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.png) The national flag of Romania is a tricolour with vertical stripes: beginning from the flagpole, blue, yellow and red. It has a width-length ratio of 2:3. The Constitution of Romania[1] provides that “The flag of Romania is tricolour; the colours are arranged vertically in the following order from the flagpole: blue, yellow, red”. The proportions, shades of colour as well as the flag protocol were established by Law nr. 75 of 16 July 1994.[2] The flag is coincidentally very similar to the civil flag of Andorra and the state flag of Chad. The similarity with Chad’s flag, which differs only in having a darker shade of blue (indigo rather than cobalt), has caused international discussion. In 2004 Chad asked the United Nations to examine the issue, but then-president Ion Iliescu announced no change would occur to the flag.[3] The Romanian tricolour is related to the flag of Moldova, which however has a 1:2 ratio, a lighter shade of blue and its coat of arms in the centre. [edit] Colours
[edit] HistoryRed, yellow and blue were found on late 16th century royal grants of Michael the Brave, as well as shields and banners.[4] During the Wallachian uprising of 1821, they were present on the canvas of the revolutionaries’ flag and its fringer; for the first time a meaning was attributed to them: “Liberty (sky-blue), Justice (field yellow), Fraternity (blood red)”.[5] The tricolour was first adopted in Wallachia in 1834, when the reforming domnitor Alexandru II Ghica submitted naval and battle flag designs for the approval of Sultan Mahmud II. The latter was a “flag with a red, blue and yellow face, also having stars and a bird’s head in the middle”.[6] Soon, the order of colours was changed, with yellow appearing in the centre. When the flags were handed over for use, Ghica remarked:[7]
In 1840, in order to differentiate the battle flag from the war flag, Ghica adopted a new design for the former: a red-yellow-blue tricolour, with red on top and stripes of equal width. In the centre was a white shield bordered with gold and decorated with the Wallachian eagle, wearing the princely crown and with a cross in its beak.[8] 
In 1848, the flag adopted for Wallachia by the revolutionaries that year was a blue-yellow-red tricolour (with blue above, in line with the meaning “Liberty, Justice, Fraternity”). Already on 26 April, according to Gazeta de Transilvania,[9] Romanian students in Paris were hailing the new government with a blue, gold and red national flag, “as a symbol of union between Moldavians and Muntenians”.[10][11] Decree nr. 1 of 14/26 June 1848 of the provisional government mentioned that “the National Flag will have three colours: blue, yellow, red”, emblazoned with the words “DPEПTATE ФPЪЦIE” (Dreptate, Frăţie or “Justice, Fraternity”). It differed from earlier tricolours in that the blue stripe was on top, the princely symbol was eliminated from the corners, as was the crown atop the eagle at the end of the flagpole, while a motto was now present.[12] These flags were blessed the following day, being intended for use by the National Guard.[13] Today only the Slatina city guard’s flag survives. On the blue stripe appear the words 
Nevertheless, decree nr. 252 of 13/25 July 1848, issued because “it has not [yet] been agreed how the national standards should be designed”, defined the flag as three vertical stripes, possibly influenced by the French model.[19] The shades were “dark blue, light yellow and carmine red”; as for order, “near the wood comes blue, then yellow and then red fluttering”.[20] Petre Vasiliu-Năsturel observes that from a heraldic point of view, on the French as well as the revolutionary Wallachian flag, the middle stripe represents a heraldic metal (argent and or respectively).[21] Other writers believe that the tricolour was not an imitation of the French flag, instead embodying an old Romanian tradition. This theory is supported by a note from the revolutionary foreign minister to Emin Pasha: “the colours of the band that we the leaders wear, as well as all our followers, are not of modern origin. We have had our flags since an earlier time. When we received the tricolour insignia and bands we did not follow the spirit of imitation or fashion”.[22] Earlier, at the Sibiu Conference of 26 April/8 May 1848, Transylvanian revolutionaries had also adopted a blue-white-red national flag (vertical, according to the memoirs of George Bariţ).