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| Name | Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon) |
|---|---|
| Use | Civil and state flag  |
| Proportion | 3:5 |
| Adopted | 1959 |
| Design | A horizontal bicolour of white over green charged with a red dragon passant |
The Flag of Wales is Y Ddraig Goch (English: The Red Dragon), consisting of a red dragon passant on a green and white field. As with many heraldic charges, the exact representation of the dragon is not standardised and many renderings exist.
The flag incorporates the red dragon of Cadwaladr, King of Gwynedd, along with the Tudor colours of green and white. It was used by Henry VII at the battle of Bosworth in 1485 after which it was carried in state to St. Paul's Cathedral. The red dragon was then included in the Tudor royal arms to signify their Welsh descent. It was officially recognised as the Welsh national flag in 1959.
The flag can be seen flying from the Welsh Assembly building in Cardiff, and from the Wales Office in Whitehall, London each day.[1]
Wales and Bhutan are the only countries to have a dragon on their flag, though the Chinese flag also featured a dragon during the Qing Dynasty.
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Exclusion from the Union Flag
The Welsh Flag is the only flag of the constituent countries of the UK not to be used in the Union Flag. Wales had no explicit recognition in the flag because Wales had been annexed by Edward I of England in 1282 and, since the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, was considered to be a part of the Kingdom of England. There have since been proposals to include the Dragon or the flag of Saint David (itself a cross) on the Union Flag, but these have not met with much support. Welsh Labour MP Ian Lucas suggested that the Welsh flag should have a greater place in the Union Flag.[2] Inspired by this, the Daily Telegraph issued a poll for a redesign of the Union Flag akin to Lucas' comments. The poll however, became popular in Japan after it appeared on an online forum. As a result the most popular design, created by a Norwegian, featured a flaming skull wearing sunglasses; a symbol taken from the anime series Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.[3][4]
Cultural References
Roger Waters' album Radio K.A.O.S. follows the story of a young Welsh boy. The song "Sunset Strip" contains the lyrics:
And I sit in the canyon with my back to the sea
There's a blood red dragon on a field of green
Calling me back
Back to the Black Hills again
See also
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to category: Flags of Wales |
- HiJack, an article addressing the question of why Wales has no explicit symbolic representation on the Union Flag.
- Wales at Flags of the World
References
- ^ britishflags.net- Flag of Wales
- ^ Cleland, Gary (2008-04-19). "Union Jack should include Welsh flag, says MP". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/1570613/Union-Jack-should-include-Welsh-flag%2C-says-MP.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ Moore, Matthew (2008-04-19). "The new face of Britain? Flag poll results". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1572168/The-new-face-of-Britain-Flag-poll-results.html. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
- ^ "Gurren Lagann Design Wins Informal British Flag Poll". Anime News Network. 2007-12-16. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-12-16/gurren-lagann-design-wins-informal-british-flag-poll. Retrieved 2007-12-18.
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