33 Facts About Scotland Flag: History And Design Explained!

You might have come across national flags of varying colors and designs, but have you ever noticed the flag of Scotland?

The flag of Scotland is essentially a blue flag with a white X-shaped cross. But have you ever wondered what the design of Scotland’s national flag implies?

Did you know that the country has two national flags? Yes! There are some mind-blowing facts about this fantastic national flag.

Read to know a brief history of this gallant nation, and then let’s dive into the flag facts! Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain is the country of Scotland. A part of the United Kingdom, Scotland has a 96 mi (154 km) long border with England to the southeast.

From the early middle ages until 1707, the Kingdom of Scotland stood as an independent sovereign state. Hereditarily, James VI of Scotland became the King of England and Ireland in 1603.

This resulted in a personal bond between the three kingdoms. On May 1, 1707, the kingdom of England and Scotland ushered into a new political union to form the new kingdom of Great Britain. The union marked the creation of the Parliament of Great Britain to succeed the Parliaments of both Scotland and England.

Much later, in 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922, with the secession of the Irish Free State, Northern Ireland stuck to the renamed United Kingdom of Great Britain.

The monarchy of the United Kingdom was a mosaic of diverse cultures and people.

Within Scotland, there were variegated styles, royal flags, ranks, and titles that they embraced with admiration. The Scottish culture and national identity have stood out distinct since 1707, with their separate legal, educational and religious institutions.

The official Scottish flag, widely known as St. Andrew’s cross or the Saltire, is Scotland’s national flag of this land of the brave, Scotland. The flag has a white saltire, crisscrossing a  blue background.

All the private individuals and corporates are free to fly this Royal Standard of Scotland, the Saltire. From the eight in the morning to the sunset, the flag proudly flutters from the Scottish government buildings.

The records illustrate Sir David Lyndsay of the Mounts, unfurling the flag.

The Scottish flag is often the precedent of the late 15th-century flag with blue canton and white Saltire as made by Queen Margaret, who was the wife of James 3rd. Northern Ireland and Scotland have the Irish channel between them.

Want to know more about the history of the Scottish flag and how did the navy blue color trend start? Read on to understand the history of the white saltire flag and the blue saltire flag of Scotland.

Did you know that the most uncommon colors found in world flags are purple and pink? After you have checked the facts about the national flag of Scotland, also check the facts about the Indian flag and facts about the Mexican flag.

Scotland Flag: History

‘Saltire’ means ’a cross with diagonal bars of equal length.’ The white Saltire is also known as St. Andrew’s Cross. The flag was first hoisted in 1512, giving it the title of one of the oldest national flags in the world that still prevails.

November 30 mark St Andrew’s day and is called the beginning of the Advent devotion of Saint Andrew Christmas Novena. Also, the national flag day of Scotland and the St Andrew’s cross has always been part of the national identity.

The legend behind the official Scottish flag is jaw-dropping. When other countries have flags mostly related to religion or history, the Scottish flag has an unwinding account yet unraveled.

It is one of the oldest flags in the world. The second oldest flag in the world, following Denmark, is the Scottish flag of over 500 years old with Biblical origins. Read to know that legends!

Here are the two widely acclaimed legends about the glorious history of the flag of Scotland!

It is believed that in 345 CE, Saint Regulus was directed by an angel to collect a few relics of Saint Andrew to a faraway land. He then came to the settlement of St.Andrews in Fife, on the northeast coast of Scotland.

In the 7th century, Saint Wilfred took some relics to Rome along his pilgrimage. These were positioned at the monastery of Saint Regulus at Kilrymont by the Pictish King Angus Macfergus, later renamed St. Andrews.

Some believe that St. Andrews was crucified in a saltire because these diagonal crosses were popular in use in those times in Rome and Greece. There is one more popular legend in Scotland related to St. Andrew.

The people believe that as St. Andrew used blue robes quite commonly, he was still wearing a blue robe on the day he was crucified.

As a result, the blue robe was crucified along with him on the white-colored crucifix. Hence, the new design of the national flag of Scotland adopted this design and these colors.

After almost seven centuries of St. Andrew’s crucifixion, the army of Scotland was led in a battle against the Saxons by King Angus II.

The battle took place in Lothians, but as the armies of King Angus II were severely outnumbered, the danger of the defeat loomed upon him.

At this time, King Andrew was able to see the formation of the Saltire in the sky, which spurred him on to fight with his full might for winning the battle.

At this moment, he decided that if he managed to defeat his enemies and won the battle, he would choose the blue and white saltire flag as the new national flag of Scotland and that he would Saint Andrew as the Patron Saint of Scotland.

Another legend goes that the blue saltire flag was made the national flag of Scotland as King Angus had a dream featuring St. Andrew, who had promised him to be victorious in the battle against the enemies.

However, the King kept his promise to make Saltire the symbol in the flag of Scotland. With the Declaration of Arbroath, following the triumph of Robert Bruce in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, Saint Andrew was consecrated to be the patron saint of Scotland.