[23] It was emblazoned with the words “VIRTUTEA ROMANĂ REÎNVIATĂ” (“ROMAN VIRTUE RESURRECTED”).[24] A number of contemporary sources attests these colours (including the Blaj newspaper Organul naţionale and Alexandru Papiu Ilarian’s Istorie a românilor din Dacia superioară). They had a twofold significance: their importance in Romanian costume and their union of the Transylvanian principality’s old colours (blue and red) with the white symbolizing peace.[25] It appears that the two specimens[26] with blue-yellow-red stripes preserved today at the National Museum of Romanian History were made later to commemorate the events at Blaj; yellow replaced white as a symbol of Romanian Transylvanians’ desire to join Romania.[27] After the revolution was quelled, the old flags were restored and the revolutionaries punished for having worn the tricolour.[28] In 1849, domnitor Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbei adopted a new design for battle flags that nevertheless preserved the colours’ horizontal layout and only changed decorative elements. Similar to the 1834 flag, this one lasted until 1856. During the Caimacam of three (October 1858-January 1859), as the acting regents did not have the right to inscribe their initials on military flags, the monograms of the Wallachian domnitori were replaced by eagles.[29]
[edit] Merger legend
After 1860, a legend arose stating that the national tricolour had been formed by merging the colours of the Moldavian and Wallachian flags, probably out of a desire to reconcile all parties to the fact that the Wallachian revolutionary flag of 1848 had been chosen for all of Romania. This legend was also convenient with respect to the colours attributed to the two principalities’ flags at the time (red and blue for Moldavia and blue and yellow for Wallachia).[30] The legend inspired a number of artworks, including a painting by Constantin Lecca. Wishing to depict the brotherhood between Moldavians and Wallachians, chose a passage from the Bistriţa Chronicle: “In the year 7015 (1506), October 28, prince Ioan Bogdan Voievod entered the Muntenian land with all his troops to the place Rătezat, near the hillock Căiata, on that side of the Râmnic; and there arrived an emissary from Radu Voievod […] who begged prince Bogdan Voievod to make peace with Radu Voievod, because ‘you are Christians and from the same people’ (said he); and many words were exchanged between them and much begging was made […] and prince Bogdan Voievod, seeing so much begging, followed his wishes and made peace”.[31] Lecca’s painting shows the two domnitori shaking hands in the centre. The flags of Moldavia (blue-red) and of Wallachia (yellow-blue) can also be seen, although these colour combinations have not been attested prior to 1832-34.[32] P. V. Năsturel contests this legend, noting that the red-yellow-blue tricolour predated the union of the principalities and that the three colours, arrayed vertically, represent the flag of the Romanian nation in all lands inhabited by Romanians.[33] 
In 1848, the tricolour was present in Focşani and Râmnicu Sărat (on opposite sides of the principalities’ border) during demonstrations of fraternity held by Moldavians and Wallachians,[34] while in 1857, around the time of the Moldavian Ad-hoc divan, the civilian population adopted the tricolour as a symbol of union, a fact observed by Count Alexandre Walewski, French foreign minister.[35] Also that year, the minister of foreign affairs of the Wallachian provisional government assured the extraordinary envoy of the Porte, Suleiman Pasha, that the flag’s three colours had existed “for a long time; our ancestors bore them on their standard and their flags. So they are not a borrowing or an imitation from the present or a threat for the future”.[36] Another of Lecca’s paintings shows the assassination of Michael the Brave in 1601. Also depicted is the united standard of the three provinces, with yellow on top (Wallachia), red in the middle (Moldavia) and blue below (Transylvania). This hypothesis of the three colours’ union has appeared in historical literature, also engendering skepticism regarding the arguments deployed in its favour.[37] [edit] Flags of the United Principalities.svg)
