Category — Flag Status
Flags of Queen Elizabeth II
She does not have a driver’s license or even a passport, but she travels without hindrance. She does not vote or have the right to express her political views publicly, but the political head of her government visits every Tuesday to personally consult with her, receive her personal encouragement and—when she feels it is necessary—be warned. The President of the United States as leader of the free world has only one flag to represent his office. She has more than a dozen flags and has flown many more flags during her lifetime. She is Queen Elizabeth II, by the grace of God Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms. On February 6th she celebrates 60 years as Queen.
Her first personal flag was as The Princess Elizabeth, the eldest daughter of King George VI. It is the Royal Standard with the addition of a special emblem called a label. It shows two Saint George Crosses and a Tudor Rose in the middle. Had she been born a boy, that boy’s label would have been a plain white one and he would likely have been known as the Prince of Wales, as is Prince Charles today. Nevertheless, when her father died on the 6th of February in 1952, she became Queen. Along with her father’s kingdom she inherited the Royal Standard which has been her main flag now for sixty years. There is also a Royal Standard made specifically to be displayed in Scotland. It gives precedence to the Scottish Lion over the three English lions. Elizabeth is also the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more than a dozen other nations. Many have a Royal Standard for Her Majesty to use when she visits. In countries where no Royal Standard has been adopted, Queen Elizabeth uses a simple blue flag with a crowned initial “E” encircled by a garland of golden roses.
In addition to being Queen, she bears a couple of masculine titles. She is the Duke of Lancaster and the Lord of the Isle of Man. There is a flag for each.
Still, Elizabeth II does not overdo her display of flags. She flies only one at a time to indicate her presence. The flag she flies depends on her location. If she visits in England or Scotland, she flies that Royal Standard. In her overseas Dominions she flies the appropriate Royal Standard for that nation if one exists. If there is not an appropriate Royal Standard, she displays her personal flag with her crowned initial letter “E” encircled by golden roses. Perhaps even then she felt she had one flag too many. The title and flag of the Lord High Admiral became vested in the Sovereign in 1964. For his ninetieth birthday in 2011 she gave that title to her husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, and with the title came the flag.
Elizabeth II has served her peoples in the United Kingdom and around the world with incredible energy and unswerving dedication. Colonial Flag Company and the British Pantry salute Queen Elizabeth and her flags. Long may they wave!
February 5, 2012 3 Comments
Monday Is Martin Luther King Day
Many people have come and gone over the 1000’s of years we have been upon the earth. Few make their mark beyond being born, learn to be part of a family, work, marry, provide, enjoy life & retirement, grandchildren and then death. Every life is important and their contribution is immeasurable in histories large and continuing track. Every once in a while society is blessed or cursed with an individual who makes a difference for generations to come.
Martin Luther King is a man who strived to do good in a non-violent way to change the way the majority thought and acted. Behavior over a long period of time had been ingrained in a large part of society. Many wanted a separate but equal society, in the 60’s and for years before and some years after, it was separate, but not equal. On Monday, January 18th we celebrated Dr. King’s birth. In the early eighties the Congress approve and President Reagan signed the Martin Luther King holiday. Which some have called “Human Rights Day.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. - photograph taken in 1964.
Was Dr. King perfect, no, he was as human as the next individual; we have learned that he made the same mistakes as others who have had power put into their hands. But even with his personal faults he became the symbol of a people and a generation that strived for equality in treatment and behavior of all the people of the world.
President John F. Kennedy meets with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King's signature.
As Theodore Roosevelt said, he was a man in the arena, and he did not shirk from what he knew was right. Dr. King suffered verbal and physical attacks to him, his family and his co-workers. (Read the “I have a dream” speech) He was the youngest man to ever receive the Nobel Peace Prize; he worked with John Kennedy to move the rights of minorities forward, and in 1965 he stood over President Johnson as he signed the Voters Rights Act a measure that was one of his key accomplishments.
President Ronald Reagan signs Martin Luther King Holiday Bill.
Like all men who stand against the status quo, he paid the highest price with his life. In this upcoming week, remember those who have made a difference and fly the flag.
January 12, 2012 No Comments
Flag at Half Staff Tuesday (3/15) Honoring Death of Last Surviving American Veteran of WWI
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As a mark of respect for the memory of Army Corporal Frank W. Buckles, the last surviving American veteran of World War I, and in remembrance of the generation of American veterans of World War I, I hereby order, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, that, on the day of his interment, the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset on such day. I further direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same period at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
March 14, 2011 No Comments