Saint Andrew is also the patron saint of Russia, Greece, Barbados, and Italy’s Amalfi coast. He is the patron saint of singers, fishmongers, women wanting to be mothers, and more.

Scotland Flag: Symbols

Around 600 CE, Romans crucified Saint Andrew, one of the most well-known apostles of his era. But as he considered himself to be not worthy enough, he did not want to be crucified on a cross.

As a result, he decided that the Romans must crucify home on a cross that resembles the shape of the alphabet X. As a result, this type of cross quickly became one of the symbols of St. Andrew and since then has been known by his name only.

In 1385, Saltire became the official national flag of Scotland, and the Scottish Parliament made it mandatory for Scottish soldiers to wear the white cross as a badge. These badges and marks were of utmost importance to spot the opponent forces on battlefields in those times.

The legends are intricately related to the symbols in the present-day flag of Scotland that calls out the national pride and sentiments of the Scottish across the globe.

Scotland Flag: Design

Have you heard the word Saltire before? The word Saltire has long roots spread across several languages.

The Saltire in the heraldic flag is an X-shaped cross. It was derived from the Old French word Saultoir, which again has roots in the Latin word Saltatorium.

The background color of the flag of Scotland, blue, ranges between sky blue or navy blue fields. This is because, depending upon the soil and climate, the flag proportions in indigo or woad may vary, resulting in diverse blue of fabric.

This as Scottish Union Flag in the 17th century had a dark blue. It was primarily used for navigational purposes, and dark color can catch hold of attraction in such instances.

The Saltire was given the same color later. The Scottish Union flag had Pantone 280 as its color, and in 2003, to finalize the standard color for the flag, Pantone 300 was fixed.

The latter was of lighter shade in comparison to the former. The Lord Lyon King of Arms office also recognized Panton 300 as the standard color.

The Scottish flag has a proportion of 3:5, which again is not fixed and keeps having slight variations. One-third to one-fifth of the width of the field is the specified proportion of flag width. The flag manufacturers have always strictly followed this measurement.

Did you know the Russian navy ensign is pretty similar to the  Scottish Saltire, just that it is blue with a white background? Like the Scottish saltire flag, it signifies St Andrew’s cross. The Russian navy ensign was adopted during the Russian empire. The Saltire or the diagonal band is 1/10th of the flag’s length.

Merchant navy day is celebrated on September 3 every year, especially in the UK.

Why are there two flags for Scotland?

Amazingly, Scotland has two national flags. What could be the reason for this? Countries like Bolivia, Denmark, and Canada have two national flags. Know the story being two national flags for Scotland here!

Though there is a second flag for Scotland, it is not official. This flag of Scotland is named Red Lion Rampant and is taken along by the sporting teams for competitions representing their nation.

Unofficial doesn’t mean that this flag of Scotland doesn’t carry any significance. Until the current date, this royal flag is used to represent the monarchy as a royal standard; be it the King or the Queen, they will be represented using this flag of Scotland only.

However, the use of the flag is restricted. The flag has a red lion with a blue tongue and claws enclosed in a double red border.

The symbol of the lion rampant was introduced in the 12th century by King Richard I of England. King Richard was also known as the Lion Heart for his bravery and skills.

Thus, the symbol of the lion rampant originated from him. In English culture, a Lion is regarded as the King of animals and a symbol of prestige and power.

In a few years, the Scottish Arms officially adopted the lion rampant symbol and took it into Scotland for the first time. The lion is now also included as a part of the seal of Scotland but not on the saltire flag.

The Scottish Parliament Act of 1672 made it an offense for any citizen to flutter the flag. No wonder this flag has gone on a hideout and been replaced by the new national flag of Scotland, a Saltire with a navy blue field.

Do you want to know more about the story behind the flag of Angus or rather the controversy surrounding the flag of Angus?

So, the story goes like this, the Angus Council, which is one of the local councils located in eastern Scotland, gave its approval for a proposal wherein the Saltire was to be replaced by the new Angus flag.

These guidelines further state that only the new Angus flag will be flown on all the Angus Council buildings.

The council’s decision to use the new Angus flag on council buildings led to a huge public outcry over the decision wherein more than 2000 residents signed a petition opposing the council’s move to use the new Angus flag instead of the union flag the council buildings.

As a result, a compromise was reached between the people and the council wherein it was decided that the Angus would fly along with the Saltire henceforth.

As per the guidelines specified regarding the Union flag, the national flag of Scotland can only be flown on all buildings from 8.00 AM till the time of sunset. The only exception to these guidelines is during the national days of the United Kingdom.

These guidelines further state that if only one flagpole is present on any of the buildings, the Saltire shall only be replaced with the Union flag.

On St. Andrews Day, if there is only one flagpole on top of a building, the Union flag will fly over the Saltire.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for 33 Facts About Scotland Flag: History And Design Explained!

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