On 6 February 1859, on his first journey to Bucharest since being elected domnitor of Wallachia, Alexander John Cuza was greeted at the edge of the city of Buzău by the commander of the dorobanţi, who was carrying a tricolour flag. The sight deeply moved Cuza.[38] Until 1861 the old flags of Moldavia and Wallachia were used alongside the tricolour. On 22 June of that year, Cuza decreed the tricolour as the United Principalities’ official civil flag.[39] The flag was the red-yellow-blue Romanian tricolour, with horizontal stripes. Neither the order of stripes nor the proportion of the civil flag are known.[40] This is first described in Almanahul român din 1866: “the tricolour flag, divided in three stripes, red, yellow and blue and laid out horizontally: red above, blue below and yellow in the middle”.[41] Some sources suggest that the top stripe was blue until 1862 (as in the revolutionary Wallachian tricolour of 1848), replaced that year by red.[42] An approximate ratio of 1:3 has been suggested,[43] although the princely and army flags, both preserved, had a 2:3 proportion. As for symbolism, P. V. Năsturel asserts that “from 1859 to 1866 it represented just what it had done in 1848: liberty, justice, fraternity".[44] The flag gained a degree of international recognition. Relating prince Cuza’s May-June 1864 journey to Constantinople, doctor Carol Davila observed: “The Romanian flag was raised on the great mast, the Sultan’s kayaks awaited us, the guard was armed, the Grand Vizier at the door… The Prince, quiet, dignified, concise in his speech, spent 20 minutes with the Sultan, who then came to review us… Once again, the Grand Vizier led the Prince to the main gate and we returned to the Europe Palace, the Romanian flag still fluttering on the mast…”[45] [edit] Princely flag
A rather worn tricolour is found today in the collections of the National Museum of Romanian History, with inventory number 75045. Rectangular in shape (with a 2:3 ratio), it is made up of three silk strips laid out horizontally (with red on top. In the centre-right of the flag is painted the Wallachian eagle, a cross in its beak and clutching the symbols of princely power, while the Moldavian aurochs appears on the centre-left, a six-pointed star between its horns. Six inclined tricolour flags surround the two symbols (three on the left and three on the right); their flagpoles probably crossed near the bottom, which is now lost. Each flag has a blue ribbon above it and at the tips of their flagpoles are found, one on each side, a Wallachian eagle, the edge of a lance and a Moldavian aurochs. On the red strip are found stitched a princely crown, situated in the centre so as to mark the two coats of arms, and the statement “UNIREA PRINCIPATELOR — FERICIREA ROMÂNILOR. TRĂIASCĂ A. IOAN I!” (“The Union of the Principalities — the joy of Romanians. Long Live A. Ioan I!”) on both sides of the crown and now partially faded. The flagpole ends in a metal sphere topped by an eagle.[46][47] Researchers differ on the origin and date of this flag. Col. Dr. Alexandru Vasile[48] and Dr. Maria Ioniţă[49] consider that this was the United Principalities’ official flag. The latter dates it to 1859, the period immediately after the Union, as does Dan Cernovodeanu.[50] Mario Fabretto believes[51] it was a battle flag used between 1859 and 1861. Elena Pălănceanu and Cornelia Apostol believe[52] it was a princely flag designed in 1862, after the full union of the two entities, proclaimed on 11/24 December 1861. Indeed, Cuza only adopted the title “Alexandru Ion I” after this date.[53][54] After Cuza’s abdication, the flag was kept at the Bucharest Army Arsenal until 1919, when it was transferred to the National Military Museum. It has been at its present location since 1971.[55] It seems that this specimen was preceded by another, dating to 1859, featuring a tricolour canvas with somewhat smaller dimensions. In this flag, the blue strip is on top, while the two principalities’ coats of arms are no longer surrounded by flags. Today the inscription on the blue strip is illegible, but differed from that found on the other flag.[56] Another princely flag, rather different from contemporary designs, is a silk tricolour with vertical stripes (blue hoist) and a princely crown painted in the centre. It was raised whenever the domnitor was present at Ruginoasa Castle.[57] Today it is found at the Suceava History Museum, part of the Bukovina Museum Complex. [edit] Battle flag
