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Spanish Flag

The concept of a national flag did not exist in the Middle Ages in Spain, and the Spanish used shields with coats of arms on them to identify or unify their nation. Frequently, these shields were made up of flags and symbols that meant something to the troops using them.

In 1978, the current Spanish flag was defined in the Spanish Constitution. It has three horizontal bars. They are red, yellow, and then red again. The yellow stripe in the middle is twice as wide as the red bars. The design of this flag comes from a naval ensign dating back to 1873 when Charles the Third of Spain handpicked this flag from a group of twelve total options. These options were designed by Antonio Valdés y Bazán. This flag remained a marine flag for the next fifty years and it was used mostly on naval buildings and ships. During the Peninsula War, the flag could be found with marines fighting on land. Finally, in 1820, it was used on land and by 1843 Queen Isabella the Second of Spain made the flag the official flag of Spain. The only variation to the current Spanish Flag that has been seen is that occasionally this flag will be seen with a coat of arms on the center yellow stripe.

Today, the armed forces of Spain still use this flag. The version they use is more of a square than the standard flag, and it has the name of the unit using it in the center.

Several higher ranking civil authorizes such as the President and the Vice President have permission to use the current Spanish flag. They use the flag to represent their status to the general public. The version of the Spanish flag that they use is square. It has the Spanish coat of arms in the center.

The Spanish flag is also seen on sport and leisure boats. This flag is the same as the current flag but with a blue coronet in the center.

Spanish national law states that the flag must only be flown horizontally. It should also be flown from dusk to dawn. Spanish government offices in Spain and on foreign land must fly the flag twenty-four hours a day and it must be lit properly at night. It is against the law to purposefully damage the Spanish flag.

The Spanish flag is also allowed to be used for mourning and funerals. When flying the Spanish flag with other flags the correct order of flags and flag types is: The Spanish flag, flags of foreign states and countries, the EU flag, international NGO’s, military and government standards, and others.