different until 1937. Orange predominated in the flag and inspired many symbols of other countries. Since then, the Prince’s flag, with orange, has been taboo. In 2011, the flag is suddenly back in the picture.
History of the Prince’s Flag
The Ranje Blanje Bleu (orange, white, blue) is the world’s first flag that is a parallel three-strip flag. The flag was designed in 1572 when William I of Orange became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland. It is the Sea Beggars (the fighters from the Netherlands who fought with their ships against the Spanish occupation) who first flew the Prince’s flag . The flag was then described as orange, white and blue. The flag was flown for the first time during the attack and capture of Den Briel by the Geuzen.
During the Union of Utrecht, which was signed on January 23, 1579, the official flag of the Seven Provinces was replaced by the Prince’s Flag. It will not be until 1599 that the order of the colors is officially recorded, until then it is completely arbitrary.
The flag was used around 1795 in the battle between the Orangists and the patriots . The patriots wanted the Oranges (stadtholder William V) to leave and demanded a red, white, blue flag. In 1795, the French became the new occupiers of the Netherlands. Then the color orange will also be permanently changed to red, decided by Louis Napoleon (brother of Emperor Bonaparte Napoleon).
In 1813, the Netherlands became a monarchy and the first Dutch king, William I, also chose the red, white, blue flag. However, he adds an orange pennant. In 1937 the dark blue was replaced by cobalt blue.
The Prince’s Flag and the Admiralty of Zeeland
A few years after the Union of Utrecht, namely in 1587, the Zeeland Admiralty ordered various Prince’s flags for its war fleet. The later Prince’s Flag will thus become a symbol of the Dutch resistance against the Spanish occupation (Philip II). In 1630, the orange stripe was replaced by a red one, with the aim of increasing the recognisability of the Republic of the Netherlands.
Construction of the Prince’s Flag
The Prince’s flag has a horizontal orange stripe, a horizontal white stripe and a horizontal dark blue stripe. The colors of the livery (court uniform) of Prince Willem I have been central to the flag, hence the name. The principality of Orange in France has livery colors in blue and white. The Geuzen added the color orange as a tribute to William I of Orange (the great Prince William of Orange). After all, he had the nickname Father of the Fatherland.
The Prince’s Flag is an inspiration for many countries
The Prince’s Flag from before 1795 has been central to many countries in the struggle for freedom or as a design for their own national flag. Some examples are:
The old African flag
- France (French Revolution 1789): vertical blue, vertical white and vertical red stripe
- Russia (Tsar Peter the Great 1697): horizontal white stripe, horizontal blue stripe and horizontal red stripe
- Yugoslav Republic: horizontal blue stripe, horizontal white stripe, horizontal blue stripe and a red star on the white stripe.
- South Africa : Until 1994, the flag of South Africa was the old Dutch Prince’s Flag. This is a reminder of the landing of the VOC on April 6, 1652. Then the Dutch doctor Jan van Riebeeck landed with 90 men. The horizontal white stripe contains the flag of the Orange Free State with the flag of Transvaal on the right and the flag of Great Britain on the left.
- New York, The Bronx borough: the Prince’s flag with a round logo.
The Prince’s Flag is no longer the national flag
The Bronx
During the crisis of the 1930s, divisions arose in the Netherlands over the Prince’s flag. The national flag that should be a symbol of unity becomes a symbol of disunity. All political movements want to reintroduce the orange lane, but all political movements are also in favor of maintaining the red lane. It is the NSB that unanimously supports the Prince’s flag. The NSB states that the Prinsenvlag is the true flag of the Netherlands.
In February 1937, the then Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Colijn asked the then Queen Wilhelmina to sign a decision officially establishing the Dutch flag. This decision states: The colors of the flag of the Kingdom of the Netherlands are red, white and blue. Three months later, his cabinet will submit a flag law to Parliament that will determine the shape of the national flag. Although this proposal is never addressed, to date all flags are made in accordance with this proposal.
Since 1937, the flag has been associated with the NSB before and during the Second World War and is therefore a symbol of the extreme right.
The Prince’s Flag in May 2011
Completely unexpectedly, the Prince’s flag is in full display again, but briefly in the news. The Prince’s flag suddenly hangs in front of the window of PVV Member of Parliament Wim Kortenoeven. Dagblad de Spits takes a photo of this, causing a fuss. After the photo was published, the flag disappeared.
Interesting to know
When the official national tricolor was changed from orange to red during the crisis years, very few Dutch people had money to purchase the new tricolor. This meant that the Prince’s flag was flown until it needed to be replaced.
When the Netherlands was liberated from the Germans in 1945, the Dutch flags were displayed exuberantly. Of all these flags, according to unofficial estimates, more than 10% are Prince’s flags. This can still be found in the American color films made during the liberation period. In contemporary war films , only the original red, white and blue flags are shown during the liberation scenes, as if the Prince’s flag did not exist.