Article 45 of the Paris Convention (1858) provided that “the armies of both countries will keep their present flags; but these flags will feature, in the future, a blue banderole, in conformity with the design attached to the present Convention”.[58] On 18 March 1863, the War Minister, General Ion Emanuel Florescu, asked Cuza to approve a design for army flags, agrred upon by the government in its session of 12 March.[59] The flags featured the national tricolour (horizontal stripes, with red on top), over which was a Roman eagle with a cross in its beak. In a solemn order of the day on 19 March, Cuza decided: “Considering that the army, following the union, should have but one flag; keeping in mind that the true emblem of Romania can only the the Roman eagle, […] we have decreed and do decree what follows: the Roman eagle with cross in its mouth shall be placed, as the emblem of Romania, above the army’s flags […]”[60] The resulting designs, distributed on 1 September 1863, differ somewhat from those legislated in March. This, the Roman eagle, wings outstretched, wearing the princely crown, carries the princely sceptre in its right talon and the sword in its left; on its breast appears an open shield topped by the princely crown. On the left of the shield, over azure and gold, is the Wallachian eagle (a cross in its beak, in left profile and wearing the princely crown); on the right, over red and azure, is the Moldavian aurochs with a star between its horns. Hanging from the sceptre and sword is a red ribbon with gold-embossed letters: “HONOR ET PATRIA” (“Honour and Fatherland”).[61] In the fly corners the prince’s initial is stitched, surrounded by a laurel wreath; all are golden. Each flag also had inscribed the unit that bore it.[62] The cloth part was 122 cm long and 100 cm wide.[63] A metal Roman eagle was affixed to the tip of the flagpole.[64] Although the order of 19 March had the Moldavian symbol in the right, nevertheless the first on the shield is the Wallachian eagle. The design was most likely adopted due to customary usage that arose after Bucharest became the single capital in February 1862.[65] These flags were distributed to the following units:
With the occasion of handing over the flags, Cuza delivered the following speech:[66]
These flags were used until 1866 when, after Cuza’s abdication, they were changed. Four army flags of the 1863 design are preserved today.[67] [edit] Romanian flags until 1918
Article 124 of the 1866 Constitution of Romania provided that “the colours of the United Principalities will be Blue, Yellow and Red”.[68] The order and placement of the colours were decided by the Assembly of Deputies in its session of 26 March 1867. Thus, following a proposal by Nicolae Golescu, they were placed just as in 1848.[69] The commission’s work continued on 30 March as well; following an affirmative vote by the Senate, these wrapped up with the adoption, on 12/24 April 1867, of the “Law for fixing the arms of Romania”. According to this, the flag’s colours had to be placed vertically in the following order: blue hoist, yellow in the middle and red fly. The country’s coat of arms was placed only on army and princely flags, in the centre; civilian flags remained without a coat of arms.[70] The same distinction was made between flags for the naval war fleet and the civilian fleet. The rapporteur Mihail Kogălniceanu, who also conveyed the opinion of Cezar Bolliac, Dimitrie Brătianu, Constantin Grigorescu, Ion Leca, Nicolae Golescu and Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, said:[71] “The tricolour flag as it is today is not (as the minister claims) the flag of the Union of the principalities. It is much more: it is itself the flag of the Romanian nation in all lands inhabited by Romanians”. The “Law for modifying the country’s arms” of 11/23 March 1872 did not change these provisions,[72] only the design of the coat of arms. The design proposed by Ştefan Dimitrie Grecianu was adopted.[73] [edit] Princely/royal standardAccording to the laws of 1867 and 1872, the princely (later royal) standard was identical to that of the army, with the country’s coat of arms in the centre.[74] Nevertheless, when these were produced a slightly different design was adopted: the yellow stripe was twice as wide as the red and blue ones, and the canvas had a 1:1 ratio. Each corner of the flag had sewn into it a silver royal crown. The crown prince’s standard was identical except that it lacked the crowns in the corners.[75] An album dating to the end of the 19th century[76] and the October 1917 National Geographic Magazine[77] show the flags as having stripe ratios of 1:3:1.
[edit] Battle flag
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Right after Alexander John Cuza’s abdication, the military units’ battle flags were replaced with a new 1866 design; instead of the coat of arms, the name of the company appeared on the standards. However, the eagle at the edge of the flagpole was preserved.[78][79] The flags distributed to the Civic Guard, re-established in March 1866, had a different design—the colours were vertical, in the centre was found the respective city’s coat of arms and not the national one, and the eagle at the end of the lance was larger and featured the shield of the United Principalities on its breast.[80] P. V. Năsturel classifies these as 1867 design flags and describes them in detail:[81] the canvas was 114 cm long and 95 cm wide (so a 5:6 ratio) and in the centre was painted the respective city’s coat of arms, covered with a golden mural crown. In the corners, surrounded by laurel wreaths, the number of the legion was stitched in Roman numerals. Golden fringes surrounded the canvas, with tassels from the same fabric hanging at the corners. The eagle at the end of the flagpole had its wings facing downward, had the princely crown on its head and carried a sceptre in its right hand and a sword in its left; all were made of gold. A shield was carved into the eagle’s breast, with the Wallachian eagle in the first half and the Moldavian aurochs’ head in the second. Above the sword and sceptre a ribbon passed bearing the inscription “Honor et Patria”. On 11 September 1867, Prince Carol I solemnly handed over these flags to the Civic Guards.[82] In 1873[83] it was decided that the 1866 design military flags would be replaced with the 1872 design, following the Law for the modification of the national coat of arms of 1872.[84] Design-wise, these fall into several generations. Flags produced in 1873 (24 flags and 10 standards), of which only one, the Firemen’s, survived in 1900, were square, 150 cm on each side. In its centre was painted, on a maroon background surrounded by a closed wreath of silver laurels, Romania’s middle coat of arms. The monogram of Prince Carol was in the corners, surrounded by a laurel crown, while the flagpole was topped by a metal eagle with the motto “Onóre şi Patria” as well as the unit’s number and name.[85] The cavalry flags had canvases of reduced dimensions (45 cm), while the decorative elements were embroided and not painted. All these insignia were distributed to the units on 14 October 1874, on the field at Băneasa.[86][87] Flags produced between 1877 and 1882 differ slightly from the preceding ones. On 17 July 1877, just ten units created after 1874 received this design, at the Poiana army headquarters. On this occasion, Prince Carol addressed the following words to his troops:[88] “In giving you the corps’ flag, I entrust the honour of Romania, which I thus place under the shield of courage, to your devotion and self-denial. For the first time the solemn occasion arises where you receive the flag on the day before going onto the field of honour; seek to crown it with an undying glory. Never forget that the flag is the symbol of the fatherland…” These two categories of flags were replaced with new ones in 1902, on the 25th anniversary of the Romanian War of Independence.[89] Small details differentiate flags produced between 1882 and 1897 from their predecessors. The canvas was square, 156 cm to a side; a ribbon of tricoloured thread ending in tassels was attached to the flagpole. The lions holding up the coat of arms had gold teeth and claws this time, while the coat of arms was no longer bordered in maroon. In the middle of the shield, the coat of arms of the House of Hohenzollern was surrounded by a gold border.[90] These three generations were realised by the Romanian state at Berlin’s Collani et Comp house. In 1896, war minister Anton Berindei, observing that “the way in which [the flags] are woven and the materials used leave something to be desired, as their canvas gets cut and breaks”, addressed an order to General Ioan Argetoianu, president of the joint commission and inspector general of the military engineers: “I have the honour of asking you to take measures so that the commission over which you preside can make a detailed description of the flags and standards in existence, on the materials from which they must be produced, dimensions, etc. In the work to be done the law of 8 March 1872 […] which decided the national insignia and flag, will be kept in mind”.[91] Thus, beginning with the 1897 design flags, the ratio was 2:3, the entire national coat of arms appeared in the centre (with modifications made after 1881), and the wreath that surrounded it was sometimes open. Most of the flags belonging to divisions that took part in World War I were handed to them in 1902 or in 1908-1916, and were used until 1929 when they were transferred to the Military Museum.[92] These are similar to the 1897 design, although after King Carol died on 10 October 1914, King Ferdinand’s monogram began appearing in the corners. Their dimensions vary from 90 x 65 cm to 115 x 73 cm. Along with the battle flag, through High decrees nr. 355 of February 1871[93] and nr. 1467 of 21 August 1873,[94] designs for stakes were defined for each infantry corps, as well as battalion pennants. The latter substituted for battle flags where necessary (each regiment had just a single flag), and were vertical tricolours, as provided by the 1867 and 1872 laws regarding Romania’s coats of arms. A flag was also established for Romania’s Coast Guard. According to the October 1917 National Geographic,[95] this was identical to the national flag, except that the yellow stripe featured a blue anchor and cable, above which was a silver royal crown. Also in this period there appeared laws and regulations providing how the battle flag should be used, guarded and saluted. Thus, High decree nr. 1451 of 18 August 1873[96] specified that the flag should be carried by the regiment’s adjutant junior officer, aided by the flag-bearing officer. Likewise, the composition of the infantry’s flag guard was regulated. This was composed of five sergeants, of whom two in the first row, flanking the adjutant junior officer and having the assistant officer on the right, and three in the second row, behind the first. The “Regulation concerning infantry exercises and maneuvers” provided that during military maneuvers the flag (or pennant) should be in the centre of the second battalion if the regiment was composed of three battalions or in the centre of the first battalion if the regiment had only two. The flag-bearer, chosen by the colonel, was not integrated into any subdivision of the battalion. The same regulation listed in its index the honours due to the flag, as well as the manner of saluting with the flag, with the specification that this was reserved for the princely family.[97]
[edit] Romanian flags in Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina and Bessarabia
Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina and Bessarabia were provinces of the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires with substantial Romanian populations. In 1918, the year they joined Romania, favourable conditions arose for the Romanians there to express openly their desire to unite with the “Motherland”. In Bessarabia, the Moldavian Democratic Republic was created on 2 December 1917 and declared independence on 24 January 1918. In May 1917, the heraldist Paul Gore had written a Russian-language study, “The National Colours of the Romanians in Bessarabia”, which sought to demonstrate that Bessarabians should use the Romanian tricolour correctly:[98] “A certain esteem for the national past and just a little courage are needed to defend your national legal rights. In no way do I insist that our national flag composed of three stripes coloured blue, yellow and red have these stripes arranged vertically. Let these stripes, in the order indicated, be horizontal. But the colours and their order we must preserve, especially because all three of these colours are also in the Coat of Arms of Bessarabia, which represents, if we eliminate the border made up of the Imperial colours, precisely the ancient coat of arms of the Moldavian Principality, and it is known that flags must be designed according to the exact rules of heraldry, according to the colours of the field and the emblems of the corresponding coats of arms”. With this perspective in mind, the heraldist Silviu Andrieş-Tabac considers Gore the moral author of the flag of the Moldavian Democratic Republic.[99] This was a blue-yellow-red tricolour with horizontal stripes and the coat of arms in the centre of the yellow field and the inscription “Republica Democratică Moldovenească şi Independentă” (“The Moldavian and Independent Democratic Republic”) in the centre of the blue field. The flag of Sfatul Ţării was similar, except that “Sfatul Ţării” was written on the blue field and the coat of arms, with larger dimensions, was placed in the middle, over yellow and red.[100] The republic’s battle flags were fashioned “several weeks before 6 December [1917], when the parade of Moldavian troops from Bessarabia took place”. These were also tricolours; on one side was written the regiment’s number in silver thread, and on the other, stretching all across the flag, the letters “R M”.[101] In Transylvania, many Romanian flags were produced in anticipation of the Great National Assembly at Alba Iulia. These were horizontal blue-yellow-red tricolours, echoing the 1848 revolution.[102] The images on glass captured at the Assembly by photographer Samoilă Mârza show a massive throng above whom flutter numerous such flags, some of the canvases inscribed with a motto. The National Museum of Romanian History holds three flags from Assembly participants and the coat of arms of a fourth, which belonged to the Alba Iulia national guard. The first tricolour has dimensions of 235 x 100 cm, and each of its stripes ends on the fly in a corner with the tip turned outside. The wooden flagpole is painted black. On second tricolour, 130 x 75 cm, just the yellow and red stripes survive, and both end in a corner with the tip on the outside. The third flag is woolen and 190 x 120 cm. Its coloured stripes all end in a sharp angle with the tip outside; to each one is sewn a tassel in the respective colour. A tricolour ribbon with a tassel on either end is attached to the flagpole.[103]
[edit] Flags of Greater RomaniaAfter Greater Romania came into being, the tricolour remained the official flag, with stripes arranged vertically and without a coat of arms in the centre. [edit] Royal standards
On 24 April 1922 new designs for royal standards were adopted.[104] The king’s standard consisted of a red-maroon square flag, bordered by a yellow strip with blue triangles. There were thirteen blue triangles to a side, with an additional four in the corners. The country’s lesser coat of arms was found in the middle of the flag; beneath it was placed the cross of the Order of Michael the Brave. After ascending the throne in 1930, King Carol II stretched the cross to the edge of the standard, “as a symbol of heroic royalty”, and placed the lesser coat of arms above it.[105] When his remains were returned to Romania in 2003, his coffin was draped in this standard. The queen’s standard was similar to the king’s, but the cross was missing. The crown prince’s standard was dark blue, with a red border and yellow triangles; the lesser coat of arms was in the centre. The royal princes’ flag was similar but lacked a border. In 1940, when Queen Helen returned to Romania, a flag was designed for the queen mother. This was similar to the queen’s standard but also lacked a border.
[edit] Flags and standards of public officialsContemporary vexilological albums (for instance the 1939 edition of Flaggenbuch)[106] display a number of flags and standards of interwar Romanian public officials. The war minister’s flag was a tricolour square with the letter “M” in white found on the blue stripe. The other ministers had similar flags but without the “M”. The jack employed by Romanian vessels was a yellow square bordered red with the coat of arms in the centre. The ship captains’ standard was the national flag with a royal crown in the centre. Pilot boats’ standard consisted of a national flag bordered in white. The flag’s ratio was 3:6 and the thickness of the border 2; altogether, it had a 10:13 ratio. River police had as their standard a blue square with a white “P” in the centre. The standard of the postal division of the Romanian Maritime Service had a white field (ratio 4:5), with the fly ending in a sharp interior angle. A square national flag with the royal crown in the centre appeared in the canton. A blue cord hung from the tricolour, catching a golden postal horn.
[edit] Battle flagsMilitary flags were tricolours with the national coat of arms painted in the centre. In the corners were found the golden monograms of Kings Ferdinand I, Carol II (two designs) or Michael I, crowned and surrounded by a wreath of golden oak leaves. The flagpoles ended in a metal eagle with wings facing downward, crowned and carrying a cross in its beak.
[edit] Naval flagsAdmirals’ flags (including vice- and rear admirals’), shown in the 1939 Flaggenbuch,[107] were square Romanian tricolours. The Chief of the Naval General Staff had two white stars on the blue stripe of his flag and two crossed anchors; the three elements were one beneath the other. The vice admiral’s flag did not have the anchors, while the rear admiral’s standard had just one star on the blue stripe. Naval captains and commanders had a longer red stripe on their standard, ending in an angle pointing inward; the ratio was about 11:13. Deputy commanders of ships had a tricoloured triangle for their emblem, in a 2:3 ratio.
[edit] Naval flags of World War IIShortly before World War II, the flags of military vessels were changed. A specific design was adopted, the yellow portion taking the form of a cross with widened arms. The following models are shown in Flaggenbuch, 1939:[108]
[edit] Flags of the Romanian People’s RepublicOn 30 December 1947, Romania was proclaimed a people’s republic and all the kingdom’s symbols were outlawed, including the coats of arms and the tricolour flags that showed them. On 8 January 1948, Decree nr. 3 was issued, regarding specifications for the powers of the Presidium of the Romanian People’s Republic.[109] At article 7, this provided that the republic’s new coat of arms should be “composed of: a tractor, a group of three chimneys against the field of a rising sun, surrounded by bound ears of wheat, tied by a ribbon with the inscription Republica Populară Română and the initials R. P. R. at the end of the ears”. Article 8 dealt with the national flag: “the colours of the Romanian People’s Republic are: blue, yellow and red, arranged vertically, and having in the centre of the yellow field the Coat of Arms of the Republic”. According to article 101 of the 1948 Constitution, “The flag of the Romanian People’s Republic is composed of the colours: blue, yellow and red, arranged vertically. In the middle is placed the national coat of arms”.[110] The 1952 Constitution, at article 103, added a little detail: “The flag of the Romanian People’s Republic has the colours red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically with blue near the lance. In the middle is placed the coat of arms of the Romanian People’s Republic”.[111] Neither the colours’ shades nor the flag’s proportions were specified. According to provisions of the 1952 Constitution, a five-pointed red star appeared at the upper edge of the coat of arms (itself altered in March 1948), something that was also reflected on flags and official Romanian standards.
[edit] Battle flags; standardsOn 28 July 1950 the Great National Assembly issued Decree nr. 189 for the establishment of the battle flag of the Armed Forces of the Romanian People’s Republic, as well as standards for the Military Air Force and the Naval Forces.[112] Article 2 defined the units’ battle flag as follows: “three silk stripes coloured red, yellow and blue, arranged vertically with blue situated near the flagpole. On the edges the flag has yellow metal fringes of wire, while the fly corners each have a tassel of the same wire. On the side oriented from the flagpole to the right, in the middle, is placed the coat of arms of the R. P. R. in natural colours. Above the coat of arms, on the same side, in an arched line, is written with letters of golden wire: ‘Pentru Patria noastră’ (‘For our Fatherland’). On the other side and in the middle of the flag, the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers of the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. is applied. Under the emblem is written straight, with letters of golden wire, the unit’s name. The flagpole ends in an ogive-shaped tip, within which is found a five-pointed star, in the centre of which are written the initials RPR”. The law’s annex also specified the dimensions of the flag (100 cm long by 60 cm wide), the coat of arms and the emblem (20 cm high), the fringes (5 cm long), the flagpole (250 cm long) and of the ogive (15 cm long by 7 cm wide).
Article 3 described the Air Force standard: “it is made of sky-blue silk. The standard is rectangular, with each face having applied to it 18 red silk strips in the form of sunrays. On the edges, the standard has fringes and tassels the same as on the [battle] flag. In the middle of the face oriented from the flagpole to the right is affixed the coat of arms of the R. P. R., while in the middle of the other face is affixed the emblem worn on the uniforms of officers belonging to the Armed Forces of the R. P. R. The coat of arms of the R. P. R., the emblem and the inscriptions are identical to those of the [battle] flag”. The annex specified the dimensions of the standard and the decorative elements, which were identical to those of the battle flag. In the centre of the flag, a ray had an angle of 10˚. Also specified was the shade of blue to be used on the flag: “iron blue”.
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